Pilgrims to progress and put Blades to the sword
Bramall Lane will bear witness to one of several ties in the FA Cup Fourth Round this season where there are two tiers between the teams on show. Perhaps nowhere though is there more of a palpable sense that there could be a real, old-fashioned cup upset. Sheffield United have been truly abysmal this season, especially in the Premier League, with just a single win to their name, and made very heavy weather of defeating Bristol Rovers in the previous round. The visitors to South Yorkshire are another third tier outfit that have also recently banished a hoodoo of their own - an elusive win on the road. However, they are mid-table in their division after promotion in 2019/2020, and in Ryan Lowe, the former Sheffield Wednesday striker, they have an up and coming manager who will be relishing the chance at dumping the Blades out. Read our preview here:
Will Ethan Ampadu?
Chris Wilder will have to make do without five first teamers for the visit of the Pilgrims. Overlapping centre-back Jack O'Connell has been a huge miss this season, and three more defenders are very unlikely to feature - towering stopper Sander Berge, and utility men Jack Robinson and Ben Osborn, who can also operate anywhere in midfield. Striker Oli McBurnie, who hasn't been prolific in the red and white of the Bladesmen in his career with them to date, is nevertheless still a key absence. Their problems are numerous, marrying the classic duo of leaking too many goals with not scoring nearly enough. Only David McGoldrick can hold his head up high with his output, having bagged exactly half of their 10 goals in 19 league matches. Without O'Connell, there's been no-one to truly link defence to the second phase of play, and they have at times looked really marooned. Ethan Ampadu, on his day, could be that go-between, but he hasn't looked remotely settled or confident during his loan spell. Sunderland found out to their cost in midweek that Plymouth are strong down both flanks, and Joe Edwards will be fired up to pounce on any mistakes he or wing-back Max Lowe make.
The Lord Mayor's Show
The Devon outfit seem to have put behind them a truly wretched run of six defeats on the spin in November and December that had many of the Green Army calling Lowe into question seriously for the first time in his tenure at Home Park, but he has since rallied the troops and guided them away from a brief flirtation just above the relegation zone in League One. He will be keen to use what time is left in the January transfer window to plug the gaps in a distinctly leaky defence. Though his philosophy has normally been one of attack, there has been a creeping pragmatism making its way into his thinking since he left the now-defunct Bury to take over the reins at Plymouth. Many of the star turns at Gigg Lane followed him 300 miles south, and some remain in situ. Danny Mayor, nominally a left-sided central midfielder who actually operates more like an inside forward, has been a key component of the engine room, beating players on the dribble almost at will and advancing his team well up the pitch without the numbers or end product to show for it. Luke Jephcott, the target of many of his and Edwards' crosses, will surely make the transition to senior international football with Wales sooner rather than later, regardless of whether he stays with the Pilgrims. The 20 year old has crashed in 15 goals in all competitions, outscoring Saturday's opponents all by himself.
I'll take the Lowe road
Lowe has asked his players to believe they are capable of upsetting the more vaunted sides they come up against, and his charges responded in kind by besting Sunderland in their own backyard. Whilst 35 places might separate the two clubs in the pyramid, this has all the feel of a game that will be much more closely contested than that. Sheffield United could win of course, but they will be made to fight even harder than they did at the Memorial Stadium. Much more likely is a tie that will go all the way, and the visitors can arguably call upon more game-changing options from the bench to prod them over the line. bet365 are offering odds of 4.00 for Plymouth to qualify, i.e. win in normal time, after extra time, or on penalties.
