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West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United are both hunting their first wins of the Premier League campaign, with the pair currently mired in the relegation zone with a combined total of four points after nine matches.
Paddy Power football trader Brian McDonnell is backing the Blades to break their duck at The Hawthorns this weekend and bag a victory that could just save Chris Wilder’s job – at least in the short term.
Check out his chat with PPTV broadcaster Graham Temple in the video below for his top tips ahead of kick-off.
Sheffield United to win
This is a tough one, with the teams 19th and 20th in the league. They are the only teams without a win this season, so I’m hoping someone’s O is about to go!
I think it’s going to be Sheffield United, so I’m going to side with them to win. If they do lose, it could easily spell the end of Chris Wilder’s time in charge of Sheffield United.
I think after getting Sheffield United promoted to the league, and then the season they had last year finishing in the top half the table, the board were very much behind him and the fans love him as well. But this is the Premier League, and with one point after eight games it doesn’t matter who you have in charge – something’s going to have to change if they are going to stay up.
You can’t just get rid of the players mid-season so the manager’s job will be on the line. I would say it is a must-win game for Chris Wilder and Sheffield United, but it is a game I think they can win.
If you look at the underlying numbers, West Brom have scored six goals. Three of them came in the first half against Chelsea, but that was a game they fail to win. They’ve only scored one goal in their last five games.
They brought in a striker from Huddersfield, Karlan Grant, but he hasn’t fixed. their goalscoring problems. Sheffield United have scored even less goals – they’ve only scored four – but their expected goals has been much higher. If you look at the chances that they’ve created this season, you’d expect them to have around nine goals. If you look at West Brom’s chances created, you would expect them to have just four or five.
Sheffield United have been on the wrong side of variants so far this season. It’s a bit of second-season syndrome for them, but if they keep putting in the same performances as they have been you would expect them to score a couple of more goals and pick up a couple more points.
It might not be enough to keep them out with the relegation zone come the end of the season, but I think at almost 2/1 away to West Brom here is a very fair bet to have and I’m happy to take a punt on them to get their first win of the season.
David McGoldrick to Score Anytime
I’d be looking at David McGoldrick in the goalscorer market. He’s probably the striker who plays the most minutes this season ahead of Ole McBurnie and Billy sharp. He’s their top goal scorer, albeit with just two league goals. So McGoldrick would be the one that I’d have on-side for this one.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widget, while in-copy odds are accurate at time of publication but subject to change
West Brom v Sheffield United tips
Sheffield United to win
David McGoldrick to Score Anytime
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