Sheffield United-Tottenham is a match in the round of 16 of the FA Cup and is played on Wednesday at 20:55: odds, predictions, TV and streaming.
London derbies have been a blessing in disguise for Tottenham for some time now, as they have come back to win two in a row in the league in London derbies with West Ham and Chelsea. Hammers and Blues both surrendered 2-0 at the Hotspurs Stadium, while in previous weeks it was Fulham and Crystal Palace who had raised the white flag against Spurs. The only defeat suffered by a team from the same city in 2023 remains that of 15 January against the hated Arsenal.
Guided by Cristian Stellini, Antonio Conte’s deputy – the coach from Salento is taking a short break due to the after-effects of his gall bladder operation – Kane and his team-mates on Sunday contributed to exacerbate Chelsea’s crisis, beaten thanks to goals from Skipp and the captain-cum-centre forward. A victory that is worth double, considering that the Blues, despite being in a black crisis and remaining far from the Champions League zone, remain a potential threat for fourth place. Which at the moment is occupied by Tottenham: Spurs have four points more than Newcastle, but it must not be forgotten that the Magpies, as well as Liverpool, still have two games to make up compared to them. Which is why they cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
The Blades dream of direct promotion
Before the Premier League match against Wolverhampton, which anticipates by a few days the return leg of the Champions League round of 16 against AC Milan, Tottenham will be engaged in the fifth round of the FA Cup, where so far they have had the better of two lower-ranked teams such as Portsmouth and Preston North End.
This time they will face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. The Blades are trying to get back upstairs after relegation two years ago: in the Championship behind Burnley, who are doing a league of their own and have already mortgaged promotion, are Paul Heckingbottom’s red-and-whites. The advantage over third-placed Middlesbrough is substantial – potentially ten points – but not such that they can already throw in the towel. Sheffield United are coming off a 1-0 win over Watford, which enabled the Blades to wrap up two defeats in a row to Middlesbrough and Milwall.
The Prediction
Tottenham have never snubbed the most important national cup so far, despite rotating many players in the two matches with Portsmouth and Preston. In the away match at Bramall Lane, however, they could encounter some difficulties: the stadium of Sheffield United, a team that aspires to leap up the category, has only been violated three times in the last twenty matches between the various competitions. And in the Championship, the Blades boast the second-best defence in the tournament behind the crushing Burnley. Spurs favourites, then, but in a potentially rough contest that could end in a low-scoring affair.
The likely Sheffield United-Tottenham line-up
- SHEFFIELD UNITED (3-5-2): Davies; Basham, Egan, Robinson; Bogle, Berge, Norwood, Fleck, Lowe; Ndiaye, McBurnie.
- TOTTENHAM (3-4-2-1): Forster; Tanganga, Sanchez, Lenglet; Pedro Porro, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Danjuma, Son; Kane.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-1
