The Blades swept aside Oxford United in round one; winning 3-0. Welsh international striker Ched Evans had put united two goals (12 & 19 minutes) inside the first 20 minutes and in the second half Ryan Flynn (71) put the game beyond the U’s with his first goal for the club.
Last weekend Evans netted his ninth of the season eight minutes from time to beat bottom of the table Chesterfield 1-0 to retain a top six spot.
Blades boss Danny Wilson is facing a ‘good’ strikers crisis with the possibility of choosing nine goals forward Ched Evans, along with Richard Cresswell, Chris Porter and new signing James Beattie in his attacking line.
Defensive-Midfielder Johannes Ertl has returned from injury and was an unused substitute in the Blades victory at the B2net Stadium last weekend.
Following the death of much loved former midfielder, coach and manager Gary Speed the club are expected to celebrate the life of their former Blade.
Torquay United booked their place in round two after a 3-1 win at Chesterfield, Jordan Bowery (59) had cancelled out Danny Stevens (20) first half opener for the home side before United finished with a flurry of goals from Rene Howe (72) and Kevin Nicholson (88) to end the tie.
Their 0-0 draw at Port Vale last weekend kept them tenth in the League Two table and three points behind the play-off pack; the draw stopped a run of four straight league victories.
Gulls boss Martin Ling will travel to Bramall Lane without defender Brian Saah (groin), he limped off the pitch a fortnight ago during their 3-1 win over Plymouth Argyle and has been ruled out for over a month.
They will however see the return of midfielder Eunan O’Kane who netted twice against the Pilgrims, he also picked up his fifth booking of the season and missed last week’s goalless draw through suspension.
United are likely to field former Sheffield United Academy defender Chris Robertson, 25 against his former club. He was on the books at Bramall Lane between July and March 2007 where he failed to break into the first team.
Chester City handed him is Football League debut in a 5-0 drumming at Carlisle United whilst on a month’s loan in January 2006. In March 2007 he made a free transfer to Plainmoor, scoring on his debut in a 3-0 home win over Wycombe Wanderers.
Head-to-Head
|
venue |
p |
w |
d |
l |
gf |
ga |
|
Bramall Lane |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
|
Plainmoor |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Total |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
1 |