Stoke City vs Sheffield United – Preview | OneFootball

Sheffield United will make their trip to Stoke City on Friday evening, already knowing their fate of being in the Championship play-offs before this penultimate fixture kicks off.

Mark Robins’ Stoke side were thoroughly smashed by Leeds United at Elland Road, conceding six goals without reply. The Potters inflicted most of the damage themselves early doors as they gave the ball away cheaply within 25 yards of their own goal, subsequently leading to the net bulging, and from there, they never stood a chance.

The Blades should see this upcoming game as an opportunity to instill confidence back into the squad having lost 2-1 to Burnley at Turf Moor, sealing their spot in the play-offs. However, whilst it is a longshot, there is still a chance that the Potters could get relegated – sitting four points above the drop zone with two games to go.

Team News

Stoke City have no new injury concerns following their heavy defeat to Leeds, however they will be without Eric Bocat and Jordan Thompson for the rest of the campaign, as will former Blade Enda Stevens.

Sheffield United, like Stoke, have no fresh injuries to report from the Easter Monday fixtures, but Chris Wilder did admit that some of United’s players have been playing with a few “bumps and bruises” in recent weeks, hinting at a few changes on Friday night.

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SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – MARCH 28: Chris Wilder, manager of Sheffield United, look on before the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Coventry City FC at Bramall Lane on March 28, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

The debate is already in full swing across social media and fan forums – how should United approach these final two games?

Some fans are calling for the strongest possible lineup against Stoke, and Blackburn Rovers, hoping to build momentum and confidence ahead of the Championship play-offs. Others believe it’s a perfect opportunity to rest key players and avoid any risk of injury before the all-important semi-finals.

Personally, I’d lean towards resting players like Gustavo Hamer, Vinicius Souza, and Harrison Burrows; they are the ‘big moment’ players. Maybe give them a short run-out late in this upcoming Stoke game, 15 minutes or so, just to keep their match sharpness up and rhythm, but there’s no need to push them.

With our play-off place already secured, these games can be treated more like pre-season friendlies. It’s a chance to fine-tune tactics, test the squad depth, and keep legs fresh. The key is finding that sweet spot: protect your stars, keep the squad fit and focused, and use the time wisely to build some belief heading into the play-offs.

Stoke City’s Impact Player For This Game

Million Manhoef has probably been the best outfield player for the Potters, and if it wasn’t for his contributions of five goals and five assists, along with a bunch of highly impactful appearances, Stoke may well be even closer to the relegation zone.

The 23-year-old Dutchman is too good to be playing for a Stoke City team that just consistently underperforms every season since their relegation from the Premier League, and I would not at all be surprised if he leaves for an eye-watering fee (by the Championship’s standards) in the summer.

Manhoef, operating as an inverted right-winger for most of the season, has averaged two key passes (88th percentile), four shot-creating actions (88th percentile), five take-on attempts (91st percentile) with two of them being successful (84th percentile) per 90.

As his performance metrics suggest, he is very much an explosive and exciting action waiting to happen, so whoever plays at left-back for the Blades will have their work cut out.

That being said, the performance from the entire team against Leeds was awful – most of the players didn’t look remotely bothered. Manhoef was substituted off at half-time for Ben Gibson, with Mark Robins clearly trying to limit the damage; Manhoef’s performance was certainly not the reason for it as he was the only one to create a chance across the entire game.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

It remains to be seen whether the Blades will make wholesale changes or not, but I have a feeling we will see Kieffer Moore start for the second game running.

Despite defeat at Burnley, I actually thought we carried more of a threat in and around the box than recent weeks – the issue was actually getting there, whereas in the 4-2-3-1 shape, we seem to get in the final third frequently, but then kill off our own moves by slowing it down too much.

With Moore and Cannon up top, we had two box strikers waiting to spring to life inside the 18-yard box, and it was no surprise to me to see Cannon score his first goal for the club because he was part of a traditional duo up top.

I’ve seen people criticise the signing of Moore pretty much all season, but I will continue to stress that he was far from a bad signing. People forget that he was playing with a hernia in the opening few months of the season, thus causing discomfort and negatively impacting performances. Now, he seems to be 100% fit, and his towering presence and experience will be huge to have for the play-offs.

My Prediction

Stoke City were embarrassingly poor against Leeds at Elland Road, and I really don’t expect them to show a good response on Friday night, even if they face a heavily rotated Sheffield United starting eleven.

According to Opta’s expected league table, the Potters should find themselves in 22nd place as we speak. They don’t create many chances from open-play (45 non-penalty xG = 18th), and their conversion rate is poor too (8.8% = 20th). At the other end, they have given up the second highest non-penalty xG in the league (66.4). Viktor Johansson has stopped Stoke from further embarrassment this season; his shot-stopping ability has seen them concede ten goals less than they should have, only James Trafford and Michael Cooper have prevented more.

The Blades should get a win and a clean sheet here against very poor opposition.

Stats taken from FBref and Opta.