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• 'It's a poor season, not a poor football club' – Blades boss Wilder

  Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has defended Sheffield United, acknowledging it has been a bad season, but dismissing that the Blades do not have a positive future.

  A midweek defeat to Manchester United means the Blades can be relegated back to the Championship should they lose to Newcastle United on Saturday.

  The Blades are 10 points from safety with four games left, but even a point would not realistically be enough given they have a goal difference of -59, 41 worse than Nottingham Forest’s -18.

  To make matters worse, the Blades will start their next season in the Championship with a two-point deduction for financial discrepancies.

  "We're not saying everything is great," said Wilder.

  "What we are saying is there is a load of optimism about the future of the football club.

  "It's a poor season, not a poor football club. We've been in far worse positions than this as a football club, certainly over my time as a supporter, player and manager.

  "So, we'll come again if the inevitable happens on the weekend. We'll try our best, as we did, like we did on Wednesday night at Old Trafford, to get a result for our club and our supporters – who yet again were magnificent."

  Newcastle, meanwhile, are in the hunt for European football, and Eddie Howe wants a response following the 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in midweek.

  Howe said: "We must learn and absorb all the lessons from Wednesday. Every game is so difficult, it is up to us to go into the game with the right mentality and let our players express themselves in the right way. We have to finish the season strongly, we are under no illusions on how important these fixtures are."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Newcastle United – Alexander Isak

  Isak has scored in each of his last six Premier League home games, with only Andrew Cole (eight in 1993-94) and Alan Shearer (15 in 1996-97) netting in more consecutively for Newcastle in the competition.

  Sheffield United – Ben Brereton Diaz

  Brereton Diaz scored in Sheff Utd’s 4-2 defeat at Old Trafford – his fifth Premier League goal of the season since he joined on loan from Villarreal in January. With Oli McBurnie set to miss the rest of the season, Diaz will be the Blades’ biggest attacking threat.

  MATCH PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE UNITED WIN

  Newcastle are overwhelming favourites, and it is no surprise given Howe have lost just one of their last 25 Premier League games kicking off at 3pm on Saturday (W16 D8), going down 1-0 at Luton Town earlier this season. 

  The Magpies have scored in all 17 of their Premier League home games this season, with their 43 goals in total their most at St James’ Park in a top-flight campaign since 1996-97 (54).

  Newcastle have lost none of their eight Premier League home games against promoted sides under Howe (W3 D5), with their last such defeat coming against Leeds United under Steve Bruce in January 2021. They also beat Sheffield United 8-0 in the reverse fixture at Bramall Lane – the most goals they have ever scored against an opponent in a single Premier League campaign is 10, doing so against the Blades’ rivals Sheffield Wednesday in 1999-00.

  The Blades have lost three of their four Premier League away games against Newcastle, failing to score in each defeat. The exception was a 1-0 victory under Neil Warnock in November 2006.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Newcastle United – 71.6%

  Sheffield United – 9.7%

  Draw – 18.7%

• Philadelphia Union v Real Salt Lake: Curtin keen to maintain tough reputation

  Jim Curtin is keen to see the Philadelphia Union retain their reputation as a tough team to play against, with his side still unbeaten this season ahead of Saturday's visit of Real Salt Lake.

  The Union sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with three wins and four draws so far this term, their latest stalemate coming by a 2-2 scoreline against Atlanta United last time out.

  While Curtin was somewhat disappointed to see the Union's three-match winning streak ended in Georgia, he is pleased by the resilience they have shown ahead of their return to Subaru Park.

  "Whether people in the public think we're good or think we're bad, they will at least say we're tough to play against," Curtin said. 

  "I think that unequivocally across the board, there's not a coach or general manager or fan in this league that would say we're an easy team to deal with and play against.

  "Part of that is not losing, finding ways to turn losses into ties, ties into wins, and we'll look to try to continue to do that and really protect our home field."

  Philadelphia face a tough test this weekend, though, against a Salt Lake team currently flying high in third in the Western Conference. 

