As it happened: Sheffield United 1-0 Aston Villa in the Premier League
(Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)

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21:04a year ago

That's all for now!

I've been Josh Chapman and it's been a pleasure to bring you all of this evening's action. See you all next time!
21:01a year ago

Match Stats

Credit: Premier League
20:55a year ago

FULL TIME! SHEFFIELD UNITED 1-0 ASTON VILLA

Referee Rob Jones blows the final whistle and Sheffield United have held on for what could be a vital three points in their fight for survival.

David McGoldrick's first half goal the difference between the two teams, despite the Blades playing with 10-men for a lot of the second half.

Villa threw everything at Sheffield United but could not find a way through the Blades' rear-guard who defended heroically.

Final score at Bramall Lane, Sheffield united 1-0 Aston Villa.

20:51a year ago

90+'

Blades clear their lines, but Villa still have the ball...
20:51a year ago

90+'

Blades clinging on for dear life. Villa throwing the kitchen sink here.

Corner in the final minute to Villa...

20:49a year ago

90+' FOUR MINUTES ADDED TIME

The board has gone up and it's FOUR MINUTES added on at the end.

Martinez comes up for yet another corner, but the Blades clear again.

Bodies everywhere in red and white, fighting to hold on.

20:48a year ago

90'

Sliding clearance from John Fleck. Watkins pulls the ball back across, and Flack slides in and clears it for a corner.

Konsa forces Ramsdale into a superb save from the corner and the Blades can breathe again, momentarily...

20:46a year ago

89' BLADES SUB

As expected, Oli McBurnie comes on, this time to replace Oli Burke. Not sure whether that's a tactical change to take advantage of McBurnie's height, or whether Burke has picked up a slight knock. Burke replaced Brewster on the hour mark.
20:45a year ago

88'

Villa still pressing but United coming up with the answers for now. Oli McBurnie readying himself to come on, by the looks of it.
20:42a year ago

85'

Villa pressing but so far they haven't created any opportunity that has caused Aaron Ramsdale or the Blades defenders any issues. 

5 minutes to go!

20:40a year ago

82'

Villa free kick right hand channel, level with the box.

El Ghazi lifts it in but can't beat the first man and Oli Burke heads away.

20:39a year ago

81' VILLA SUB

Keinan Davis comes on for Bertrand Traore as Dean Smith's final change. 
20:38a year ago

80'

Wave after wave of Villa attack is broken up by for Oli Burke to counter attack down the right, but he ended up running into trouble as Blades players couldn't get up with him in time.
20:35a year ago

78'

Villa corner but El Mohamady heads over. 
20:35a year ago

77'

Blades clinging on here. Pinball in the Blades box, but no Villa can quite get a clean enough contact on an effort goalward.
20:33a year ago

76'

Actually looks more like the Blades have gone to a 4-4-1 with Osborn playing LM and Fleck and Norwood a CM pairing.
20:31a year ago

73' BLADES SUB

Goalscorer David McGoldrick is replaced by Ben Osborn. Looks like Sheffield United will go back to a 5-3-1 with Osborn slotting in at LWB and Enda Stevens moving across to LCB.
20:29a year ago

71'

Konsa adjudged to have fouled McGoldrick, but in all honesty, it's six of one...

Fleck delivers from the left but Villa play themselves out of trouble.

Burke picks up a loose ball for United but runs straight into trouble.

20:27a year ago

69' VILLA SUB

Ross Barkley and Morgan Sanson come on to replace Marvelous Nakamba and Jacob Ramsey.

Dean Smith rolling the dice here.

20:25a year ago

67'

Potential goal saving clearance there. John McGinn hits one on the half volley from the edge of the area which leaves Ramsdale diving across. But Ampadu diverts the effort behind for a corner.

The resulting corner comes to nothing.

20:24a year ago

66'

Villa free kick in a dangerous area just outside the right hand side of the area...

Traore delivers but the Blades clear.

20:21a year ago

63'

Villa unsurprisingly seeing more of the ball now but not causing Aaron Ramsdale any problems so far. That's a few times now that crosses have gone straight to him to claim.
20:18a year ago

60' BLADES SUB

Chris Wilder makes his first change of the evening. Oli Burke replaces Rhian Brewster.
20:17a year ago

59'

Anyway, after all that, the resulting free kick is comfortable for Aaron Ramsdale to catch down low.
20:16a year ago

57' RED CARD - VAR

Wow. Well I'm stunned. VAR advised referee Rob Jones to go and have a look at the monitor to check for a potential denial of a goalscoring opportunity.

The referee changes his original decision and upgrades his initial yellow to a red card for Phil Jagielka.

Blades down to 10 men for half an hour.

20:13a year ago

55' YELLOW CARD

Phil Jagielka gets his name in the book after lunging into a challenge on El Ghazi. 

Hang on though, VAR are checking this...

20:12a year ago

54' OFF THE BAR

So close to an equaliser. Great ball in from Targett, Watkins gets a flick header on, and it beats everyone, apart from the woodwork.

