Chelsea travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United knowing that a sixth win in seven Premier League games will edge them a step closer to qualification for the Champions League.
However, the Blades welcome the Blues to Yorkshire having put together a three-match unbeaten streak, leaving the club just one point adrift of sixth-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Match preview
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After the resumption of the Premier League, Sheffield United looked like being one of the clubs who were struggling to adapt to the different surroundings, perhaps understandably having lost all momentum due to the enforced break.
However, the Blades have been excellent over the past week, with home victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers coming either side of a draw away at Burnley.
With all three of their last opponents acting as rivals in the race for the Europa League, each result has been recorded at the right time, leaving Chris Wilder's team on the brink of moving into the top six.
Although squaring off against Champions-League chasing Chelsea represents another tough test, there will be no shortage of confidence after the manner of their last-gasp triumph over Wolves.
United outlasted a team which have made a habit of late flourishes, and it will naturally lead to Blues boss Frank Lampard having concerns about how his players will handle their upcoming contest.
Despite edging out Crystal Palace on Tuesday night, Chelsea struggled to close out the 3-2 win, relying on an outstanding late save from Kepa Arrizabalaga and an even better goal-saving tackle from Kurt Zouma.
While Lampard would have been impressed and relieved in equal measure, he has acknowledged that his team cannot afford to keep putting themselves in such situations, particularly after squandering so many opportunities at the other end of the pitch.
That has been a common theme throughout the season, although Lampard can only be delighted with how Willian and Christian Pulisic have performed since the resumption.
Willian has four goals and three assists to his name, while Pulisic has netted in games against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Palace respectively.
Sheffield United Premier League form: DLLWDW
Sheffield United form (all competitions): LLLWDW
Chelsea Premier League form: WWWLWW
Chelsea form (all competitions): WWWLWW
Team News
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After a knee injury to Billy Gilmour, Jorginho is expected to be drafted back into the Chelsea starting lineup.
Should Lampard opt to stick with a 4-3-3 formation, that could prove to be the only change to the team.
However, with a switch to a back three a possibility, Marcos Alonso could be used at left wing-back, with Cesar Azpilicueta moving inside to a more central role.
N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic are bidding to shake off hamstring and Achilles injuries respectively.
Sheffield United are expected to be without Oliver McBurnie, who was withdrawn during the early stages of the second half against Wolves.
Lys Mousset is likely to come into the team, while midfielder John Lundstram is an option in place of Ben Osborn.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Basham, Egan, O'Connell; Baldock, Berge, Norwood, Lundstram, Stevens; McGoldrick, Mousset
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Arrizabalaga; James, Zouma, Christensen, Azpilicueta; Barkley, Jorginho, Mount; Willian, Giroud, Pulisic
We say: Sheffield United 2-2 Chelsea
Given Chelsea's performances at both ends of the pitch, we can only expect plenty of goals in this contest. All things considered, a draw appears to be the most likely result, with the home side coming on strong during the closing stages.
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chelsea win with a probability of 53.86%. A draw had a probability of 23.9% and a win for Sheffield United had a probability of 22.19%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chelsea win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.31%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.73%) and 0-2 (9.67%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.38%), while for a Sheffield United win it was 1-0 (6.66%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 1.1% likelihood.
