The Blades welcome Manchester United to Bramall Lane on the return to Premier League action following the international break and it represents a great opportunity for Sheffield United to pull off a surprise and get their first win on the board, with a partisan atmosphere expected under the lights at S2.
However, Paul Heckingbottom has had a lot of thinking to do to get around the issues that have dogged his campaign, namely the loss of key players through injury. Chris Basham became the latest to be ruled out long term after his horror injury at Fulham, coming just a week after John Egan was added to the list.
With that in mind, there is a possibility that the three-at-the-back formation which has been pivotal to United’s success in recent years could be banished, purely because of the lack of numbers.
Here, we’ve taken a punt on that happening and picked our Blades team to face Erik ten Hag’s men on Saturday night.
1. Wes Foderingham
Goes without saying really - Wes Foderingham has probably been United's best player this season and there's no sign of him being ousted from the number one spot anytime soon Photo: Paul Terry
2. Jayden Bogle
Yes, we're going four at the . Jayden Bogle takes his place as a more traditional full-back but still with license to get forward. With George Baldock seemingly not quite fit enough to start according to Paul Heckingbottom, Bogle keeps his spot Photo: Andrew Yates
3. Anel Ahmedhodzic
Anel Ahmedhodzic has now become a very important player, if he wasn't already. With John Egan and Chris Basham now out, he has extra responsibility to organise the defence Photo: Andrew Yates
4. Auston Trusty
Auston Trusty was one of the few - if only - bright sparks from th defeat to Fulham in what was his first full Premier League start. Deserves to keep his place on the left side of central defence Photo: Ryan Pierse