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2023/24 English Premier League
Matchday 27
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Bramall Lane
Sheffield, England
Monday, 4 March 2024
Kick-off is at 22h00
Arsenal will be looking to pounce on any potential slip-ups from their title rivals when they take on
Premier League basement club Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Monday, March 4.
The Gunners have been ruthless in recent weeks as they beat Newcastle 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium on February 24 to make it 15 goals in their last three matches.
Mikel Arteta's side extended their winning streak to six games as they kept in touch with second-placed Manchester City and league leaders Liverpool, who are just one and two points ahead of them respectively.
The Reds maintained their slender lead at the summit after recording a 4-1 comeback win against Luton on February 21, while the Citizens edged Bournemouth 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium three days later.
Time is running out for the Blades, who suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Wolves at Molineux on February 25 to remain rooted to the foot of the table on 13 points, eight adrift of safety with 12 matches left to play.
Burnley (19th) are only ahead of them on goal difference, having also been beaten by Crystal Palace (3-0) at Selhurst Park, with the Hatters seven points better off in 18th position after losing their last three games.
Image Source: Alamy Stock Photo
In team news, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has a whole host of injuries to contend with as Max Lowe, Chris Basham, John Egan (all ankle), Rhys Norrington-Davies (thigh) and Daniel Jebbison (illness) continue to be unavailable, while Mason Holgate is suspended. Ben Brereton Diaz (thigh), Cameron Archer (calf) and George Baldock could come back into contention though. Jurrien Timber (knee) and Takehiro Tomiyasu are the only definite absentees for the visitors, who could welcome back Thomas Partey (thigh) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf).
Wilder felt the Blades could have gotten a result in the Black Country if they'd shown a bit more quality and composure, but stressed they need to start seizing the opportunities presented to them if they want to avoid an instant return to the Championship.
"Nothing [positive] right now, I don't want hard luck stories, that we're the whipping boys because that's the narrative. But we've got to turn good performances into results," he told Sky Sports.
"We've had enough of the play, against an outstanding team who won at Tottenham, beat Chelsea, went close against Man United, and had them exactly where we wanted them in the second half.
"That's when we need to find that quality and composure if we want to be Premier League players. If those boys want to be in the Premier League, stay in the Premier League, make a career - not just say they've played in the Premier League, we have to find those big moments.
"So we can't slash at things, make poor decisions, however the game's going, from a tactical point of view. We've not found it. Even in the first half, we've had two big chances."
Arteta hailed the desire of his players to continue pushing for more goals against the Magpies after Sven Botman's own-goal in the 18th minute gave them the lead.
"We had a great performance. Big credit to the boys with just two and a half days to prepare. The way they executed everything, the determination, aggression, they played with a lot of courage. I think we fully deserved to win the game," the Spaniard said.
"They are finding ways to score in various ways. It is very satisfying, we could have scored many more today. There are still some things we have to improve and get players back.
"The team is hitting form, we're in a good moment. Players individually are performing, we score one and we want to go for the second, third and fourth and I love that mentality."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Sheffield United wins - 1
Arsenal wins - 3
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 27 fixtures:
Saturday, March 2
17h00: Brentford v Chelsea
17h00: Everton v West Ham United
17h00: Fulham v Brighton & Hove Albion
17h00: Newcastle United vWolverhampton Wanderers
17h00: Nottingham Forest v Liverpool
17h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
19h30: Luton Town v Aston Villa
Sunday, March 3
15h00: Burnley v Bournemouth
17h30: Manchester City v Manchester United
Monday, March 4
22h00: Sheffield United v Arsenal
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