Preview: Sheffield United vs Ipswich Town - prediction, team news, lineups

In search of a fifth straight league victory in their continued pursuit of the top two in the Championship table, Ipswich Town will travel to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United on Saturday.

The visitors remain just two points behind second-placed Middlesbrough, while their hosts have fallen to within four points of the relegation zone following back-to-back defeats.

Match preview

Sheffield United head back into Championship action on Saturday with the aim of returning to winning ways and beginning a climb back up the table.

After a poor start to the season, including a 5-0 away loss to Saturday's visitors, left last season's playoff final losers on just 10 points from 15 games, they looked set to mount a climb towards the right end of the division, playing as the division's form side between November and early January.

Indeed, Chris Wilder's men amassed 22 points from a 10-game stretch culminating on New Year's Day to set their sights on an outside playoff challenge, but they have failed to continue their improvement since.

Following a 4-3 FA Cup loss to Mansfield Town, the Blades visited Charlton Athletic last weekend and lost 1-0 with nine men, before travelling to Southampton on Wednesday and again falling to a single goal as Leo Scienza's early goal made the difference between the sides.

Still sitting 17th thanks to their climb from 23rd spot in recent months, but with their lead over the bottom three now reduced to four points, Sheffield United will be keen to bounce back on Saturday and avoid being dragged back into a relegation dogfight.

They face a tough test, though, as the visitors arrive in search of a top-two spot and a fifth straight league victory.

Aiming to make an immediate return to the Premier League this term, Ipswich Town have found their groove in recent months and moved firstly into the automatic promotion picture, earning a league-high tally of 22 points from their last nine matches to sit on 50 from 27 outings.

The Tractor Boys added to their strong run with an FA Cup victory over Blackpool in mid-January and have since made it four straight wins in the league and five in all competitions with another pair of victories, firstly beating Blackburn Rovers 3-0 thanks to goals from Jack Taylor and Sammie Szmodics after Eiran Cashin's early own goal.

Bristol City then visited Portman Road on Tuesday, and Kieran McKenna's side again took all three points as Jack Clarke scored both goals in a 2-0 win, taking their tally to 17 goals scored and just five conceded in the last nine second-tier games.

Now trailing second-placed Middlesbrough by two points and league leaders Coventry City by eight with momentum growing in the camp, Ipswich Town will again bid to crack the top two with an away win on Saturday.

Sheffield United Championship form:

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Sheffield United form (all competitions):

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Ipswich Town Championship form:

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Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

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Team News

Sheffield United remain without midfielder Djibril Soumare and key defender and captain Japhet Tanganga, who began three-match suspensions on Wednesday after their red cards at Charlton.

In the absence of Tanganga and Tyler Bindon, who missed Wednesday's game through illness, Ben Mee and Mark McGuinness may again partner up in the middle of a back four.

Sydie Peck and Oliver Arblaster could continue in the engine room, with Jairo Riedewald confined to the treatment room, while Gustavo Hamer should come in to offer attacking support after a run of substitute appearances.

Ipswich Town are set to head to Bramall Lane without Conor Townsend, Marcelino Nunez, Jaden Philogene and Chuba Akpom as they are confined to the treatment room.

In Nunez's absence, Sammie Szmodics, George Hirst and Kasey McAteer will all compete to come into the attacking unit from the start, while Sindre Walle Egeli will also hope to retake his spot on the right wing.

Jack Clarke may again be their danger man, having netted a brace in midweek to move onto 10 league goals for the season, while Azor Matusiwa and Jens Cajuste should continue their midfield partnership despite competition from Jack Taylor.

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Seriki, McGuinness, Mee, McCallum; Peck, Arblaster; Brooks, O'Hare, Hamer; Bamford

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Walton; Furling, O'Shea, Kipre, Davis; Matusiwa, Cajuste; Egeli, Szmodics, Clarke; Hirst

We say: Sheffield United 1-2 Ipswich Town

Sheffield United have seen their recent revival stopped in its tracks, while Ipswich Town are only going from strength to strength and making their abundance of quality count.

The Blades should put up more of a fight than the reverse fixture which ended in a 5-0 Ipswich win, but we still give the edge to the visitors in their top-two bid.

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