|
Derby keeper Stephen Bywater (rib) and understudy Saul Deeney (shoulder) are out, so Frank Fielding is set to play.
Gareth Roberts and James Bailey are doubts, and on-loan Blades forward Jamie Ward cannot play against them.
MATCH PREVIEW
Sheffield United's season went from bad to worse when they were beaten 3-2 by fellow strugglers Scunthorpe in midweek, having led 2-0. That result saw Scunthorpe leapfrog the Blades, leaving them next-to-bottom of the?table and in desperate trouble.
United have gone 12 matches without a victory and are yet to win since the appointment of manager Micky Adams, who must have thought that was about to change on Tuesday, only to see his team slump to the seventh loss of his 11-match reign.
Adams' side?are five points above rock-bottom Preston, who are the only other club yet to win a Championship match in 2011. They dare not to lose on Saturday against a Derby?team who have relegation worries of their own, and whose recent form has been as bad as United's - both have taken only two points from the last available 18.
County have gone eight league games without a victory and have won only one of their last 15 - a run that has left them only five points above the drop zone. And they have failed to score in their last three outings, going almost five-and-a-half hours of football without finding the net.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• This is the 100th league match between Sheffield United and Derby. Both have won 42 of the previous 99.
• United are unbeaten in four league meetings with the Rams.
Sheffield United
• Thirteen of United's league matches this season have been decided by a single goal. They have won six and lost seven of them.
• Only nine players have scored league goals for the Blades this term.
• Rob Kozluk could face his former club.
Derby
• Derby are averaging a point per away game, having taken 16 points from their 16 matches on the road.
• They have drawn three and lost five of their eight matches since their last win: a 2-1 victory against Preston.
• Gareth Roberts could make his 500th career start, and Stephen Pearson his 100th league appearance for the Rams.
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport