Sheffield United

BBC pundit Chris Sutton is taking on Ski Sunday presenter Ed Leigh for this weekend's Premier League predictions.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Aston Villa dropped points against Sheffield United a few weeks ago and they really cannot afford a repeat of that here.

Unai Emery's side have been getting praised all season but it might change people's perception of them if they do not win this game, and start to look as if they are going to fall away.

That is not what I am expecting to happen, though, because I actually think Villa will assert themselves and get the win they need.

Ollie Watkins was back on the scoresheet against Newcastle after going for a few games without scoring and he should get some more chances here to help his side bounce back.

In contrast, things look pretty bleak for the Blades.

Tuesday's game against Crystal Palace, where they took the lead twice but ended up losing, pretty much summed them up and the only way I can see them staying up from here is if the Premier League keep on deducting points from the teams above them.

Ed's prediction: Tim Warwood, my snowboarding co-commentator with the BBC, is a massive Villa fan. When they had that run where they beat Manchester City and Arsenal before Christmas it put them on 35 points and he said the chat in the stands was that they only needed another three points and they would be safe, which made me smile.

This is actually a big game for Villa, who have had things all their own way for a long time but are just having their first big slip of the season. They need to show they can recover and I think they will have too much for Sheffield United. 0-3

Read the full predictions

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Sheffield United midfielder Ismaila Coulibaly has joined Swedish side AIK on loan for the remainder of the season.

The 23-year-old featured in the Blades' run to the FA Cup semi-finals last season but has made only one appearance for the club this term, starting the Carabao Cup second-round tie against Lincoln, which was lost on penalties.

• Sheffield United have won their past three home league games against Aston Villa, since a 1-0 loss in January 2018 in the Championship.

• Aston Villa have won six of their seven Premier League games against promoted sides under Unai Emery, though the exception was a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United in the reverse fixture in December.

• The Blades are only the fourth team to have accumulated just 10 or fewer points after 22 matches in a Premier League season, after Bolton Wanderers in 1995-96 (10), Sunderland in 2005-06 (nine) and Derby County in 2007-08 (seven), all of whom finished bottom of the division at the end of the season.

• Villa have picked up just five points in their past five Premier League matches (W1 D2 L2), shipping nine goals. In their previous five, they collected 13 points (W4 D1) and conceded only four times.

• Sheffield United have kept just one clean sheet in the Premier League this season, the fewest of any side - and have conceded 54 goals, the most in the league. Only Barnsley in 1997-98 (57) have ever conceded more at this stage of a Premier League season.

• Ollie Watkins netted his 50th Premier League goal for Aston Villa in their 3-1 defeat by Newcastle, taking his tally to 10 goals in 2023-24 and meaning he has scored 10 or more goals in all four of his seasons in the top flight. He is the first English player to achieve this in their first four seasons since Robbie Fowler (1993-94 to 1996-97) and Alan Shearer (first five from 1992-93 to 1996-97).

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live match commentary of Sheffield United v Aston Villa at 17:30 GMT on Saturday

Former Premier League defender Nedum Onuoha has sympathised with the players who have moved to struggling clubs during the January transfer window, on The Football News Show: "I only had one move in January and that was from Manchester City - who were winning the league - to QPR - who were fighting relegation - so it was a bit of a change, you could say.

"Getting to learn about your team-mates, when you are also fighting fires in real time, it's not the best time to integrate with a new side. Things weren't great.

"When you're winning games, it's far easier but we weren't in that position.

"It was tough and then making the adjustment and stuff with family, halfway through the season, but again it's something you have to do if you want to find football.

"I was going somewhere to try to find more football. If you're someone who is being signed because you are the pinnacle, then maybe it is different but that wasn't the experience for me."

Watch The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer

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Sheffield United have announced long-serving midfielder John Fleck has joined Championship side Blackburn Rovers on a permanent deal.

Fleck signed for the Blades in 2016 and has played a key role in promotions from League One and the Championship as well as a winning a number of Player of the Year awards.

The 32-year-old made a total of 278 appearances for the club, scoring 16 goals, and made his final appearance against Liverpool in December.

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Sheffield United have confirmed defender Femi Seriki has signed a new contract at the club and will spend the rest of the season on loan at Championship side Rotherham.

The 21-year-old, who has appeared in both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season, has agreed new terms on a deal that will run until 2027.

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Mason Holgate says "he feels sharp" and is ready "to help the boys" as Sheffield United continue to push for Premier League safety.

The 27-year-old, who spent the first part of this season on loan at Southampton, has made a total of 126 top-flight appearances for Everton since signing in 2015.

