Hull vs Sheff Utd Prediction: Blades to cut through winless hosts

The EFL Championship returns on Friday (20:00, Sky Sports Main Event) with a Yorkshire derby between Hull City and Sheffield United at the MKM Stadium. The Tigers have made a poor start to the season, drawing with Bristol City (1-1), Plymouth Argyle (1-1) and Millwall (0-0) before suffering a 2-0 defeat at Leeds United last time out, while the Blades are unbeaten after four matches.

Read below for my Hull vs Sheff Utd prediction and all the latest team news ahead of this clash on Humberside.

Team News

Ryan Longman suffered a dislocated shoulder in Hull’s pre-season friendly with Reading at the start of August and remains out after undergoing an operation to rectify the issue.

Turkish winger Dogukan Sinik is still waiting to make his debut after joining from Hatayspor during the summer with an injury. The 25-year-old’s availability will be assessed before Friday, as will Andy Smith’s, who wasn’t a part of the squad for the visit of Millwall or the trip to Elland Road last time out.

Jamaica international Kasey Palmer made his Hull debut from the bench against Leeds after joining from Coventry City and a substitute outing is probably the best he can hope for tomorrow as he returns late from international duty.

Football Odds

Sheff Utd beat Watford 1-0 at Bramall Lane in their final game before the international break and boss Chris Wilder could keep faith with the XI that served him well against the Hornets.

Wilder will also be boosted by the returns of Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks, with the latter having observed concussion protocol last time out.

Hull vs Sheff Utd Odds

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Hull are 11/5 to secure their first victory of the season on Friday, giving the Tigers an implied win probability of 31.3%, while Sheff Utd are 21/20, or a 48.8% chance, to win away for the second time this term.

The draw is available at 9/4, both teams to score at 4/6, and over 2.5 total goals at 5/6.

Kieffer Moore missed a penalty for the Blades against Watford but scored for Wales in midweek and is 7/4 favourite in the anytime scorer market.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score – Sheff Utd & Yes @ 3/1

Sheff Utd suffered an early exit from the Carabao Cup last month, losing 1-0 to Barnsley in the second round, but after four games in the EFL Championship, the Blades remain unbeaten, collecting eight points from a possible 12, although a two-point deduction handed to the club at the start of the season means they only sit on six points.

There were some disappointing moments last month, not least the two-goal lead they blew at home to Queens Park Rangers, who were down to 10 men before scoring an 88th-minute equaliser, but considering how they suffered in the Premier League during the first half of the year, supporters will be content with the start they have made – but they will expect more to come.

Certainly, there is an expectation that Wilder’s charges should be picking up all three points at the MKM Stadium on Friday. Hull are winless in their first five games of the season, drawing three of their four Championship matches and exiting the Carabao Cup in the first round to United’s biggest rivals, Sheffield Wednesday (1-2).

The Tigers haven’t even scored in their last two outings, being held to a goalless draw at home by Millwall before losing at Leeds last time out. The summer departures of Jade Philogene, Fabio Carvalho, Liam Delap, Jacob Greaves, Tyler Morton and Ozan Tufan – six key players last season – have hit the club hard.

The fact that they have lost just once in the Championship this term, and drawn both of their home games, should offer Hull some encouragement ahead of this Friday’s fixture, but it’s fair to say Sheff Utd, who won at Preston (0-2) on the opening weekend and drew 1-1 with Norwich City at Carrow Road, should present a tougher test than Bristol City or Millwall.

I fancy the Blades to make it back-to-back wins either side of the international break, but I’m backing the hosts to at least end their barren run in front of goal. A couple of weeks of training should do the Tigers the world of good, allowing head coach Tim Walter to bed in the likes of Algerian attacker Mohamed Belloumi and Colombian midfielder Gustavo Puerta.

Two of Hull’s four league matches this season have seen both teams score, while Sheff Utd have only kept two clean sheets in six matches across all competitions.

Anytime Scorer – Gustavo Hamer @ 16/5

Arguably the best bit of business done by the Blades last month was keeping hold of Dutch midfielder Gustavo Hamer. The 27-year-old was heavily linked with a Bramall Lane exit, with higher-division clubs and even Leeds United reportedly after his services, but the deadline passed without the former Coventry City man being prised away from the club.

Hamer hasn’t scored in his last two starts but he began the season in fine form, netting in Sheff Utd’s first two league outings, and with his future – at least in the short term – all sorted, he should be back playing for the Blades with freedom.

During a three-season spell with Coventry, he established himself as one of the finest talents in the second tier, particularly in his final year for the Sky Blues. He scored 11 times and registered 10 assists in 44 league appearances during the 2022/23 campaign before moving to South Yorkshire, and he showed his attacking prowess in the Premier League last term as he struck four goals for one of the division’s worst-ever sides.

Hamer should be hitting double figures for goals and assists again in the Championship, and I think 16/5 is a good enough price to back him to get back in the goalscoring groove on Friday.

Offers

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