Sheffield United play host to Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their Championship playoff semi-final having won their final three games of the regular season.
Although Forest finished five points in front of the Blades, the visitors lost some momentum during the concluding week as they narrowly missed out on automatic promotion.
Match preview
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With Fulham to come on the final weekend, Sheffield United could never feel safe when it came to securing their place in the playoffs, particularly with more than one team having the opportunity to prevent them from achieving their target.
However, any concerns that Paul Heckingbottom and the club's supporters may have had soon disappeared as the Blades went 3-0 ahead versus the champions within 25 minutes, effectively ending the game as a contest.
Enda Stevens put the result beyond any doubt soon after the break, and it left Sheffield United to turn their attention to their upcoming playoff tie with Forest.
The Yorkshire outfit would have probably preferred to have Luton Town as their opponents, something which was due to materialise until Hull City's dramatic last-gasp equaliser versus Forest on Saturday.
Nevertheless, the odds suggest that Forest will have to be defeated at some stage for one of the other three teams to earn promotion, and Sheffield United will hold no fear after putting together a three-match winning streak, scoring eight goals in the process.
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In sharp contrast, an otherwise remarkable regular campaign for Forest ended with a whimper, Steve Cooper's side falling short in their quest for the top two after defeat to Bournemouth.
Having selected the same starting lineup for much of the run-in, it came as no surprise when Cooper made sweeping changes for the trip to Hull, a 1-1 draw not being the worst result for a team which featured players requiring game time.
The disappointment will come from taking the lead in added-on time through a Brennan Johnson penalty, only to allow Hull to go straight up the other end to get back on level terms.
Although Cooper would have been quick to put the lapse in concentration to the back of his mind, it should only sharpen the focus within the Forest camp ahead of a game with opponents who have suffered just one home defeat since the start of November.
Despite having ended the season with the third-best attacking record, Forest have scored more than once on just one occasion in their last five outings.
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Team News
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Cooper will hope to have Steve Cook, Ryan Yates and Jack Colback all available with the trio all dealing with minor injury issues over the past 10 days.
Barring any further fitness problems, Cooper will line up with his tried-and-trusted team with Johnson and Sam Surridge returning in attack.
Lewis Grabban and Keinan Davis are all expected to remain on the sidelines, with Max Lowe injured and ineligible to face his parent club.
Having witnessed Sheffield United thrash Fulham last time out, Heckingbottom may show preference to selecting the same starting lineup.
While George Baldock is an option at right wing-back, he has not featured since April 18 and will likely remain on the substitutes' bench.
Billy Sharp is unlikely to come back into contention as he continues to deal with a calf injury.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Basham, Egan, Robinson; Osborn, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; Berge; Ndiaye, Gibbs-White
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; McKenna, Cook, Worrall; Spence, Garner, Yates, Colback; Zinckernagel; Johnson, Surridge
We say: Sheffield United 1-1 Nottingham Forest
All of the momentum is with Sheffield United after their demolition of Fulham and it is difficult to see the Blades being defeated on Saturday afternoon. However, some of this Forest team are well-rested, something which could prove pivotal if they have to chase the game during the closing stages.
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 Sheffield United win with a probability of 46.03%. A draw had a probability of 27.5% and a win for Nottingham Forest had a probability of 26.49%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield United win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.33%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.08%) and 2-1 (8.73%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.82%), while for a Nottingham Forest win it was 0-1 (9.42%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 6.2% likelihood.
Top tip
Darren Plant
