Sheffield United: 'We're focusing on this, not Liverpool' - Chris Wilder says fringe players will get chance to impress as Blades face Sunderland in Carabao Cup

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says his fringe players will get the chance to impress when the Blades face Sunderland in the Carabao Cup tomorrow.
Chris Wilder manager of Sheffield Utd - Simon Bellis/SportimageChris Wilder manager of Sheffield Utd - Simon Bellis/Sportimage
Chris Wilder manager of Sheffield Utd - Simon Bellis/Sportimage

United rang the changes in the last round as they beat Championship side Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at Bramall Lane, and have been handed a tie with the League One big boys as their reward.

Wilder will again change his team around, especially with Saturday’s home clash with European champions Liverpool looming on the horizon.

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And the United manager said: “That will again open it up for players on the fringes to stake a claim, especially with quite a big game looming on Saturday.

“But we’re looking at this game first, we have to.

“It should mean a lot to our players to pull on a shirt and to do as well as we can, regardless of changes or competition.

“We’ve got an experienced group and some boys will want to show me and our fans that they’re ready to play in the first team as well. We’ve had a few injuries and suspensions really and all of a sudden the squad whittles down pretty quickly.

“That’s the reason we have a competitive squad and we're looking forward to seeing how they go.”

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One player who will be absent against Sunderland is David McGoldrick, who tweaked a muscle in the build-up to Saturday’s win at Everton.

“He won’t be available and he’ll be touch and go for the weekend,” Wilder said.

“It’s a disappointing one for David because he’d have loved a goal, but his general overall play has been outstanding. It’s disappointing for him to miss out, for him and for us.”

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