Sheffield United vs. Chelsea – EPL, February 7, 2021

This will be the first EPL game for Thomas Tuchel outside of London on Sunday – and it will be a good test of how Chelsea has improved, coming up against a resurgent Sheffield United.

The Blades have looked much better in the last month (although they couldn’t have looked much worse) and will be keen to keep their good form going.

Sheffield United might be getting better, but bookmakers are still going to be offering long odds for the club to win – even at home – against the big teams. That’s exactly what BetOnline has done here, and if it was anyone else but Chelsea, I might be tempted. But Thomas Tuchel is really changing things up at Stamford Bridge, so an away win has to be favored.

Sheffield United has looked like a different team in recent weeks after going the first 17 games of the season without a single victory. Three in the last five has put a spring in the step of Chris Wilder and everyone associated with the club. But the comeback win against fellow strugglers West Brom on Tuesday might be the most important.

If the Blades had not been able to beat the Baggies at home at such a crunch time of the season, all the good work of the past month would have been wasted. But now Sheffield United could climb off of the bottom of the table with a win here – and other results going its way. The great escape could well be on.

But the dramatic comeback might have to wait another week. Chelsea is another side that has really stepped it up recently – and it is all down to the new man in charge. Thomas Tuchel has only overseen three games so far (and had only been in the country a few hours before the draw with Wolves) but is already showing insights far beyond his predecessor’s ability.

It is obvious that he values the talent of Callum Hudson-Odoi much more than Frank Lampard ever did – and Mason Mount is unlikely to miss out on a regular basis now, either. Timo Werner might also get a chance to really get his Chelsea career going with a head coach that knows how good he can be.

With such an exciting attacking unit, Sheffield United could be in for some trouble on Sunday.

I’m not sure if the bookies realize just how much of a transformation could be in the works at Chelsea now that Thomas Tuchel has taken over as manager. But the odds for an away win were never going to be too attractive here – even with Sheffield United’s recent improvement. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still back the London side on Sunday, though.