Chelsea face Sheffield United in a must-win encounter at Bramall Lane on Saturday as the battle for UEFA Champions League qualification hots up.

              Chelsea are looking to extend their winning run to three games in the Premier League when they travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United this weekend. They are coming on the back of consecutive wins over Watford and Crystal Palace – a run of form that helped them overtake Leicester City in the last matchday.

However, the Blues will now be tasked with the job of holding onto their third place in the table. And they can’t afford to be complacent at all, especially with Leicester City and in-form Manchester United breathing down their necks. The Red Devils, in particular, have won all of their last five matches and are being tipped as favourites to overtake Chelsea.

As for Sheffield United, they are still in the running for a potential place in the UEFA Europa League next season. They are currently seventh in the league table with 51 points – six behind fifth-placed Manchester United and one behind Wolverhampton Wanderers in sixth.

At the same time, the Blades are set to face a tough test against Chelsea, although it could be extremely advantageous if they do manage to churn out three points, especially with Arsenal set to face Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby on Sunday.

And here, at The Hard Tackle, we will run the rule over the two sides ahead of this important fixture in the top half of the Premier League table.

SHEFIELD UNITED LINEUP

Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Henderson; Basham, Egan, O’Connell; Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Berge, Stevens; Sharp, McGoldrick

CHELSEA LINEUP

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Kepa; James, Zouma, Christensen, Azpilicueta; Barkley, Jorginho, Mount; Willian, Giroud, Pulisic