Wolves v Sheffield United: Neto profit at Molineux

• Wolves firm favourites to beat lowly Blades

• Neto has 9 assists in 16 Premier League games

• Read about Betfair's 90 Minute Payout offer here

Wolves v Sheffield United
Sunday 25 March, 13:30
Live on Sky Sports Premier League

The stat doing the rounds after last week's action was that Sheffield United have conceded more goals after 25 games of the season than any side in Premier League history.

Sunday's 5-0 pasting at home to Brighton brought the number in question to 65 - or, to put it another way, 2.6 per game.

While an argument can be made that Mason Holgate's crazy challenge after just 12 minutes was responsible for the severity of that result, it should be remembered the Blades have also shipped five against Aston Villa and Brighton (in the FA Cup) in their last five games.

Blades' unwanted records

They are also owners of the league's worst away record. Just five points have been won on the road, although at least the sole victory came last time out, at Luton.

It would be easy to think that a Wolves side who have won at Spurs and Chelsea already this month could stroll to victory here - and that may well happen - but they are a brilliant counter-attacking team, one which prefers space into which they can break.

That's often harder for them to achieve at Molineux and despite their opponents' desperate need for points, you have to wonder if the visitors will go very defensive here after what's occurred in recent weeks.

The issue with odds-on Wolves

That would be the worry backing Wolves to win at 1.4740/85 here - how often will they get into those two-on-two positions which saw them do so much damage on those recent trips to London?

Wolves had 62% of the ball in the reverse fixture but that was one which resulted in a 2-1 win for the Yorkshiremen thanks to a controversial injury-time penalty. That highlights how the Blades may be able to frustrate the hosts here. A repeat can be backed at 7.87/1 with the draw at 5.04/1.

The first half hour will be key to the Blades' chances - they will need to keep things tight. In five of their last seven league games, they've been behind inside 30 minutes and if that happens again, then clearly the visitors will need to come out which, in turn, would create those spaces their hosts crave.

Neto assist looks best approach

With this in mind, I'm prepared to side with Pedro Neto in the anytime assist market.

The Portuguese has been outstanding for Wolves this season and has already provided nine assists in just 16 Premier League appearances.

Were it not for that low number of games (due to a mid-season injury), Neto would be being talked about a lot more, one suspects.

He'd certainly be higher than a still-impressive 14th in the 'most crosses' list and notably defending balls in from the wide areas is a part of the game Sheffield United have struggled in.

2.767/4 about an assist isn't a mouthwatering price but given the potential for a few goals from the home side, it's one I'm happy to back.

For the record, over 2.5 goals in the game is 1.75/7 with Wolves 2.3411/8 to score three or more.

Bet Builder options

Moving onto other options, it's worth noting these two both sit in the top five when it comes to cards received.

The Blades' players are short enough but there's possible value to be had in Craig Dawson, who has been carded seven times in 23 league games this season, a stat which suggests odds of 4/15.00 could be on the large side.

There are also a couple of options in the fouls markets for those putting Bet Builders together with Wolves' Max Kilman and Hee-chan Hwang both worth considering.

Kilman has landed the 1+ foul bet in 10 of his last 14, while Hwang is 15/82.88 for 2+ fouls despite having delivered for his backers in eight of his last 15 for his club.

Grbic has in-play potential

There's also a potential bet I'd like to mention for in-play punters.

There looks to be a decent chance that January signing Ivo Gbric is recalled between the sticks for Sheffield United and, if he does start, watch out for time-wasting opportunities for he's a master of it.

The Croatian was carded twice in 12 La Liga games last season, while in 2021/22, 29 appearances) brought five cards.

Obviously, the visitors will need to remain in the game for this to be a viable angle but it's one certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Opta fact

Sheffield United have lost five Premier League games by a margin of 5+ goals this season, the joint most such defeats of any side in a single Premier League campaign (also Derby County in 2007-08). In fact, only Darwen (7 in 1891-92) and Ipswich Town (6 in 1963-64) have lost more top-flight matches in a single season by 5+ goals.

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