Preview: Sheffield United vs. Rotherham United - prediction, team news, lineups

The Blades find themselves unbeaten in the last seven league outings with 17 points on the board, while their visitors sit seventh with 10 points following their promotion last year.

Match preview

On the back of an opening-day defeat away at Watford, Sheffield United have quickly established themselves as one of the teams to watch in the Championship promotion race this season, now boasting a seven-game league unbeaten run built on the foundations of their eye-catching home form.

Victories at Bramall Lane over Millwall, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers, alongside a 2-2 draw away at Middlesbrough, quickly improved the Blades' standing, before they travelled to Luton Town and forced a 1-1 draw thanks to Oli McBurnie's second-half equaliser.

Their perfect home record was then maintained with a dominant 4-0 win over Reading, as McBurnie opened the scoring and Iliman Ndiaye chipped in with a goal alongside a brace from Anel Ahmedhodzic, and Paul Heckingbottom's side would most recently travel to Hull City last Sunday in search of a first away victory of the campaign.

McBurnie gave them a first-half lead with his third goal in as many games, and, after fighting hard to protect their advantage, the Blades saw the points all but sealed in the 75th minute as Sander Berge netted their second, keeping them at the top of the division with 17 points from eight games as a result.

Now in even higher spirits following a hard-fought away win, Sheffield United will also take plenty of confidence from their eye-catching form at Bramall Lane and will aim to make it five wins from five on home turf on Saturday.

Rotherham United, meanwhile, will make the short trip across South Yorkshire hoping to end that perfect record, having enjoyed a positive start of their own this season.

Following another promotion to the Championship under the management of Paul Warne last time around, the Millers have managed to accumulate 10 points thus far, while having a game in hand on most sides around them, with only one league defeat on their record.

That singular loss followed an important 2-0 home win over Birmingham City, as they travelled to fellow promoted side Sunderland and were comfortably beaten 3-0 with Ross Stewart netting a brace and Jack Clarke adding a third.

Hoping to bounce back from that disappointing result, the Millers faced another tough test at home to newly-relegated Watford last time out, but they were able to take an early lead through Richard Wood, and, after Vakoun Issouf Bayo levelled the contest on the half-hour mark, the South Yorkshire outfit were still left pleased with a point.

Having now given themselves a crucial start in their bid to survive the drop this season, Rotherham will aim to keep building confidence with what would be an impressive scalp at the weekend.

Sheffield United Championship form:

Rotherham United Championship form:

Rotherham United form (all competitions):

Team News

Sheffield United continue to contend with a long injury list, as defenders Jack Robinson, Ciaran Clark, Jack O'Connell and Jayden Bogle remain out of action alongside midfielders John Fleck and Ben Osborn and captain Billy Sharp.

Their defensive concerns were worsened even further away at Hull, as Max Lowe was forced off with an injury, meaning Rhys Norrington-Davies will shift out to a left-wing-back role with Chris Basham joining John Egan and Anel Ahmedhodzic in the back three from the outset.

Elsewhere, Manchester City loanee Tommy Doyle will again join Oliver Norwood in midfield, and, while their is plenty of competition for attacking spots with the likes of Rhian Brewster, Reda Khadra and James McAtee pushing for starts, Iliman Ndiaye, Sander Berge and Oli McBurnie will not be easily displaced, and Heckingbottom could opt to keep the front three unchanged given their impressive form.

After an impressive result against Watford, Rotherham may travel to Bramall Lane unchanged, with defenders Grant Hall and Cameron Humphreys remaining sidelined by injuries.

Given those absences Lee Peltier and Wes Harding could again play in a back three alongside captain Richard Wood, who has netted four goals form defence so far this season, while Dan Barlaser, Oliver Rathbone and Ben Wiles are all set to keep their places in midfield.

Cohen Bramall and exciting Arsenal loanee Brooke Norton-Cuffy should offer attacking support from wing-back roles, while Chiedozie Ogbene will lead the line alongside either Tom Eaves or Conor Washington, who was a member of the Sheffield United squad that won promotion to the Premier League in the 2018-19 campaign.

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Foderingham; Basham, Egan, Ahmedhodzic; Baldock, Norwood, Doyle, Norrington-Davies; Berge, Ndiaye; McBurnie

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Harding, Wood, Peltier; Norton-Cuffy, Rathbone, Barlaser, Wiles, Bramall; Washington, Ogbene

We say: Sheffield United 2-0 Rotherham United

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