Sheffield United are next up for Paul Warne’s Rotherham United, as the Millers travel to Bramall Lane in the early kick-off (12:15).
Here, we take a look at who the Millers will be facing in our opposition analysis…
In the Dugout
Chris Wilder will be the man in the dugout for Sheffield United on Saturday. The 51-year old former defender made over 400 career appearances, which included over 130 appearances for Rotherham between 1992 and 1996, scoring 11 goals. He retired as a player at Halifax Town in 2001.
After retirement, Wilder started his managerial career at Alfreton Town in October 2001. He also managed Halifax Town, Oxford United and Northampton Town before he joined The Blades. At Oxford he earned promotion to the EFL via the Play-Offs before winning the League Two title with Northampton Town. He guided Sheffield United to the Championship in his first season with the club after joining in 2016.
Stats
Sheffield United currently sit third in the Championship table. In their last five games, the Blades have won three and drawn two, with their last game ending in a 0-0 draw against Sheffield Wednesday. Within those last five, The Blades have scored nine and conceded just three, keeping four consecutive clean sheets going into this fixture. They have the second best defence in the league conceding just 34 goals this season, 10 behind Middlesborough.
Previous Meetings
This is the 38th meeting between the two sides with Sheffield United winning 21 of the fixtures. Rotherham have won eight while there has been eight draws. In the last 12 games, Rotherham have only won once, which was back in September 2013. A 3-1 home victory in League One courtesy of goals from Kieran Agard, Daniel Nardiello and Rob Milsom cancelled out Jose Baxter’s opener and it gave all three points to the Millers. The last time the two teams met, it finished in a 2-2 draw at the ASSEAL New York Stadium. Mark Duffy opened the scoring for the Blades before Jon Taylor’s equaliser. It looked as though The Blades had secured the three points after Chris Basham’s 85th minute header, but Jamie Proctor came off the bench to score the equaliser in stoppage time.
Ones to Watch
Our ones to watch start with goalkeeper Dean Henderson. The 21-year old is currently on a season-long loan from Manchester United and has represented England at U16, U17, U20 and U21 level. He has had previous loan spells at Stockport County, Grimsby Town and Shrewsbury Town. He was part of the England U20 World Cup win in 2017 and was in the PFA Team of the Year for League One in 2017.
In defence, John Egan is experienced in the Championship. Starting at Sunderland, the 26-year old represented Crystal Palace, Bradford City, Southend United, Gillingham and Brentford before he joined the Blades permanently in 2018 for an undisclosed club-record fee. He has also represented Republic of Ireland at U17, U19, U21 and the senior side.
In midfield, Northern Ireland international Oliver Norwood has made his loan move a permanent one in January 2019 from Brighton. The former Manchester United youth has made over 30 appearances for the Blades and has won two promotions from the Championship, first with Brighton in 2017 automatically and with Fulham in the Play-offs in 2018.
Upfront, Billy Sharp is the main goal threat. The Sheffield United captain has scored over 100 goals for the Blades and currently has 23 goals this season, making him second in the top scorers list behind Norwich’s Teemu Pukki. The former Scunthorpe ace has had a successful career so far, where he has represented a variety of other clubs including Southampton and Leeds United.