Bristol City v Sheffield United: Blades can blunt makeshift Robins

• Flu hits Bristol City camp
• Sheff Utd pocket overdue victory
• Keep highly-rated Blades onside

Makeshift Bristol City impress

Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson was disappointed his makeshift Robins side were only able to take a share of the spoils on Saturday following a 1-1 home draw with high-flying Swansea. Tommy Conway's precise first-half strike gave City a deserved half-time advantage, only for the visitors to hit back with an equaliser 15 minutes from time to seal a stalemate.

Pearson was forced to field a back three of George Tanner, Zak Vyner and Cam Pring with Timm Klose absent and Rob Atkinson pulling out in the warm-up. Andi Weimann was also unavailable, yet the Robins chief felt his side could have taken top honours if they were more clinical; Antoine Semenyo and Nahki Wells both coughed up excellent opportunities.

Speaking post-match, Pearson said: "We played well. We rue the chances we missed. I thought we defended exceptionally well, worked hard. We need to convert those chances when they come our way because we could have been comfortable at half-time."

Pearson also revealed a number of the squad have been suffering from flu, adding, "I can't tell you who will be available for Tuesday. It's flu. The players have been taking medication to limit the effects of flu all week. They will probably do that for another five days but how it affects them, I can't tell you."

Sheffield United end winless wait

Sheffield United pocketed their first victory in seven games to reignite their promotion push. The Blades scored twice in the first 23 minutes through strikers Iliman Ndiaye and Oli McBurnie, lifting Paul Heckingbottom's outfit back up to fourth in the Championship table.

However, Heckingbottom acknowledged his team had to withstand pressure, saying, "It felt good and it looked good/ But I wouldn't say dominant, because we had to earn it. To come here, have to make changes, keep a clean sheet and make chances ourselves was a very good effort. There was a bit of everything in it, both with and without the ball."

Victory came at a cost, mind, with the loss of striker Rhian Brewster with a hamstring injury, just 11 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute. He'll be absent this midweek, as will key defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, who picked up a fifth booking of the season and will miss the match through suspension. Sander Berge also remains sidelined.

Blades fair favourites

Bristol City only picked up a point against Sheffield United in last season's Championship contests, and the Robins have registered just six triumphs in the duos 18 league meetings this decade (W6-D2-L10). At Ashton Gate, City have posted three victories in their nine such head-to-head encounters with the Blades during that same sample.

Bristol City 3.309/4 have slipped into the bottom-half following a run of only two league wins in 10 (W2-D2-L6), including a solitary success in five showdowns on home soil (W1-D2-L2). Nigel Pearson's side have W1-D1-L4 when facing top-eight opposition this term, and are ranked inside the bottom-six for Expected Goals (xG) ratio, returning a negative process.

Sheffield United 2.265/4 earned their first Championship triumph since September's international break on Saturday to push the Blades back to within four points of the automatic promotion places. The Blades top the charts for almost all available major metrics, including xG, shots, on-target attempts and efforts inside the penalty box.

Visitors can edge tight encounter

Goals tend to flow in games involving Bristol City. The Robins' matches have featured a huge 2.94 goals per-game on average this season, 11/18 (61%) seeing Both Teams To Score 1.654/6 bank. However, those figures plummet when City welcome sides to Ashton Gate, with just a 2.44 goals per-game average and five of nine such fixtures featuring Under 2.5 Goals 1.991/1.

Ten of Sheffield United's 17 showdowns have produced fewer than three goals, and on the road the Blades have paid-out for Under 2.5 Goals punters in seven of nine contests. Those away days have averaged only 2.11 goals, which is almost bang in-line with the side's overall Expected Goals (xG) average in games as guests (2.12), suggesting a tight tussle here.

With that in mind, backing Sheffield United Double Chance and Under 3.5 Goals could hold plenty of appeal at 1.804/5. Bristol City may still be missing key personnel and the Blades continue to project as one of the league's strongest suits, regardless of their recent result wobbles.