The Blades survive.

20:10a year ago

52'

Ethan Ampadu gets a telling off from referee Rob Jones as he tries to steal a few yards on his throw in. No more than a talking to, though.
20:06a year ago

48'

Foul on Traore from Bryan.

Villa play it short and work it forward. Traore gets a shooting opportunity after McGinn nods it down, but Jagielka flies in with a block to deny the ball's route to goal.

20:03a year ago

46' SECOND HALF UNDERWAY

Right, hope you've had your half time oranges etc. We're back underway.

SUFC 1-1 AVFC

19:52a year ago

HALF TIME: Sheffield United 1-0 Aston VIlla

Rob Jones blows for half time and it's the Blades with an unlikely lead at Bramall Lane, thanks to David McGoldrick's sixth Premier League goal of the season.

Villa have seen more of the ball, but they have not really forced Aaron Ramsdale into many goal-saving stops.

Equally, neither have Sheffield United, but it's them who lead at the break.

19:49a year ago

45+' YELLOW CARD

John McGinn is in the ways here. David McGoldrick slides in as Villa look to take a free kick quickly, but he doesn't get near the ball. A strikers challenge, if you will...

He's the first name to go into Rob Jones' book.

19:47a year ago

45+'

One minute added time here!
19:45a year ago

43'

Crunching but fair challenge from John Fleck on his name and nationality counterpart, John McGinn.

McGinn stays down for a bit but is now back on his feet.

19:41a year ago

40'

Brewster stings the palms! Loose ball picked up in te middle of the pitch, Brewster feeds Fleck down the left. The ball is pulled back just outside the area where the youngster hits one first time, hard and low, but Martinez is equal to it.
19:40a year ago

38'

David McGoldrick gets into space and has a go inside the area, but he drags his shot well wide of the goal.
19:36a year ago

34'

Ooft that was close to a very special equaliser.

Ball played into the feet of Traore on the edge of the 18 yard box. He twist and turns his way through four Sheffield United players before dragging his shot just wide of Ramsdale's far post.

What a goal that would've been.

19:32a year ago

30' - GOAL! Sheffield United 1-0 Aston Villa

Lovely build up play. David McGoldrick pings a beautiful cross-field ball to George Baldock. Baldock cuts inside and shoots on his left foot, and McGoldrick is ghosting in at the back post, unmarked, to tap home.

Blades lead!

19:27a year ago

25'

Half chance for Villa. Ollie Watkins leaps highest to head back into the middle of the box. Bertrand Traore is there, but he can't get over it enough and heads over the bar.
19:26a year ago

24'

Corner to Villa. El Ghazi swings on in but it's headed behind for another.

This time Lundstram clears away, but not very far. Villa recycle and end up getting a throw.

Finally the Blades clear through Ampadu.

19:24a year ago

21'

Blades fortunate! Oli Norwood misses a header and Watkins breaks through. Kean Bryan doesn't get the ball and brings Watkins down just outside the box - referee Rob Jones unmoved.

You have to think that if that was inside the box, VAR would've had a say there...

19:20a year ago

19'

Ollie Watkins gets slipped in round the back. He shoots well but Aaron Ramsdale gets down to parry away before gathering at the second opportunity.
19:18a year ago

18'

Villa clear their lines this time as John Fleck's corner was headed away.
19:18a year ago

16'

Corner for the Blades. Enda Stevens recycles after Konsa heads away initially. Martinez comes flying out but gets nowhere near it. David McGoldrick hits on the volley and it goes out for another...
19:15a year ago

14'

Not a great deal to report here so far. Both teams still finding their feet. Some sloppy passes from both sides too.
19:10a year ago

8'

Big chance for the Blades as George Baldock intercepts as Villa look to play out.

He feeds John Lundstram who unselfishly tries to feed Baldock rather than shoot but his pass doesn't have enough on it and Villa recover.

19:07a year ago

5'

Free kick on the left hand side taken by Traore, but he rather fluffs his delivery and the Blades clear their lines.

Straight down the other end, Oli Norwood floats a diagonal cross in but Emi Martinez comes out to claim confidently.

19:03a year ago

Match Officials

Rob Jones is the man with the whilst tonight.

Assistants: Darren Cann and Derek Eaton

Fourth Official: Tony Harrington

VAR: Graham Scott

Assistant VAR: Lee Betts

19:01a year ago

1'

We're underway here!

Aston Villa kick us off and will be defending the Bramall Lane end this half.

18:58a year ago

Here come the teams!

Both teams are out on the pitch at Bramall Lane. Stay tuned for live match updates for Sheffield United v Aston Villa.
18:39a year ago

You can breathe easy, Chris - he isn't playing!

18:26a year ago

Rhian Brewster starts for the first time since Jan 30th

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18:24a year ago

Villa Captain checking out the surroundings

18:11a year ago

Billy Sharp speaks to BT Sport

18:02a year ago

Starting XI - Aston Villa

18:01a year ago

Starting XI - Sheffield United

17:59a year ago

Lack of goals?

