No matter what division it takes place in, the Steel City derby remains one of the dates true football fans ring in their calendar.
In terms of sheer volume, the roof on the Bramall Lane will struggle to stay on as both United and Wednesday fans will bring the noise on Friday night.
It’s truly a match-up that captures the hearts and minds of an entire city, but what way will it swing this time around?
We’ve had a gander at the markets and come up with a delightful double that can deliver for our punters at 3/1.
Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday: Sheff Utd (-1) – 7/5
To say these are worrying times for Jos Luhukay and Sheffield Wednesday is a bit of an understatement. The Owls are on a four-game losing streak and we’re hammered 4-0 at home at the hands of Norwich City last weekend.
That defeat has raised questions about Luhukay’s future at the helm and a failure at the hands his club’s greatest rivals could spell an ironic exit for the Dutchman, as he began his time in charge against Sheffield United back in January.
There’s only about three miles between the Hillsborough and Bramall Lane stadiums, but there’s an absolute chasm separating the clubs in the Championship table, with Wednesday sitting a whopping 14 places behind The Blades. United also hold a massive upper hand in recent derbies at home, only losing one to Wednesday in their last 15 contests.
Chris Wilder’s boys have also turned Bramall Lane into a fortress of late and have only been beaten once (on the opening day by freshly relegated Swansea) all season there. With that being said, you can see why there’s little value in betting on The Blades at 4/9 for victory, but we’ve found more cut through by backing them (-1) at 7/5.
Wednesday’s defence has been more out of sorts than Theresa May’s Brexit plans of late, conceding 11 in their last four matches and we don’t see them keeping United out on Friday either.
Leon Clarke to score anytime – 7/5
To make matters even worse for Wednesday’s chances, Sheffield United boast a trump card heading into the derby, and that’s a certain Mr Leon Clarke.
The 33-year-old frontman may only have a single Championship goal to his name this season, but the stats prove he comes alive when he sees the blue and white stripes of Sheffield Wednesday in front of him.
Clarke has found the Wednesday net six times in his last six appearances against them and that record makes him our cuckoo in The Owls nest on Friday night.
The veteran striker is available at 4/1 to net the opener in this one, but we’re going to play it a little safer here and go from him to score anytime at 7/5.
- Bet summary: A Same Game Multi on these two best bets pays out at approximately 3/1 with Paddy Power
* All odds correct at time of posting.