Sheffield United without suspended defender Basham

Posted Friday, February 15, 2019 by PA

Sheffield United will again be without defender Chris Basham for the Championship clash with Reading at Bramall Lane.

Basham, who sat out the 1-0 home win over fellow promotion contenders Middlesbrough on Wednesday night, completes a two-match ban for collecting 10 yellow cards this season.

Boss Chris Wilder also has another defender in George Baldock sidelined after he sustained a calf injury against Boro, while Jack O’Connell remains a doubt with a hamstring problem that forced him to miss the midweek victory.

On-loan midfielder Marvin Johnson is available after he sat out the game with Boro due to being ineligible to face his parent club.

After playing for 89 minutes and scoring a late winning goal in Wednesday’s 2-1 home victory over Blackburn, Reading’s on-loan striker Nelson Oliveira should again start.

That is providing the Portuguese has shown no adverse reaction to his comeback after his nose was broken in four places in a goalless draw with Aston Villa earlier this month, forcing him to miss the draw that followed with Sheffield Wednesday, and play with a protective mask against Rovers.

Goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola (Achilles), midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi and striker Sam Baldock (both thigh) all remain unavailable.

Boss Jose Gomes must decide whether Sone Aluko will start after the striker was hauled off at half-time against Blackburn following an ineffective 45 minutes.