  Pablo Mastroeni's men are unbeaten in their last four games, producing their best performance of 2024 to date last time out as they thrashed the Chicago Fire 4-0 on the road. 

  "I'm so excited about what we can do as a group, as players and coaches, and the onus is on us to continue to get better and really push this thing forward," Mastroeni said after that win.

  "I think we've established a decent standard, and we know where we are at our best and where we are lacking, but it's testament to the work the guys are doing during the week."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Philadelphia Union – Mikael Uhre

  Uhre scored the Union's first goal as they fought back from two goals down to draw in Atlanta.

  He has four goal involvements in MLS play this term (three goals, one assist), a tally only matched by Daniel Gazdag and Julian Carranza among his Union team-mates.

  Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango

  Arango scored twice against the Fire last week and has now been involved in at least one goal in four straight regular-season road games, equalling the longest such streak in Real Salt Lake's history.

  Might he break new ground at Subaru Park?

  MATCH PREDICTION – PHILADELPHIA UNION WIN

  The Union's only win in 12 all-time meetings with Real Salt Lake was a 4-1 home victory when the teams last met at Subaru Park in May 2018 (six draws, five losses). This will be the sides' first meeting on any ground since June 2019.

  While the visitors are unbeaten in their last five matches (three wins, two draws), this could be their toughest test to date.

  Philadelphia have only lost one of their last 41 regular-season home matches (28 wins, 12 draws), including going unbeaten through their last 16 (nine wins, seven draws), a run dating back over a year.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Philadelphia Union – 57.8%

  Real Salt Lake – 17.3%

  Draw – 24.9%

• New York City v Charlotte FC: Cushing wants more from in-form hosts

  Nick Cushing is pushing for more as New York City bid for a third successive victory against Charlotte FC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. 

  NYCFC are eighth in the Eastern Conference standings after back-to-back 2-0 home wins over the New England Revolution and D.C. United, having gone four unbeaten (two wins, two draws).

  Their consecutive wins have come after a run of just two victories in their previous 10 (three draws, five losses), but Cushing does not want his team to stop there.

  "I think the three-game run is something that we have a huge desire to achieve," Cushing said.

  "I said after the game in the locker room, it has been a long time since we've gone back-to-back. It's been too long, really, since we went back-to-back, so it's good to enjoy that after the game.

  "Now we have the opportunity to do a three-game run. We have to make sure we do that before we think about anything else."

  Charlotte have gone the opposite way in recent weeks, losing two of their last three games to leave them behind New York on goal difference.

  Former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith acknowledges they need to show more in the forward areas after averaging just one goal per game in 2024. 

  "That's certainly an area where we need to be better, I think we all know that. We've been working on it for the last three or four weeks," Smith said.

  "I think defensively we've been really solid. In terms of our creativity, we've had some big chances that we haven't taken. 

  "Last week [in a 3-0 loss to Minnesota United] there were some moments we didn't take as well, technically we just failed on that."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH 

  New York City – Santiago Rodriguez 

  Rodriguez recorded a goal and an assist in NYCFC's win over D.C. last week and now has four goals and one assist this season, with all of those involvements coming at home. 

  Since the start of last season, 14 (seven goals, seven assists) of Rodriguez's 16 goal contributions in regular-season matches have come at home.

  Charlotte FC – Ashley Westwood

  Charlotte have failed to score in two of their last three games, and a lack of creativity has been a theme of their campaign to date.

  Captain Westwood leads all Charlotte players for chances created this season, with 13, and he could be key if they are to hit the goal trail. 

  MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK CITY WIN

  Charlotte are unbeaten in five all-time meetings with New York (four wins, one draw), including a 1-0 win over them in the teams' season opener on February 24.

  The Crown are the only team NYCFC have faced more than once in MLS play and never defeated, but that may just change this week.

  New York have won back-to-back matches to nil, a major defensive upturn after they managed just one clean sheet in their previous 10. Charlotte, meanwhile, have only earned one point from four road games in MLS this year, losing their last three in a row. 

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  New York City – 51.8%

  Charlotte FC – 21.1%

  Draw – 27.1%