Sheffield United sent derby-day warning amid big Sheffield Wednesday injury update
Sheffield United head to their Steel City rivals' backyard on Sunday.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Röhl hopes to give his fans a ‘special’ Sunday afternoon when Steel City rivals Sheffield United go to Hillsborough.
United will expect to fall from top spot in the Championship by the time they walk out at Hillsborough, with Leeds United a point behind with two games to come before derby day. Chris Wilder’s side went a point clear on Tuesday night but it really should have been three, with Bristol City’s Mark Sykes cancelling out Tyrese Campbell’s opener on 90 minutes to see their game end 1-1.
Wilder described his side’s performance as ‘lethargic’ while rivals Wednesday were anything but as they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Norwich City, scoring all three goals in 12 second-half minutes. Owls captain Barry Bannan led a post-match on-pitch huddle once victory was confirmed at Carrow Road and it appears Sunday’s visit of United is already firmly in focus.
Röhl’s United warning
“I was just listening to my team,” Röhl told The Star of those post-match scenes. “It is sometimes good, we have a lot of meetings where I speak, speak, speak. In this situation I was listening. It was that we have a strong mentality, that we are hungry, that we have to be humble and that we create some momentum with the last two games. Now we are looking forward to Sunday.
“We want to give a big thank you to our massive supporters. Two games away in Plymouth and then here? It is not easy. But we give them two lots of three points and on Sunday we want to give them a special afternoon.”
Bannan played a big part in his side’s comeback but limped off before full-time following a collision, fuelling concern the 35-year-old could be injured. With such a quick turnaround going into Sunday’s derby, any knock could prove disastrous but the Wednesday captain looks to have avoided such an issue.
“This is a huge step forward, that Baz now gives me a signal,” Röhl said. “Last season maybe he would continue and try, but now he realises how important it is that we have energy and we have players that are waiting for minutes and moments. It is good to see.”
And on the prospect of Bannan being a possible doubt for Sunday, he added: “No, it should be OK.”
Blades derby team news
United will be hoping to give fans their own special afternoon at Hillsborough on Sunday, having won the previous Steel City derby at Bramall Lane 1-0 back in November. The Blades could fall out of the top-two on Saturday but know automatic promotion is still in their hands with just nine games to go.
Whether they can take Vini Souza to Hillsborough with them remains to be seen, with the combative midfielder missing Tuesday night’s draw against Bristol with a hamstring injury that forced him off against Preston last weekend. Wilder does hope to have the Brazilian back available but he, like all Unitedites, will be nervously waiting on the results of a scan later this week.
Tyrese Campbell, who scored the decisive winner against Wednesday earlier this season, also limped off with an issue but Wilder confirmed it was a ‘contact injury’, with he and £10million January signing Tom Cannon both expected to be available on Sunday. Centre-back Anel Ahmedhodzic got 13 minutes off the bench on Tuesday, avoiding a 10th booking and subsequent two-game ban.