Sheffield United vs Everton on Saturday 2 September is the first relegation contenders match of the 2023/24 Premier League season. Sean Dyche’s Everton have been shaky since the start of the season as has Paul Heckingbottom’s Sheffield United. Both teams had zero points on the board after matchday 2 and bookmakers immediately updated the odds of both teams getting relegated from the Premier League come 19 May 2024.
Sheffield are in familiar territory with these types of odds and comments from pundits, journalists and fans but Everton only began to swim in those waters last season with Frank Lampard at the helm. Sean Dyche is a manager who knows how to survive and he showed it when he came in and saved Everton from relegation on the last day of the league. But he can fail too, as his last managerial role with Burnley showed.
After two opening matches with no goals scored and five goals conceded (the most in the league at this stage), there will be a lot of scrutiny surrounding his tactical nous. For the hosts, Heckingbottom is a rookie manager in terms of top-flight football, so he can be cut some slack by fans and pundits. However, many will point to the likes of Thomas Frank of Brentford and Steve Cooper of Nottingham Forest, who braved all odds to remain in the Premier League.
When Sheffield United opens up Bramall Lane to Everton, Heckingbottom will be expected to take his blades and carve through Everton’s shaky tower to get to the three points on offer from the Premier League.
This is why this match holds promise for many neutral fans. The media will also be paying attention as they expect to gather enough to create content around a relegation battle that is certain to excite fans the way the 2022/23 battle did.
Read on for match ticket information, how to watch the match at home from anywhere in the world, team news and predictions.
Match Tickets
Sheffield United vs Everton will be played at Bramall Lane on Saturday 2 September 2023 at 12:30 PM. The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports for fans in and around the UK while other Premier League broadcast partners like Supersport and NBC will cover the game for audiences in other parts of the world.
Sheffield United vs Everton tickets will be going up on sale on the websites of both clubs in the coming days. Fans will do well to make their bookings on time or risk missing the game live.
However, the option of ticket resellers remains open for any matchday tickets. It could also be the easiest option for neutral fans who do not want to join waiting lists or fill any forms to be able to secure matchday tickets from the websites of both teams.
Team News
The 2023 summer transfer window is closed for European clubs.
Sheffield United have not had a particularly pleasing transfer window by the standards of the fans. They are still smarting from the loss of star player Iliman Ndiaye to Olympique de Marseille after the Senegal international played the season of his life to help them gain promotion back to the league.
Aston Villa academy product Cameron Archer joined the Blades recently as an £18 million replacement for Ndiaye. He could make his debut against Everton.
Heckingbottom is still dealing with an injury list that is almost as long as a starting XI. Luckily, there have been no additions to the list.
Everton, on the other hand, added Alex Iwobi to their list of injured players on matchday 2.
The Nigerian midfielder joins club captain Seamus Coleman (knee surgery; unknown recovery date), Dwight McNeil (ankle ligament injury; 3-4 weeks out), the returning Dele Alli (groin injury; 5-6 weeks out), new signing Jack Harrison (hip issue; 5-6 weeks out) and first-choice striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin (fractured cheekbone; unknown recovery date) on the sidelines.
Dyche has a thin squad to travel to Bramall Lane with. In the area of transfers, the Toffees have had a better window. This can be attributed to their status as a Premier League club.
The onus is on Dyche to make sure that the status does not change as the 2023/24 Premier League season rolls on.
Lineups
Until Heckingbottom gets most of his players back, the same starting XI from previous match days will continue being fielded for Sheffield United games. New signings Vini Souza and Gustavo Hamer have already slotted in well to the team so the club’s fans do not have much to worry about concerning their fit. Cameron Archer is in line for his first appearance but it will be off the bench.
Sheffield United: Foderingham; Robinson, Egan, Ahmedhodzic; Lowe, Vini Souza, Norwood, Osborn; Traoré, Osula, Hamer.
Everton’s big miss is Iwobi, who is the club’s best player at the moment. Arnaut Danjuma will come in to replace the man with whom he could have been playing on the same national team as while Neal Maupay will return to the starting XI following Calvert-Lewin’s return to the sidelines.
Everton: Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Keane, Patterson; Gana Gueye; Danjuma, Onana, Doucoure, Garner; Maupay.
Prediction
Sheffield United vs Everton was first played in 1893. Sheffield United won at the time. What followed was a poor streak, interrupted by the occasional win to maintain balance.
The head-to-head keeps fluctuating but in the end, Everton holds the upper hand in this tie. The wins have been narrow but they have been wins.
In the Premier League, both teams are equal after 10 games (four wins each and two draws). The last win was for Sheffield United in 2021 at Goodison Park. This was when Everton were still considered a good team.
With Everton’s injuries and a lack of identity, it is not going to be far-fetched to give the 2 September clash to the hosts. However, we believe that a draw is the best that this game has to offer.
Sheffield United 0 – 0 Everton
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