Preview: Watford vs Sheffield United - prediction, team news, lineups

Separated by three points in the fight for top half spots in the Championship table, Watford and Sheffield United will square off at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

The hosts have dropped to 12th spot in the midst of a four-game winless run, while their visitors bounced back to winning ways last weekend to sit 17th and within touching distance of the top half.

Match preview

Watford return to action at Vicarage Road on Saturday aiming to end a four-game winless run and keep hold of their top half in the final weeks of the Championship season.

The Hornets find themselves 12th with four games remaining, having earned 57 points from their 42 outings, with 13 of those coming from 11 matches under Edward Still following Javi Gracia's February exit, when they sat on the edge of the playoff race.

They managed three wins and 11 points from the first seven of those games but have since managed two draws and two losses from their last four attempts, as the Easter Weekend produced a 2-1 away defeat to Queens Park Rangers and a home draw with Charlton Athletic.

A trip to relegation-threatened Oxford United then followed last Saturday, and the Hornets left empty-handed following a 2-0 loss at the Kassam Stadium, having fallen behind to a 19th-minute Myles Peart-Harris goal before Mark Harris put the game out of sight in injury time.

Now sitting 12th and only leading 13th and 14th spots on goal difference but only trailing ninth-placed Norwich City by a single point with four games remaining, Watford will bid to bounce back in their penultimate home game on Saturday with the chance to quickly improve their top-half standing.

Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip south aiming to make it consecutive victories to end the Championship campaign with a positive run.

In a disappointing season following last year's playoff loss, Sheffield United put themselves in a position to charge towards the top six with a run of three wins in four games on February, but they would then be confined to a mid-table finish as a six-game winless run followed.

In that time, the Blades managed three draws alongside three defeats, culminating in a 1-0 away loss to Bristol City on Easter Monday, leaving them 17th on 51 points from 41 matches with only basement side Sheffield Wednesday having suffered more than their 20 losses.

Sixth-placed Hull City then visited Bramall Lane on Saturday, and after trailing to an early Oli McBurnie goal, they turned the game round late on to win 2-1, as Gustavo Hamer levelled with an 85th-minute penalty before Danny Ings scored the decisive goal three minutes later.

Boosted by that return to winning ways and now sitting within three points of their 12th-placed hosts, Sheffield United will bid to end the term with a winning run and late climb into the top half of the Championship.

Watford Championship form:

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Sheffield United Championship form:

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Team News

Watford will remain without Marc Bola, Jeremy Ngakia, Hector Kyprianou and Rocco Vata at the weekend due to ongoing injuries.

Luca Kjerrumgaard will again hope to lead the line, having managed nine league goals this term, with Nestory Irankunda, Edo Kayembe and Giorgi Chakvetadze having supported him last time out.

There is competition, though, with Othmane Maamma, Kwadwo Baah, Mamadou Doumbia and Tom Ince all hoping to come in from the outset, while Nampalys Mendy should again join star man Imran Louza, who boasts seven goals and nine assists in the Championship this season, in the midfield.

Sheffield United are still unable to call on first-choice goalkeeper Michael Cooper, who is confined to the treatment room alongside Sam McCallum, Kalvin Phillips and Tyrese Campbell.

Ings, who scored their winner last time out, will hope to come in and lead the line from the start, but Wilder may stick with Patrick Bamford at the top end of their 4-2-3-1 setup.

He will be joined going forward by the likes of Callum O'Hare and Hamer, who moved onto four goals and 11 assists for the season in the Championship last time out, while Jairo Riedewald will hope to return in the engine room in place of either Sydie Peck or Joe Rothwell.

Watford possible starting lineup:

Selvik; Petris, Pollock, Goglichidze, Abankwah; Louza, Mendy; Irankunda, Chakvetadze, Baah; Doumbia

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Davies; Seriki, Tanganga, McGuinness, Burrows; Rothwell, Riedewald; Cannon, O'Hare, Hamer; Bamford

We say: Watford 1-2 Sheffield United

On the back of a confidence-boosting victory last time out, we see Sheffield United kickstarting their late climb towards the top half with another win on Saturday against a Watford side who are seemingly lacking momentum as the end of the term nears.

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