Sky Bet EFL: Sky Sports pundit and EFL expert David Prutton discusses the weekend's key talking points
Sky Sports presenter and Sky Bet EFL expert David Prutton discusses the big talking points in the English Football League this weekend.
On Friday night, Sheffield United travel to Hull City as they look to continue their march into the top six of the Sky Bet Championship.
On Sheffield United:
It seemed like they had a bit of a lull recently, which is understandable really with the way that they play. You can add in the injury to Coutts, who is a key man for them and it is unfortunate because he was flying for them.
It’s refreshing to see them pick up again especially when the questions were asked all along about a team who have come up from League One and how they’re going to adapt.
Sheffield United are 8/5 to beat Hull City with Sky Bet.
I think they’ve been brilliant, I think the way they’ve gone about it and the way that Chris Wilder sets his team up, expansively and fearlessly. They’ve been a joy to watch.
Against a Hull side, you’ve got to fancy them to get a result.
On Sheffield United youngster David Brooks returning:
He’s superb, the arrogance of youth he’s got, in the nicest possible way, helps. He seems to play in a way that belies his age.
I think with what you’ve seen of the way Leon Clarke and Billy Sharp play, there’s been a slight biding of his time and where he is best utilised, whether it’s coming from a wider position, slightly more centrally or playing upfront, but I think he’s superb.
The fact he’s signed a longer-term deal with United shows he thinks his future is there and he’s happy with the progression he’s making under Chris Wilder and Alan Knill.
On Hull City:
Over the course of a season, the players that they’ve either brought in or let go just hasn’t helped.
I think someone like Jarrod Bowen is a real shining light for them, he’s done tremendously well for them this season.
The fact they had a manager (Leonid Slutsky) who didn’t know, not only the Championship but English football at all, was always going to be a gamble. It was a gamble that obviously didn’t pay off.
In Nigel Adkins, there’s someone who operated in and around this level and been relatively successful. Plus his demeanour is different to Slutsky, the positivity and the touch of lightness he brings to proceedings you think would help in a position such as this. However, you look at the Middlesbrough game, it ends up being a relatively straightforward win for the hosts.
For Hull City to survive this season in the Championship would be a triumph for them. There’s lots of different dynamics for them, dropping down and the ongoing saga with the owners. There’s a real identity to the place and I think it’d be a shame if they were to drop out of the division.
Bradford City will hoping to reach another play-off final in Sky Bet League One, and have appointed promotion expert Simon Grayson as their new boss. They travel to face in-form Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
On Simon Grayson at Bradford City:
He didn't want a longer term deal which the owners were offering at the club. It’s great I think, it’s healthy for a manager to show a dose of ego with regards to getting another promotion. To show Sunderland perhaps what they may be missing out on.
What dovetails into that is the misfortune of Stuart McCall. He’d said about the torrid seven or eight games but he’d like to think the preceding many months of good work, like getting them to the play-off final, might have counted for something.
Bradford City are 14/1 to secure promotion to the Championship this season.
In Simon, to go in there and say we want to get promoted is a great fit. Having got to know him, he’s very straightforward, he’s very low maintenance, he likes his team to be fairly settled. You’re looking at a Bradford side that lost half of the players who started the play-off final, it was always going to be a tough ask.
Despite that, they’re still in and around the play-offs and I wouldn’t bet against Grayson being in the play-offs again come the end of the season.
Saturday evening sees the headline act of the Sky Bet EFL this weekend, with promotion hopefuls Fulham coming up against runaway leaders Wolves.
On Fulham:
During a lot of the first-half of the season, and pre-season as well, Jokanovic appeared frustrated with the way that they were going about acquiring players.
The positive spin on that is that they didn’t lose Tom Cairney, they didn’t lose Ryan Sessegnon and they didn’t lose someone like Kevin McDonald who is someone who quietly goes about his business, allowing other players to perhaps flourish.
The timing of the wins is perfect. It seemed that there were a lot of clubs who would have said that Fulham were the toughest game last year because they didn’t turn too many teams over in that respect.
Both Teams To Score In Both Halves of Fulham v Wolves is 16/1 with Sky Bet.
This will be a nice meeting between these two teams. Fulham are in good recent form and Wolves in superb season-long form.
On Wolves:
They’ve managed to confound, not the critics, but those who had asked questions from the first kick of the season.
Would the politics be alright? Whether these players would get shoe-horned in that Jorge Mendes looks after and it might upset the boat. Also if Nuno Espirito Santo would get the right chemistry and he has done.
He’s elevated the likes of Conor Coady and Matt Doherty and got more out of them which is as good a managerial feat as it is settling in new recruits. Whilst some of the new additions are players who have played in the Champions League, we know the constant nature of the Championship, the intensity of it and Santo has managed to do just that.
They all can play, which is an understatement, but there is a bite to them as well. The likes of Ruben Neves and Jota have adapted and equipped themselves. They’ve been a joy to watch.
The game against Fulham will not make or break either team's season at this stage because it’s too early to say but it’ll be a really good benchmark of quality.
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