Sheffield United have already claimed a victory this season over the Glovers with a 1-0 win at Huish Park last September, leaving United's record against our League One opposition looking pretty good. Due to Town's eventual (and proud) rise from the non-league it has meant that only three meetings in the last two seasons have occurred. In which, United have scored six times against the Green hoops of Yeovil without conceding a goal.
The Blades ended 2012 on a low with a less to be mentioned 3-2 home defeat to Hartlepool United; but started the new year with a 2-2 last gasp draw at Doncaster Rovers before returning to FA Cup action last Saturday with a 3-0 win at League Two Oxford United. Goals from Tony McMahon (17 minutes), Dave Kitson (68) and Nick Blackman (87) were enough to see United through and set up a Fourth Round tie at Reading.
Blades boss Danny Wilson is without defender Neill Collins (broken cheekbone) and striker Shaun Miller (cruciate knee ligament), meanwhile keeper Mark Howard (thigh) and defender Lescinel Jean-Francois (knee) have returned to training but are unlikely to see first team action soon. Whilst fellow defender Matt Hill (cheek) is also ruled out and expected to return to training at the beginning of March.
Meanwhile, new signings Danny Higginbotham (from Stoke City) and Jamie Murphy (from Motherwell) are expected to make there home debuts against Yeovil this weekend. The pair have already played in red and white colours in away games against Doncaster Rovers and Oxford United respectively
Having been knocked out of the FA Cup at the first huddle in round one where Preston North End brought on a quick exit the Somerset club were without a fixture last Saturday but involvement in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy meant that they were forced to face Leyton Orient twice within the space of the week. Town recorded a 3-0 win at home on New Years Day to keep there decent league record in tacked and now see themselves tenth in the table and only three points behind the play-offs but took an exit in the cup with a 1-0 defeat at the O's last Tuesday night.
Town, who have recorded five victories in the last ten league games (two draws) head to Bramall Lane and may see two new faces due to injuries and concerns over the teams quality of players; Yeovil boss Gary Johnson said: “We’ve got a few that have got niggles that are not quite up for it because they are limping from early on. At one point on Tuesday we had Gav limping, Ed limping, Blizzard limping and [Sam] Foley limping. It was just one of those days.”
Blades-Mad Prediction: Sheffield United 2-0 Yeovil Town