It's likely unrealistic to expect a goalfest tonight. Both teams have struggled to score many goals of late.

The Blades have the lowest goalscoring tally in the league with 15, and haven't scored a goal (of their own) in the league since Jayden Bogle and Billy Sharp's against West Brom over a month ago.

Whilst Villa have scored 38 goals this season, that's the joint lowest in the top nine teams. They also have not scored more than one goal in a game since their 3-2 defeat away at Burnley at the end of January.

To top it off, no team has lost more games by one goal than Sheffield United this season. Sit tight everyone.

17:52a year ago

Blades players arrive at Bramall Lane

17:49a year ago

Villa checking in at Bramall Lane

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17:30a year ago

90 minutes to go!

We are 90 minutes away from kick off at Bramall Lane!

Stay tuned for both starting XIs as they get released at 17:00 GMT.

17:27a year ago

Form Guide

Sheffield United: LLLLW

Aston Villa: WLDWL

(Latest result first)

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17:21a year ago

Previous meeting - September 2020

When the two sides met early on in the season, it was Villa who managed to claim all three points thanks to an Ezri Konsa header.

John Egan received a red card early in the tie as he was adjudged to have denied a clear goalscoring opportunity in a tussle with Ollie Watkins.

Debutant Emi Martinez saved a John Lundstram penalty after Chris Basham was brought down by Matt Targett.

However, Konsa was able to nod back across goal and into the net after Tyrone Mings initially flicked on from a corner just after the hour mark.

 

15:37a year ago

How to watch Sheffield United v Aston Villa

Tonight's game will be shown LIVE on BT Sport 1 from 17:30 GMT.

Alternatively, you can keep tabs on all the action in this VAVEL live stream!

12:04a year ago

Dean Smith talks about the Blades' spirit

"I've come across and known Chris for a long time, and I don't doubt their professionalism and pride in every game that they play.

"Knowing Chris as I do, they will be ready for every game. I think you saw that against Liverpool on Sunday - a really good spirit about their team. There's certainly no chance they'll give up in any game."

11:59a year ago

Chris Wilder ahead of Aston Villa

"You've got to get both parts of the game right. You've got to stop that ball going in the back of the net by not making silly mistakes that we've done this year, and then you've got to stick the ball in the back of the net the other way, which they have and they have those players to do that.

"The two boxes decide the game of football. They've (Villa) been great in keeping the ball out of the back of the net, and credit has to go to their backroom team, and at the top of the pitch they've got players that can win those tight games.

"I think Dean (Smith) will agree with me when I say that not a lot has changed for them from last year to this year, but they've managed to get both boxes right, and we haven't."

11:54a year ago

It's matchday!

11:49a year ago

Predicted lineup - Aston Villa

Martinez; Targett, Mings, Konsa, Elmohamady; Nakamba, McGinn, J. Ramsey; El Ghazi, Traore, Watkins

(4-3-3)

11:44a year ago

Predicted lineup - Sheffield United

Ramsdale; Baldock, Ampadu, Jagielka, Bryan, Stevens; Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck; McGoldrick, Burke.

(5-3-2)

11:39a year ago

Team News - Aston Villa

Dean Smith confirmed that the Villa captain Jack Grealish is not going to be available for selection for this game, and won't be travelling with the squad. 

Matty Cash is also still absent, but Ahmed Elmohamady stepped up excellently in his place against Leeds and will be looking to do the same again.

11:34a year ago

Team News - Sheffield United

Chris Wilder faces an injury-induced selection headache ahead of tonight's fixture. 

First choice back three of John Egan, Chris Basham, and Jack O'Connell are all out with different issues.

This game is expected to come too soon for Jayden Bogle as he recovers from his clash with Fulham's Alphonse Areola.

Sander Berge and Jack Robinson are also still sidelined, but Lys Mousset was back on the bench for Sunday's tie against Liverpool. 

11:29a year ago

Villa looking to build on recent win

Aston Villa will be hoping that they can make it back-to-back wins after they beat Leeds United 1-0 at the weekend.

Dean Smith's side proved they could win without captain Jack Grealish, and they'll be hoping for more of the same tonight.

11:24a year ago

Blades looking for a glimmer of hope

Sheffield United will be hoping for any points after they lost their 21st game of the season against Liverpool on Sunday.

They currently sit rock-bottom of the Premier League table and are 15 points from Newcastle United and safety.

11:19a year ago

Kick-off time

Tonight's fixture will kick-off at 18:00 GMT at Bramall Lane in the heart of the Steel City.
 
11:19a year ago

Welcome!

Welcome to VAVEL UK's LIVE coverage of the 2020/21 Premier League match: Sheffield United vs Aston Villa! My name is Josh Chapman and I'll be your host for this game. We will provide you with pre-game analysis, roster updates and news as it happens live here on VAVEL.com.
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