Chris Wilder will be more clued up on how strong Sheffield United’s automatic promotion credentials are by the time February is over and done with, as some tough fixtures begin to greet his side.
Playoff hopefuls Middlesbrough are the Blades’ next opponents in the unpredictable Championship, with a tricky away trip to Luton Town then following this game, before a box-office clash with table-toppers Leeds United closes out the hectic month.
Wilder will just have to hope his side doesn’t fall victim to another Hull City-style collapse on their own patch against Michael Carrick’s Boro, with Ben Brereton Diaz potentially facing the chop from the XI for this test later today.
Why Brereton Diaz could be excluded from the side
This might well feel like a strange alteration for Wilder to make, considering the Chilean did pick up an assist last time out to help his loan employers overcome Portsmouth 2-1, but it was far from the most convincing showing from the 25-year-old overall.
Indeed, the Southampton flop would only manage to complete 11 accurate passes all game long, whilst also never threatening the Pompey goal with any meaningful efforts, having trudged off on the 72nd-minute mark with no shots attempted.
It wasn’t all Brereton Diaz’s fault, however, with his manager shoehorning him into an unfamiliar position down the right wing when the ex-Blackburn Rovers man is more suited to the left flank or a traditional centre-forward role.
He is unlikely to be moved out to this more favourable left wing position, however, with Gustavo Hamer starring once more from this spot versus John Mousinho’s visitors, with his opening strike setting the Blades on their way to a hard-fought victory.
Therefore, Brereton Diaz might have to make do with a spot on the substitutes bench against Boro – if Wilder doesn’t fancy throwing him in up top.
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The 57-year-old’s quick ability to change things up mid-game worked wonders against Pompey, with two of his second-half substitutes combining well to gift the Blades a golden late winner.
Both Rhian Brewster and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi linked up to devastating effect to gift their side their 20th win of the league season, with the Crystal Palace loanee now perhaps in contention to start on the right wing.
The “remarkable” winger – as he has been referred to in the past by ex-Palace boss Roy Hodgson – confidently tapped home the dramatic winner to send Bramall Lane into delirium, with this certainly not the only time Rak-Sakyi has made his presence known from the bench this campaign.
Averaging just 51 minutes of action this season when unleashed into games, that hasn’t stopped the promising Eagles loanee from notching up a reasonable tally of five goals and two assists from 24 overall contests, meaning Wilder could be prepared to start him against Boro to try and catch Carrick’s men off-guard.
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Rak-Sakyi’s league numbers (24/25) |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Rak-Sakyi |
|
Games played |
24 |
|
Games started |
16 |
|
Minuted averaged* |
51 mins |
|
Goals scored |
5 |
|
Assists |
2 |
|
Shots per game |
1.2 |
|
Big chances missed |
4 |
|
Big chances created |
3 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
Wilder could look to be playing on the visitors’ frailties by launching Rak-Sakyi into the first-team spotlight, having seen the chaos Enzo Le Fee caused down the left channel versus Boro recently, alongside Patrick Roberts also causing Ryan Giles all sorts of bother down the alternate wing in the 3-2 Sunderland victory.
Known for being a tricky and slick winger on his day, adding in Rak-Sakyi as a fresh change might well be just what the Blades need to beat their next opponents in some style, rather than nervously getting over the line with Brereton Diaz in the XI.
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