By Goal.com News on Sunday, 07 February 2021
Category: Goal.com News

LIVE: Sheffield United vs Chelsea

42' United are struggling to get out of their own half even when they do win the ball back now as Egan goes long with his clearance. McBurnie nods it down for Burke, but he's nudged off the ball by Jorginho.

40' Chelsea take their corner short and Werner is closed down before he can put a cross into the box. Chelsea switch it out to James on the right but end up overplaying it and United come away with the ball.

38' Lundstram tries to catch Chelsea out by playing an early cross into the box from deep on the left. McBurnie makes the run to the far post, but it's too close to the keeper as Mendy collects it.

36' Chelsea are moving it upfield a lot quicker now and Kovacic plays it forward for Chilwell to run onto. He drills his cross into the box first time where Mount hits the shot, but it's a good block by Bryan as the offside flag goes up.

34' Fleck's pass to Norwood is short and Azpilicueta intercepts it. He makes a run to the edge of the box before curling a good cross into the far post. Chilwell meets it, but he can't keep his header down and it flies high over the bar.

32' It's still all Chelsea as they continue to keep possession and are happy to do so in their own half. There's no urgency to push forward at the moment and United are staying in their shape well.

30' United win the ball back and break quickly once again to try and catch Chelsea out. Lowe spots Fleck making a run ahead of him down the left, but there's not enough on his throughball and Azpilicueta comes away with it.

28' Chilwell pulls it back for Werner in the box and he tries to chip his cross into the middle for Mount. Egan gets an important touch on it to take it over the midfielder and Bryan clears his lines.

26' It's a great run by Bogle after cutting inside from the right to get into the box as he skips past Kovacic and Christensen's challenges. He tries to pull it back for Burke, but he's blocked off by Rudiger.

24' Chelsea have lost just one of their last 23 Premier League matches against sides from Yorkshire (W17 D5), though it came in their trip to Bramall Lane last season.

22' Chelsea are still seeing a lot of the ball but it's all in front of United, who still have all of their players sitting back in their own half. The visitors are trying to open up some space but aren't having any luck so far.

20' Kovacic spots Werner's unmarked run into the left of the box and he tries to set him in on goal with a throughball. Basham reads it well though and he gets across to intercept it for United.

18' Mount swings the free-kick in from the left and it's Azpilicueta that meets it at the far post. It hits him on the shoulder which sends it on target, but it's an easy one for Ramsdale to deal with.

15' United have all of their players sitting deep in their own half and making it difficult for Chelsea to find a way through. The visitors switch it out to James on the right, but he ends up being forced back by Bryan.

13' NO PENALTY! VAR has a look at the incident and there's no doubt that it was a foul on Basham, but the replays show that he'd stepped into an offside position before he got the ball. The penalty decision is overturned and Chelsea have a free-kick.

12' PENALTY TO UNITED! Basham turns away from Chilwell before trying to pick out a pass and the left-back ends up catching him late in his attempts to win the ball back. The referee takes a minute to decide before pointing to the spot.

10' McBurnie has dropped deep to get on the ball, and he makes a good run into the box when Fleck plays him in. He tries to play it out to Bogle on the right, but it's cut out by Chilwell.

8' Chelsea are knocking the ball around in their own half and keeping possession well until they try to get into United's half. Kovacic turns away from Norwood, but his throughball into Mount is poor and Fleck intercepts it.

6' Ramsdale rushes off his line when Werner gets into the box and the German chips the ball over the keeper. Mount is running onto it through the middle, but Basham does brilliantly to get there just ahead of him and prevent a tap-in into the empty net.

5' United are breaking quickly when they do win the ball back. Lowe is pushing forward down the left, but he can't find a way past Azpilicueta to pick out Burke in the middle.

3' James plays a throughball into Werner on the right and he tries to cut inside to get a clear sight of goal. He's tracked all the way by Bryan though and his deflected cross ends up going out for a corner.

1' CHANCE! United win the ball back in midfield and McBurnie plays it forward for Burke to run onto. He's goalside of Christensen and fires his shot towards the near post, but ends up hitting it into the side netting.

1' Giroud gets the game underway for Chelsea! 

The teams are out on the pitch now, with kick-off just moments away.

None of the last 15 league meetings between United and Chelsea at Bramall Lane have ended in a draw (nine United wins and six Chelsea wins).

Thomas Tuchel makes three changes to his side after their win over Tottenham on Thursday, with Christensen, Chilwell and Giroud all starting. Alonso and Hudson-Odoi are on the bench, but Thiago Silva is out with a thigh injury he picked up in that game.

Chris Wilder makes four changes to the team that lost to Manchester City last time out as he brings in Bryan, Lowe, McBurnie and Burke. McGoldrick and Sharp drop to the bench, while George Baldock is missing with a hamstring injury and Ethan Ampadu is ineligible to start against his parent club.

CHELSEA SUBS: Marcos Alonso, Tammy Abraham, Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi, N'Golo Kante, Billy Gilmour, Kurt Zouma, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Emerson.

CHELSEA STARTING XI (3-4-1-2): Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger; Reece James, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ben Chilwell; Mason Mount; Olivier Giroud, Timo Werner.

SHEFFIELD UNITED SUBS: Rhian Brewster, Ben Osborn, Billy Sharp, David McGoldrick, Phil Jagielka, Wes Foderingham.

SHEFFIELD UNITED STARTING XI (3-5-2): Aaron Ramsdale; Chris Basham, John Egan, Kean Bryan; Jayden Bogle, John Lundstram, Oliver Norwood, John Fleck, Max Lowe; Oliver Burke, Oliver McBurnie.

Chelsea are unbeaten in their three matches under new manager Thomas Tuchel, winning the last two after drawing his first game in charge, and have kept a clean sheet in all three of those outings. They face United, who have won five of their last seven games in all competitions after their poor start to the season. They've won their last two at home and have a  chance to move off the bottom of the table if they avoid defeat today.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Premier League meeting between Sheffield United and Chelsea at Bramall Lane! 

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