Chris Wilder is expected to revert to a familiar formation when his third spell as Sheffield United manager gets underway tomorrow afternoon. The Blades chief returned to Bramall Lane earlier this week after the sacking of Ruben Selles.
His homecoming clash is an attractive one at home to Charlton Athletic as the Blades look to get their torrid season so far up and running with a rare positive victory to give their supporters something to cheer about.
Gus Hamer and Tyrese Campbell could both return to the starting XI after starting last Friday’s 5-0 hammering at Ipswich Town on the bench while Wilder is not expected to spring any huge surprises in terms of his team’s shape against Nathan Jones’ side.
“No, I’m possibly going to pick the same formation that 29-30,000 Sheffield United fans would have picked,” Wilder admitted in his pre-match press conference. “So in there, there might be some positional changes slightly, and personnel changes as well.
“It's small steps. It's my first selection coming back and we're confident that we've got it right. But this is a strong squad as well and we’re going to have a really strong bench as well. So the 20 that gets selected is going to be a powerful group and there are some going to be some some good players not even in the 20 as well.
“I do feel at this particular stage that we're a little bit bloated, we're a little bit overstocked on players and we've got some good players coming back or on the way back. This is a really powerful squad and I'm lucky enough to be given the opportunity to get the most out of it. And that's what I intend to do.”
With that in mind we tasked our man to step into Wilder’s shoes and select the side he would send out to face Charlton - has he got it just about right or would you do anything differently?
5. Harrison Burrows
One of United's leading lights has been a shadow of himself so far this term but he will hope that Wilder's return, plus a likely shift of personnel in front of him, will lead to an upturn in fortunes both collectively and individually | Ed Sykes/Getty Images Photo: Ed Sykes/Getty Images
6. Alex Matos
It was a nightmare debut for the former Chelsea man on Friday night but hopefully his presence in midfield will help shore up United, as Vini Souza did so effectively last term | Sheffield United
7. Sydie Peck
Captain for the day at Ipswich and it'll be interesting to see who gets the armband this time around, with Wilder and his staff considering leaving Hamer to focus on his own game rather than worrying about anything else that comes with being the skipper Photo: Ed Sykes
8. Chieo Ogbene
The Ipswich loanee is one of the players that has most impressed Wilder since his return earlier this week and the smart money seems to be on him starting on the right wing, with Barry and Brooks virtually anonymous last time out | Milos Bicanski/Getty Images Photo: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images