Bramall Lane plays host to a Premier League basement battle on Saturday afternoon, as Sheffield United pit their wits against Bournemouth.
The rejuvenated Blades entered the international break on the back of a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, while the Cherries dented Newcastle United's European aspirations in a 2-0 beating.
On the back of their merited yet highly controversial beating of Wolverhampton Wanderers, which saw the newly-promoted outfit finally post a first success of the season at the 11th attempt, Paul Heckingbottom's crop ventured to a jelly-legged and injury-hit Brighton team, who were the architects of their own downfall at the Amex.
Up-and-coming winger Simon Adingra needed just six minutes to open his and the Seagulls' account for the afternoon, but five minutes after Brighton lost Mahmoud Dahoud to a red card, Adam Webster's unfortunate own goal saw the Blades travel back to base with a hard-earned point.
Not since July 2020 had Sheffield United avoided defeat in two successive matches in the Premier League - enjoying a run of three wins and a draw under Chris Wilder in the COVID-19 era - but their reward is only an 18th-placed standing in the table thanks to Everton's 10-point deduction, one point adrift of Luton Town in the safety of 17th place.
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