Sheffield United vs Preston 04/09/20

04 September 2020

Sheffield United and Preston North End continue their summer preparations ahead of the new season as they lock horns in a friendly match at Bramall Lane.

Sheffield United got off to a flying start to their pre-season campaign, winning both of their opening summer friendlies without conceding once. That’s a sharp contrast to the way the ‘Blades’ finished the 2019/20 season, as they suffered three consecutive defeats, finding the net only once across those fixtures. At home, just one of Sheffield’s 11 games since the calendar flipped has ended in a draw (W7, L3), with eight of those results (wins/losses) yielding a single-goal margin. Another tight contest is most definitely on the cards now, considering 14 of their previous 15 H2H meetings held at this venue have ended separating the sides by under 1.5 goals.

Meanwhile, the visitors have avoided defeat in each of their three summer friendlies so far (W1, D2), with the two of them featuring under 2.5 goals. The ‘both-teams-to-score’ theme has highlighted Preston’s recent trips, as five of their last seven have seen both sides on the scoresheet. But, nine of their 13 away matches this calendar year have contained under 2.5 goals. Additionally, a genuine lack of firepower up front has seen the ‘Lilywhites’ score under 1.5 goals in seven of their previous nine trips. But, Alex Neil can draw on a rock-solid defense that has conceded one goal or less in all seven of their last away fixtures.