By Sheffield United is almost certainly going to get relegated at the end of this season.
The Blades are sitting on 16 points and would need to make up 10 points in seven matches to avoid the drop. It’s not going to happen.
But that doesn’t mean you should just ignore Sheffield United for the rest of the campaign.
In fact, it looks like the Blades could be worth a bet against Brentford, another team trying to stave off relegation, on Saturday.
The Bees are a -235 favorite over Sheffield United on Saturday morning.
It’s one of two games on my betting card for this weekend’s English Premier League action.
Brentford vs. Sheffield United prediction
(10 a.m. ET)
You need to work pretty hard to find an avenue for a bet on a last-place team in any sport, but Sheffield United is showing some marginal improvements of late.
The Blades haven’t won a match since Feb. 10 at Luton Town, but they’ve also only lost two of their last five contests and have earned draws against Chelsea, Bournemouth and Fulham in that span.
And while one of the defeats during this five-game stretch was an embarrassing 6-0 drubbing by Arsenal, the other was a hard-fought 3-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield.
It also can’t be overlooked that Sheffield United is actually scoring goals these days, too.
The Blades have found the back of the net in each of their last four games, and the arrival of Ben Brereton Diaz has given this attack a jolt.
With the attack improving and the defense showing some signs of life, Sheffield United should be able to give Brentford a real go on Saturday.
The Bees are currently riding a nine-match winless streak and will be under heaps of pressure to put some distance between themselves and 18th-place Luton Town.
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There could be some stylistic issues in this match for Brentford, too.
The Bees aren’t a team that is comfortable dominating possession and trying to break down their opponents and that’s likely what they’ll be asked to do on Saturday.
This is a trickier fixture for Brentford than these odds suggest. Take a shot with Sheffield United on Saturday.
The Bet: Sheffield United (+650, Caesars)
