Ipswich vs Sheffield United Bet Builder Tips, Stats, Best Bets, Predictions

As outlined above it’s not been the ideal start for McKenna’s side, who are still winless across all competitions this season. They certainly looked to address that as the window grew on, with a flurry of late additions, some of whom flexed their financial muscle.

With 2 weeks of training time to bed them in, there could be full debuts for the likes of Darnell Furlong, Chuba Akpom, Sindre Walle Egeli and Ivan Azon, all of whom add to the pre-existing quality within the Tractor Boys’ squad.

Ipswich’s underlying numbers paint a strong picture despite their poor form. They’ve taken the 5th most shots and created the 5th most xG, showing their attacking play is sure to improve sooner or later. They’ve also registered the league’s most accurate crosses and taken the 3rd most touches in the opposition’s box, demonstrating their ability to get into the right areas consistently.

Sheffield United meanwhile feel like a club at odds with itself, given the reaction Ruben Selles received from the away end at the Riverside. Their attacking play is on course, generating the 2nd least xG and scoring the least goals, and ultimately I’d be more confident in Ipswich turning the page.

Wide play is a big part of Ruben Selles’ coaching style. He may not have got the desired impact at Sheffield United just yet but the imprints of his wide focus are there to see.

Sheffield United have won the most corners this season and whilst 14 of them did come in that freak opening game against Bristol City, without those 14 they’d still rank 3rd for corners won this campaign.

Across their league games they’ve won 8, 8, 8 and 14 corners whilst Selles’ previous sides also regularly won corners. His last 5 matches as Hull manager saw his teams win 5, 5, 9, 7, and 7 corners.

Southampton are one of the league’s other frequent corner taking teams and they registered 5 against Ipswich whilst even Derby and Preston who haven’t won many so far racked up 3 each.

Since that 4-1 defeat to the Robins, discipline has been an issue for the Blades with tempers fraying and a lack of balance in the team.

They’ve already racked up 11 yellows in league fixtures, the 3rd most in the division. Sydie Peck and Gustavo Hamer particularly have been regular offenders.

It’s no surprise when you consider they’ve committed 11 or more fouls in each of the last 3 games. They’ve also picked up 5 yellows for argument which is symptomatic of the unease at the club.

Ipswich have drawn the 2nd most fouls of any team in the division and given the amount of possession they’re likely to have, with the highest rank thus far and the 2nd best field tilt in the division, they may draw their fair share of infringements from the Blades.

Gustavo Hamer has the magic to change this game, but his discipline has been an issue so far this season. He’s already picked up 3 cards in league fixtures this season whilst he also received a booking in his EFL Cup match despite playing just 40 minutes.

He’s committed 2 fouls in 3 of the Blades’ 4 league matches, with 1 foul in the other game. He was known to referees last campaign, committing 1.5 fouls per match and picking up 13 yellows (the league’s most).

Having moved into the midfield 3 this season, he’s more in the thick of the action, and with Ipswich having the most possession of any team they’ll be dominating the ball for sustained spells which opens the door for Hamer to commit fouls.

Hamer is likely to feature for a substantial period in the game, and is the most likely starter of any Blades player aside from Michael Cooper so feels a smart pick.