Sheffield United will try to be the first team to beat Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers twice this season at Molineux this weekend.

Can Wolves be stopped?

Wolves actually come into this game not at the peak of their powers, but even when they have slipped up, Nuno Espírito Santo's side have never been fully punished and it's allowed them to stay the 11 points clear they are right now at the top of the Championship table.

Wolves who already have the strongest squad in the league managed to strengthen this unit even more on transfer deadline day by bringing back a familiar face to their fans in the form of striker Benik Afobe on loan from AFC Bournemouth for the rest of the season. Afobe scored 22 goals in 46 games for the club from January 2015 till January 2016, so he offers the Wolves boss another fantastic forward option.

Revival halted

After what was an awful end to 2017 for Sheffield United, which saw them drop out of a top of the table battle with Wolves, the Blades had made a good start to 2018 by going unbeaten in their first five games of the year and only conceding two goals.

However, two games out of that five match unbeaten run were wins in the FA Cup while their league form has never picked up since the end of November. Their most recent game was in the league this past Tuesday and they lost it at the death against Aston Villa to leave themsleves still outside the playoff positions.

Chris Wilder's team will take conficence though, from beating Wolves earlier in the season and should relish the chance to be the first side to beat them twice in a campaign where most at this level see them as invincible.

Team news

Wolves have no new injury problems with defender Phil Ofosu-Ayeh still recovering from a long-term ankle issue.

Wilder also has no fresh absentees, whilst striker Ched Evans, coming back from injury, and new signing Ricky Holmes will be pushing for starts.

Stats

Wolves have lost just one of their last 11 home league games against Sheffield United, who are winless in their last 11 Championship matches against teams who've started that game top of the league table.

Wolves' 11-game unbeaten home run was ended by Nottingham Forest in their last game at Molineux, they haven't lost two in a row at home since February last year.

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About the author
Jamie Joslyn
20 year old sports journalism at Sunderland University, huge Sunderland fan