Any optimism surrounding Sheffield United’s top-flight return has certainly ebbed away during the off-season, as many fans fear a fruitless survival struggle awaits in 2023-24.
The departures of Iliman Ndiaye to Marseille and midfield maestro Sander Berge to potential relegation rivals Burnley – plus exits for two promotion-winning loanees – leave the Blades facing a difficult year ahead.
Having overcome a transfer embargo and other off-field problems, Heckingbottom steered his youthful side to 28 wins last term – six more than any other team except Burnley – but now an even greater challenge awaits.
During the pre-season period, Sheffield United have lost half of their matches, failing to score on four occasions, including a humbling 3-0 home defeat to Stuttgart in their final warm-up fixture last week.
They have also won their opening league match in just one of the last nine seasons, during a dire run featuring seven losses, and that bodes ill for Saturday’s return to English football’s top table.
Now forced to replace such an iconic figure, vastly experienced head coach Roy Hodgson harnessed Zaha’s talents as he led a struggling squad to safety last term, after returning to Selhurst Park in place of Patrick Vieira.
Having secured a commendable 11th place in the final standings – thanks to some electrifying attacking displays from Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and others – Hodgson has since set Palace a target of finishing inside the top 10 this time around.
Kicking off their second 11th straight season in the Premier League, Crystal Palace will also be aiming to overcome the departure of their talisman this season, as Wilfried Zaha’s long-expected exit leaves behind big boots to fill
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Though he has just turned 76, the ex-England boss signed a fresh one-year contract at his boyhood club, bringing in Jefferson Lerma on a free transfer from Bournemouth and Flamengo’s 19-year-old starlet Matheus Franca to bolster his squad for the upcoming campaign.
After ending their United States tour with a 1-1 draw against Sevilla (though they did lose a subsequent sudden-death shootout), Palace went on to beat Lyon 2-0 last weekend; recording a third friendly victory of the summer, following wins over Crawley Town and Watford last month.
The Croydon club are therefore primed for their Premier League opener in South Yorkshire, where maximum points will be the target – particularly as back-to-back London derbies against Arsenal and Brentford are next on the schedule.
While Crystal Palace have lost their opening league game in each of the last two seasons – being beaten 3-0 by Chelsea and 2-0 by Arsenal – they have never done so in three consecutive top-flight campaigns and will not want to lose that record now.
