Football – England – League One
Saturday 3rd May 2014 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Sheffield United will go in search of extending their unbeaten seven match run with a win when they entertain bottom half club Coventry City at Bramall Lane in their last match of the season as they look to end this term on a positive note.
Sheffield United fans are all probably thinking about what could have been had Nigel Clough been appointed sooner or if they’d made a better start to the season they could have been challenging for promotion in the play-offs. Clough will therefore be ensuring that his players stay grounded for just one more match here as he makes his preparations for next season, and with just one defeat from their last fourteen at Bramall Lane, they look set to nick 7th place off Swindon Town.
The Blades’ overall home record stands at 11-7-4 29/17 and a lot of hard work has gone into resurrecting this record as they’ve scored some impressive home wins such as 2-0 over Peterborough and 1-0 over Rotherham along with holding the likes of Brentford and Leyton Orient to draws along with keeping eight clean sheets to date.
Coventry City manager Steven Pressley could also be forgiven for wondering about what could have been as his side seemed to be mounting an amazing play-off challenge earlier in the season despite being handed a ten point penalty before a ball was even kicked.
However, Coventry just couldn’t maintain the performances amidst the transfer of then leading goalscorer Leon Clarke (15 goals) as financial obligations became increasingly more important, but if Pressley can keep his current squad together, I see no reason why they too can’t be challenging for a play-off spot next term.
Just two league wins from their last twelve tells it’s own story and in the end a huge wave of relief as the Sky Blues avoided a last-minute relegation battle thanks to holding League One champions Wolves to a 1-1 draw in the recent west midlands derby. But Coventry’s poor away record of 7-5-10 32/36 where they’ve won just one away match out of their last eight could spell trouble for them at Bramall Lane this afternoon.
The Blades will be keen to finish their season off with a win and with Coventry’s League One status already preserved, the hosts should take care of business here. I’ll back Sheffield United for a 2-1 home win.
Pick: Sheffield United straight win @ 1.91 Coral looks good value
