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Paul Heckingbottom hints at Sheffield United formation change

:Headline: Paul Heckingbottom hints at Sheffield United formation change:
The Blades used a midfield diamond in the second half against Arsenal and face Wolves this weekend.
Sports Mole

Interim boss Paul Heckingbottom thinks it would be "foolish" of him not to consider a change of formation for Sheffield United's game at Wolves as injuries begin to bite at Bramall Lane.

The Blades were dealt a double injury blow this week with the news that Oli McBurnie and Billy Sharp will miss the rest of the season.

McBurnie fractured a bone in his foot during the defeat to Arsenal while fellow striker and club captain Sharp has undergone surgery on a thigh problem sustained in training.

John Fleck is a doubt ahead of the trip to Molineux, where the Blades' inevitable relegation could be confirmed on Saturday night. The midfielder has not been able to train this week because of a stiff groin.

Meanwhile, Heckingbottom remains without Sander Berge, Chris Basham, Jack Robinson and Jack Rodwell.

Heckingbottom switched the midfield to a diamond shape for the second half of last weekend's 3-0 defeat to Arsenal but it saw the Blades improve, and the 43-year-old may employ the same tactic against Wolves.

"If you can't change the personnel, the system you can change, and we'd be foolish not to look at it," said Heckingbottom.

"In terms of debriefing the games, I think we've had a bit of everything. We had chances in the Chelsea game, we certainly had the physical output in the Leeds game but we were open in certain ways.

"Against Arsenal we didn't create enough, I thought, even though we had more of the ball in the second half. We're always looking to improve and being able to change the shape is something we could possibly do.

"We seem to get one back and lose two at the minute, that's just the way it is and tends to be when things don't go your way.

"We've had many discussions about what comes first, is it poor results lead to injuries or injuries lead to poor results?"

The Blades head into the weekend's round of fixtures bottom of the table and 18 points adrift of safety with seven matches remaining. They could be even further detached by the time they kick-off at Molineux on Saturday night.

Heckingbottom knows getting the result they may need in order to prolong their Premier League survival will not be easy.

"They've got the threats with the pace of someone like (Adama) Traore and they have a different dimension to them compared to last season," said Heckingbottom.

"We know they can be really creative but also really frugal in giving nothing away. They've changed shape in a couple of games so we have to be prepared for everything they throw at us. They pose threats all over the pitch."

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City33245469244577
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd331910464352967
3Leicester CityLeicester33195960382262
4Chelsea331610751312058
5West Ham UnitedWest Ham331671053431055
6Liverpool33159955391654
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs331581056381853
8Everton32157104440452
9Leeds UnitedLeeds33145145050047
10Arsenal33137134437746
11Aston Villa32136134637945
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves33118143245-1341
13Crystal Palace32108143454-2038
14Burnley3399153045-1536
15Southampton32106164058-1836
16Newcastle UnitedNewcastle3399153654-1836
17Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton33713133339-634
18Fulham33512162543-1827
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom33510183064-3425
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd3352261856-3817
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6Marseille34151094942755
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