"I'm delighted to be here and to finally get it over the line," Holgate said. "I've been waiting all month to get it sorted, obviously involving three teams, it is a little complicated but now we've got it to this point, I cannot wait to get going.

"I feel good, sharp and ready to go. This is the best league in the world that's why everyone aspires to play in it, I've played in it a bit now and hopefully I can come in and help the boys.

"Chris (Wilder) has faith and believes in me, he has told me what he thinks I can add to the team and I think I can do that so it makes sense to make this happen."

Have your say on Blades new signing

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Sheffield United have signed Everton defender Mason Holgate on loan until the end of the season.

The Yorkshireman is Chris Wilder's third signing of the transfer window.

"Mason's desire to come here and join our fight is huge for me," said Wilder. "He's got a point to prove, he's a local lad who knows what Sheffield United are all about, he has his finger on the pulse and knows what to expect here.

"He's got valuable Premier League experience and can play all across the back which gives us options. Like Ben (Brereton Diaz) and Ivo (Grbic), we expect Mason to play a big part in the remainder of the season."

Chris Wilder is hoping to have Mason Holgate over the line this afternoon and that is going to happen I believe.

The signings they have made in this window will give them a boost to get results.

But it will need a drastic run from one of the teams above them, or point deductions if they happen, to help the likes of Burnley and Sheffield United to stay up

If you look at the results around them, Luton Town are picking points up and so are Everton.

A massive change is still needed.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

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Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder says he is "speaking on behalf of the football club" when calling out controversial officiating.

After the Blades' 3-2 defeat at Crystal Palace on Tuesday night, the United boss described referee Tony Harrington's performance as "ridiculous".

In a post-match interview he said that he would be speaking with Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after feeling too many decisions were going against his side.

"I'm not confident I'll get anything back that will change my opinion of how things are," Wilder said.

"I'm not looking back over the last 10 games, it's over a longer period, before I was here as well. It's the in-game decisions, the soft fouls go against us. It's an easy one.

"Maybe the thought process and the outlook is that they [Sheffield United] won't be long in this division and 'I might be refereeing the other team next year, so don't want to upset too many people'."

The manager, who is in his second spell with the club, insisted his coaching staff feel the same and added: "I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't think it was right.

"The majority of Sheffield United supporters will feel the same as well. I'm not just speaking on behalf of myself. I'm speaking on behalf of the players and more importantly I'm speaking on behalf of the football club.

"Come on, we need to make sure this is right and sorted and it's refereed in the right way."

I met a scout at a game against Brentford and when he mentioned his club, he said; "We’re frightened to death of breaking any rules, so it looks like we can’t do much at all."

That tells you everything.

Everyone is very limited - there are few ins and outs and a few swap deals but nothing significant.

Usually the big deals have a knock-on effect as it releases a couple and we get movement, but it’s been very quiet and agents have not been that busy.

I think there are lots of late deals to happen but will we see a bigger one? I don’t know.

Chelsea's Armando Broja seems to be getting all of the speculation at this point in the day.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Josh Lobley, BBC Sport

Chris Wilder has been speaking to the media ahead of Sheffield United's match against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Here are the main lines from his news conference:

• Wilder confirmed Ivo Grbic has suffered a concussion, and will be unavailable for seven to 12 days due to Premier League concussion rules. However, Ben Brereton Diaz is in contention for Saturday's game after being taken off on Tuesday.

• On whether he has had enough backing in the transfer window: "100%. It's a difficult one because we aren't in a fabulous position in the league and we have to make sure we look after the pennies but I think a lot of the things that we were looking to achieve we have done. We need to affect the results more now."

• Wilder spoke about the club's medium to long-term future: "I'm confident in the rebuild. I still think it's a fantastic place to come and play football. This is a very attractive club, one that is still fighting. What we have to do is get the recruitment spot on, and culturally get it right."

• On the club's youth system: "One of the things that's really impressed me is the way that the academy has kicked on and accelerated. My message to the supporters is that we're really looking forward to working with these young players and it's important that the pathway is there."

• Wilder had more to say about the young Blades: "If I was a manager at another club, I'd be looking at Sheffield United. If I was in the Championship, League One [or] League Two, I'd see there are some really well rounded and well grounded footballers."

• He said the onus is on Cameron Archer to deliver if he wants to get back into the team: "They've all got to produce. There's been opportunity for Cameron, like at Gillingham. You can't feel sorry for yourself. Whether you are a sub, start, get 10 or 70 minutes, there's a massive opportunity for you. You want to let them go and have a run, but you've got to show that consistency to deserve that run. Cam is in the mix for the game."

• On Aston Villa: "We understand they are a top side [that has] really kicked on in the past three or four years, They have some fabulous players, but it isn't going to be a one-sided affair."

