Sheffield United will continue their pre-season preparations ahead of the new campaign with a trip to the Pirelli Stadium to face Burton Albion on Friday.
While this fixture will be the Brewers' final warm-up match before the 2022-23 season begins, this clash is the penultimate friendly fixture for the Blades, who are still to face Barnsley later this week.
Match preview
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Burton Albion will be competing in League One for the fourth successive season, following their 16th-placed finish in the 2021-22 campaign.
In a bid to improve on last season's efforts, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has bolstered his squad with five new signings including midfielder Calum Butcher, who has returned to the club after six years away from the Pirelli Stadium.
The Brewers are yet to set the world alight in pre-season as they have lost four of their five matches so far, including each of the last three against Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City and Brackley Town.
Burton now have one final warm-up match to try to turn their fortunes around, although success on Friday could prove challenging against Championship outfit Sheffield United. They did, however, win their last meeting against the Blades, securing a 2-1 friendly victory on home soil in July 2019.
The Brewers, who have not been tipped to challenge for promotion from the third tier this term, will begin the new season away at Wycombe Wanderers on July 30.
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Sheffield United head coach Paul Heckingbottom will be looking to build on last season's fifth-placed finish in the Championship, with the Blades regarded as one of the favourites to secure promotion to the top flight.
The South Yorkshire outfit, who suffered defeat in the playoffs to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest in May, have managed to keep the core group of their squad together so far this summer, while Anel Ahmedhodzic, Tommy Doyle and Ciaran Clark have all signed for the club, the former joining on a permanent deal from Malmo.
Sheffield United started off their pre-season with back-to-back victories against Casa Pia and Lincoln City, beating the former 2-1 in Portugal before cruising to a 6-0 win against the latter in two 60-minute matches.
However, the Blades have since lost their last two warm-up matches against lower-league opposition, with a 3-2 defeat away at Scunthorpe United followed by a 3-0 loss against Mansfield Town on Tuesday.
Heckingbottom will not have too many concerns at this stage, but he will be keen to see his side bounce back with victories against Burton and Barnsley in their final two friendly games before their 2022-23 Championship opener against Watford on August 1.
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Team News
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Burton centre-back Sam Hughes, who was unable to make a single appearance in 2021 due to an ACL injury, did not feature against Brackley but could return to the side on Friday.
Hasselbaink used 18 players in their most recent friendly, including two trialists, and the Dutch boss is expected to rotate his side again throughout the match against the Blades.
The likes of Victor Adeboyejo, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Deji Oshilaja all began on the bench last time out but could be handed starts on this occasion.
As for Sheffield United, Heckingbottom has confirmed that Doyle is set to miss the rest of pre-season and the start of the new season due to a thigh injury.
Goalkeeper Adam Davies remains doubtful with a knee injury which he sustained against Lincoln earlier this month, with Wes Foderingham set to start between the sticks as a result.
Midfielder Sander Berge, who has scored twice so far in pre-season, is expected to feature on Friday along with the likes of Oliver Norwood, Iliman Ndiaye and Rhian Brewster.
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Sinisalo, Hamer, Mancienne, Shaughnessy, Oshilaja, Borthwick-Jackson; Gilligan, Radcliffe, Castro; Adeboyejo, Moult
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham, Baldock, Ahmedhodzic, Egan, Clark, Stevens; Berge, Norwood, Osborn; Ndiaye, Brewster
We say: Burton Albion 1-2 Sheffield United
Both sides have recently suffered a dip in form in pre-season, and will now be looking to build momentum heading into the new campaign.
Considering the quality that the visitors possess, we expect the Championship outfit to edge out their League One counterparts at the Pirelli Stadium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
