Sheffield United vs Watford confirmed line-ups: Team news for Amazon Prime Premier League fixture today

Chris Wilder’s side look to consolidate their place in fifth with Nigel Pearson now one result away from taking the Hornets off the bottom of the table

Sheffield United appear to have a great opportunity to cement their place in fifth after a stunning first half of the season with the visit of Watford.

But the Hornets now have some newfound confidence just two games after the arrival of Nigel Pearson, with a surprise 2-0 win over Manchester United last weekend.

The Blades edged out Brighton on the road, where they remain unbeaten in nine games this term.

But at home it has been a different story, with just four wins from nine and four defeats, making their Boxing Day fixture vitally important to set the tone for the rest of the season with the likelihood that their away form regresses somewhat.=

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Match preview

What are the predicted line-ups?

Sheff Utd: Henderson, Basham, Egan, O'Connell, Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens, McBurnie, McGoldrick.

Subs: Luke Freeman, Sharp, Robinson, Jagielka, Verrips, Mousset, Besic.

Watford: Foster, Mariappa, Kabasele, Cathcart, Femenia, Capoue, Chalobah, Hughes, Sarr, Deeney, Deulofeu.

Subs: Gomes, Dawson, Gray, Quina, Success, Dele-Bashiru, Pereyra.

Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)​

What are the team news?

Chris Wilder has a fully fit squad but John Fleck could come back into the line-up after serving a suspension, so Luke Freeman appears the most obvious man to miss out. Expect the wildcard to come up top, with Wilder regularly rotating his forwards, meaning any combination of Oli McBurnie, David McGoldrick, Lys Mousset, Callum Robinson and Billy Sharp could find themselves in the XI.

Abdoulaye Doucoure is out with a one-game ban for accumulating five yellow cards, while Danny Welbeck (thigh), Tom Cleverley (calf), Sebastian Prodl (knee), Daryl Janmaat (knee) and Jose Holebas (ankle) are all still out.

When is it?

Sheffield United vs Watford kicks off at 3pm (GMT) on Thursday 26 December.

Where can I watch it? Is there a live stream?

The match will be available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Subscribers to Prime can live stream via the Prime Video app on their smartphone, laptop or tablet, as well as Fire TV, games consoles, Virgin’s V6 TV Box, BT TV, TalkTalk TV, Apple TV and Chromecast. Click here to sign up for a free trial.

You will be able to watch on televisions at pubs too, find your local one here.

How much does subscription cost?

You can buy a monthly package for £7.99, which includes the entire Amazon Prime Video library as well as free next-day delivery on thousands of items from the main Amazon store.

What is our prediction?

This is a different kind of test for the Blades with the pressure on them to beat bottom-of-the-league Watford, but the Hornets have obtained the spark they needed since Nigel Pearson's arrival after victory over Man United. We expect the hosts to come through this though with a 2-1 victory.

What are the odds?

Sheffield United 5/6

Draw 13/5

Watford 10/3