Sheffield United and  Liverpool take each other on this Sunday Evening (28th February) at Bramall Lane, with both sides needing points to keep their aspirations of survival and Champions League football alive. 

The visitors have lost their last 4 league games, whilst The Blades have not won in the league since their massive six pointer with at the start of the month with West Brom.

With both sides in relatively poor form, it could be a major chance for either of them to pick up a vital 3 points and try to kickstart a run of victories that could change their season. 

Team news - Sheffield United

As for a large part of the season, Sheffield United will be without key players due to long term injury absences. 

Sander Berge, Jack O'Connell, Chris Basham and Jayden Bogle are all out of this fixture, but are all likely to return at different points in March, which would be massive boost for Chris Wilder

Team News - Liverpool

Similar to Sheffield United, Liverpool are without long-term absentees. Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, and Joe Gomez are unlikely to play any further part this season.

Skipper Jordan Henderson has been ruled out for at least 6 weeks following an abductor injury he picked up in the Merseyside Derby. The skipper will be a huge miss for the visitors, and will probably mean another defensive partnership. 

The tragic news of the passing of Alisson Becker's father could rule out the Brazilian keeper for The Reds, with Jurgen Klopp unsure whether he will feature or not. 

However, Diogo Jota is likely to return the squad having trained all week. The Portuguese forward has been out for 13 weeks following a knee injury sustained in December. Naby Keita is also likely to feature, whilst Fabinho and James Milner will be assessed closer to matchday.

Previous meeting

The previous meeting ended 2-1 to Liverpool back in October. 

Sheffield United had managed to take the lead through a dubious penalty decision, which was calmly slotted by past Alisson by Sander Berge.

Roberto Firmino equalised just before half time before Diogo Jota scored the winner half-way through the second 45 to secure the victory.

Ones to watch

Sheffield United: Oli McBurnie

In the reverse fixture, Oli McBurnie was a menace throughout for a make shift Liverpool back line. His aerial presence caused Liverpool plenty of problems and was a useful way for Sheffield United to get up the pitch. 

With Sheffield United likely to face Liverpools 19th different centre-back partnership this season, McBurnie could be the key to breaking the Liverpool defence. 

Ozan Kabak, although bags of potential, has had a mixed start to his Liverpool career. Ben Davies, signed from Preston, is yet to feature for the Red and Nat Phillips, although good in the air, is massively unexperienced at this level. 

Chris Wilder would be wise to look to use McBurnie's strengths and the Scottish forward will be licking his lips at the prospect of playing either of those centre-backs mentioned. 

Liverpool: Diogo Jota 

The former Wolves forward has been sorely missed by Jurgen Klopp. Jota was in fine form prior to his injury, and Liverpool were top when he was in the side. Since then, they've dropped down to 5th, and are in the worst form during the Germans time at Anfield

It remains to be seen whether the forward will start or not, with their likely precautions taken to ensure he does not sustain another injury. However, he is almost certain to play some part, especially if the result is not going the visitors way. 

His movement is something different to what Liverpool already have, and given the form of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, the clinical nature of Diogo Jota should help Liverpool back in the goals, easing the burden on Mohammed Salah.  

Predicted line-up: Sheffield United

Sheffield United (5-3-2): Ramsdale; Ampadu, Jagielka, Bryan; Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; McGoldrick, Sharp

Predicted line-up: Liverpool

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Kabak, Phillips, Robertson, Wijinaldum, Jones, Thiago, Salah, Firmino, Mane

How to watch

The game is available to watch on Sky Sports this Sunday evening, with kick-off at 19:15.

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