Follow all Thursday's Premier League news conferences and live transfer updates

Listen to full match commentary of this game on BBC Radio 5 Live

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from the eight Premier League matches played over Tueday and Wednesday.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentaries in full on BBC Sounds:

• Nottingham Forest 1-2 Arsenal

• Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle

• Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea

• Manchester City 3-1 Burnley

On Wednesday, we asked you what Sheffield United's ideal final day of business in the January transfer window would look like.

Here is a selection of your responses:

Lloyd: Long term injuries to John Egan and Chris Basham have left the right centre-back role light of bodies and the club could use their final domestic loan spot to find cover after ending Luke Thomas' spell early. I wouldn’t expect more than this. Maybe a keeper out on loan after the arrival of Ivo Grbic and a couple of our youngsters going out for experience too.

Pete: Sack Chris Wilder - it was a massive backwards step getting him back.

Malcolm: We desperately need a commanding centre-half, after losing Basham and Egan, which would give Anel Ahmedhodzic more freedom to attack

Jez: Would love to get Harry Maguire back. (You said ‘dream deadline day’, right?)

Whether it turns out to be a day of high drama or a pretty quiet one for your club, you can rarely take your eye off transfer deadline day.

Are you hoping for a rush of late deals or expecting a relaxed one?

Follow our live text coverage throughout the day here

Sheffield United have made contact with Leicester City over a move for their Australia defender Harry Souttar, 25. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

When does the transfer window close?

The transfer window will close at 23:00 GMT on Thursday for the Premier League and English Football League, while in Scotland, the window will shut 30 minutes later at 23:30.

Across Europe, the Bundesliga window will close at 17:00, Serie A at 19:00, Ligue 1 at 22:00 and La Liga at 23:00 - but the Women's Super League transfer window already closed on Wednesday night.

The transfer window for the Saudi Pro League, where a number of high-profile Premier League players moved in the summer, closed on 30 January.

Can a Premier League player signed on deadline day play this weekend?

Under league rules, new signings are eligible for the next Premier League game if the club submit the required documents by midday on the last working day before that match.

Where can I see all the confirmed transfer deals on deadline day?

You can find all the deals completed on transfer deadline day within our dedicated confirmed transfers page.

What is the story so far?

Only 15 players have been signed by Premier League clubs in January, with 10 permanent transfers, five loan deals and disclosed fees of about £50m.

It is a far cry from the past three transfer windows - January 2023 and the summers of 2022 and 2023 - which each set Premier League spending records.

At the same point last year, on the eve of deadline day, there had been 38 transfers worth about £550m - 10 times this year's amount.

How can I follow transfer deadline day on the BBC?

From 07:00 on Thursday, we will have a page dedicated to all the latest transfer news, reaction and analysis. You cannot miss it as it will be the first thing you see on our football website.

Your Premier League club's page will have all the latest transfers for your team in one place.

You will also find regular updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and breaking news across BBC Sport's social media channels, including X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

There will also be a special edition of The Football News Show on BBC iPlayer and the Red Button from 22:00 until 23:30.

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Former Chelsea and Everton winger Pat Nevin, writing for the BBC Football Extra newsletter:

This feels like it has been the quietest Premier League transfer window ever. There is still a day to go and, in the past, huge deals have been done right up to the deadline, but it will not suddenly become a free-for-all this time. The question is: why?

Are all the clubs and their managers deeply satisfied with their well-balanced and over-performing squads? I hardly think so. Have all the coaches suddenly decided that they really want to work more with the youngsters coming through, rather than get a ready-made striker in the morning? Probably not.

Have the big clubs suddenly got sensible and concluded that it is silly spending hundreds of millions of pounds on players, destroying any possible company profits and yet still having no certainty of success at the end of it? This thought might have crossed a few minds.

There is always the possibility that some clubs got the fright of their lives after Everton’s 10-point deduction. Have they finally realised that some of the very complicated and fancy financial and accountancy sleights of hand might not bamboozle the Premier League after all?

Some clubs have spent huge sums and are now quietly trying to sell players to make the books balance.

Does it not smack of just the vaguest possibility of a chance that there might have just been a bit of blustering, self-indulgent financial mismanagement by the owners of some of the top clubs? Surely not - these Masters of the Universe always know what they are doing and understand finance so much better than the rest of us.

I remember listening to a hugely successful banker once braying on to me about how they knew best. I think he was from an organisation called Lehman Brothers.

As deadline day looms, we want to know what your ideal final day of transfer business would look like for Sheffield United.

Do the Blades need to make any signings? If so, who should they look to bring in? And does anyone need to be offloaded?

Let us know your views here