Sheffield United get their 2020-21 Premier League campaign underway on Monday evening with a clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Having both missed out on European qualification, Chris Wilder and Nuno Espirito Santo will be eager to get their season off to a positive start.
Match preview
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Having been in contention for a Europa League spot for much of the season, Wilder and his Sheffield United side would have required time to get over the disappointment of coming so close to a major breakthrough in their development.
Nevertheless, there will be renewed excitement ahead of the new campaign with a raft of signings having been brought in to take the Blades to the next level.
Although losing Manchester United loanee Dean Henderson is a major negative, Wilder will have faith in replacement Aaron Ramsdale, while the addition of Chelsea's Ethan Ampadu for the season feels like an under-rated signing.
Given their unexpected ninth-placed finish, the next nine months may be more about consolidation over making any more progress, but this group players will have ambitions to take an extra step forward.
The same can be said from Wolves' perspective after Nuno's side missed out on a second successive campaign on the continent courtesy of goal difference.
However, after playing an unprecedented amount of matches over more than a year, the West Midlands outfit may benefit from being restricted to domestic football for the foreseeable future.
As it stands, Matt Doherty is the only significant departure, and Fosun have provided Nuno with the funds to bring in highly-rated Vitinha and Fabio Silva.
The Portuguese starlets may need time to settle into life in the Premier League, but the signing of the Porto duo can only be regarded as a statement of intent.
With Manchester City to come next week, Nuno will hope that the pair can defy their lack of experience to hit the ground running in Yorkshire.
Sheffield United form (pre-season friendlies): WD
Wolverhampton Wanderers form (pre-season friendlies): N/A
Team News
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With Wolves yet to sign a replacement for Doherty, Adama Traore is expected to line up at wing-back.
Although places are up for grabs at left wing-back and in attack, it would come as a surprise if Ruben Vinagre and Diogo Jota did not start on Monday.
Marcal, Vitinha and Silva are all likely to be named among the replacements.
Aside from Ramsdale, Wilder may opt to keep his new faces in reserve for the time being.
David McGoldrick is expected to get the nod in attack if he is able to shake off a minor injury.
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Basham, Egan, O'Connell; Baldock, Norwood, Lundstram, Fleck, Stevens; McBurnie, McGoldrick
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Boly, Coady, Saiss; Traore, Dendoncker, Neves, Moutinho, Vinagre; Jimenez, Jota
We say: Sheffield United 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Both of the matches between these two sides last season were lacking in goalmouth action, and we feel that may be the case here. However, unlike in the corresponding fixture earlier in the summer, Wolves could do more in the final third to earn a share of the spoils.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a draw or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Draw/Away:dataVideo prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
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 Sheffield United win with a probability of 38.5%. A win for Wolverhampton Wanderers had a probability of 33.85% and a draw had a probability of 27.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield United win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.35%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.13%) and 2-0 (7.07%). The likeliest Wolverhampton Wanderers win was 0-1 (10.47%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.05%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 6% likelihood.
