Sheffield United: Champions leaders warned Stoke City will test their brain as well as brawn
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Although Alex Neil’s side have prepared for the match at the bet365 Stadium ranked 20th in the Championship, 19 places behind leaders United, a study of the strategies employed by the Scot in recent weeks has prompted Heckingbottom to tell his players they could be required to quickly adjust their own once the contest gets underway.
Neil took charge of City earlier this term, having left Sunderland soon after their 2-1 defeat by United at Bramall Lane in August. The visitors adopted an expansive approach towards that game, even after being reduced to 10 men. Although Neil has tried to foster the same mentality among his squad since moving to Staffordshire, City were more cautious during their midweek draw with Burnley.
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Hide Ad“I’ve seen their last couple of games and they’re totally different, they’ve gone about things in different ways,” said Heckingbottom. “On Tuesday, they didn’t press quite as high and had some good opportunities on the counter. That’s something we’ll have to look for, but they’re also at home for this one.”
United’s preparations have been complicated by a raft of injuries to key players, with potentially around a dozen being ruled-out of the fixture by fitness issues and suspension. However, Ben Osborn could return to action following a long lay-off while Heckingbottom pointedly refused to completely dismiss Anel Ahmedhodzic’s chances of participating against City. The same went for Sander Berge and George Baldock, who were both hurt during United’s defeat by Queens Park Rangers three days ago.
Despite the result, Heckingbottom said: “I’d take how we played, attitude wise, every single game between now and the end of the season. Naturally, though, because we’re away, this is going to be a different game.”
“Teams are always going to look to make it tough,” he added. “But when they’re at home against us, there’s more of an incentive on them as well. They’ll look to create problems for us, as always, but in different ways to when they’re at our place.”