Tuesday Premier League Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Sheffield United vs. West Bromwich Albion (Feb. 2)

Sheffield United vs. West Brom Odds

Perhaps the most important Premier League fixture of the week takes place Tuesday when relegation favorites Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion do battle at Bramall Lane.

The host Blades enter the match playing their best soccer at the moment, picking up their lone victories in two of their last four outings. Sheffield United pulled off a shocking upset two games back, earning a 2-1 victory over powerhouse Manchester United at Old Trafford.

However, the Blades weren’t as fortunate last time out when they suffered a hard-fought, 1-0, defeat to league-leading Manchester City.

On the other side, the Baggies finished in a 2-2 stalemate with fellow drop-zone club Fulham this past week. The tie meant West Brom is now winless in 10 of its last 11 games in England’s top flight.

Let’s take a look at these sides and see what might be on deck.

Sheffield United

If there was ever a time for the Blades to find their form, it would be at this juncture of the campaign. Sheffield United, which sits on just eight points and 13 away from the safe zone, needs to string together a bunch of wins to have any chance of staying up next season.

Manager Chris Wilder has to know his club is up against it, but its recent performances show an outfit not ready to concede a trip down to the Championship.

A 2-0 win over Newcastle United started this mini-run, with the Blades hoping to can make it three victories in five fixtures in league play.

As one could imagine, Sheffield United has been pretty poor when it comes to the statistics. The Blades sit on a subpar 19.5 expected goals and dismal 30.1 expected goals against, resulting in a disappointing -10.6 xGDiff and -0.50 xGDiff/90 minutes.

West Brom

Like their counterparts, the Baggies have nowhere to go but up in the second half of the campaign.

West Brom has been anything but spectacular, picking up just two wins in 21 fixtures for a grand total of 12 points. On a positive note, the Baggies are only nine back of 17th-place Brighton & Hove Albion in the chase for safety.

Yet, their form shows they’re more likely destined to finish at the bottom of the table than anything else.

Bobby Reid and Ivan Cavaleiro scored in that draw against Fulham at The Hawthorns, but West Brom got pretty lucky to escape with a point. Cavaleiro’s goal came with the Baggies down 2-1 in the second half of a game they trailed in expected goals by a 1.8 xGF-0.6 xGF margin.

When comparing advanced metrics with Sheffield United, West Brom’s numbers are beyond terrible.

The Baggies have a 13.6 expected goals mark, yet a ghastly 39.4 expected goals against that result in a subpar -25.8 xGDiff and -1.23 for xGDiff/90 minutes.

And if you guessed West Brom was last in those major categories out of 20 teams, you would be correct.

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Betting Analysis & Picks

It goes without saying this is a must-win for both clubs, which have no room for error at this point.

That being said, I am going with the hotter hand and backing Sheffield United as a moneyline play. The Blades are in their best form of the season, which isn’t saying much, but it should be good enough at Bramall Lane.

I will also sprinkle a little on the total staying under the number.

If you go by past performances, particularly on West Brom’s side, this match points toward a potentially high-scoring affair. However, I’m going against the trend and forecasting a tight game, with scoring chances coming few and far between.

Bottom line, anything but three points should be considered a loss at this point of the season, so expect things to be tight in this Yorkshire showdown.

Picks: Sheffield United ML (-110) | Total Under 2.5 Goals (-165)

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