Stearman: It Promises To Be A Great Game
- Richard Stearman looks ahead to Thursday's clash between Leicester City and Sheffield United (6pm BST kick-off)
- The defender made almost 200 combined appearances across spells with both clubs
- Stearman points to the Blades' team ethic as one of their most considerable strengths this term
- However, the former England youth international believes City are capable of securing three points
Stearman came through the Academy to make over 100 appearances at the Club between 2004 and 2008, before helping the Blades win promotion from the Championship last term.
After seeing firsthand the methods deployed by United manager Chris Wilder, the Wolverhampton-born defender believes the unique togetherness of their squad is a big asset.
"That’s the strength of this Sheffield United side," Stearman told LCFC TV. "Chris Wilder has built a team unit and their work ethic for each other is so strong.
"It’s probably their biggest strength, the team as a collective. Everyone knows their role and the system they play, which is so well publicised.
"It’s going to be a tough ask for Leicester City with Sheffield United performing so well recently so, like I say, it promises to be a great game.
"Obviously, it’s two teams that are vying for European places, so they’ve both got something to fight for.
"Sheffield United have had a good couple of results in their last few games, and Leicester are on the back of a disappointing defeat at Bournemouth, so it’s one I’m looking forward to.
"I think they struggled to get going a little bit in the first few games since the restart, but we’ve seen in the last few results that they’ve certainly picked up.
"They’re back to pre-lockdown form and they’ve got a lot of confidence and the goals are flowing as well, so it’s certainly going to be a tough test for Leicester City."
Stearman was still a Blades player when the Foxes left Bramall Lane with a 2-1 win back in August and believes Brendan Rodgers' men exhibited real quality in Yorkshire.
Returning to that level of performance at King Power Stadium on Thursday, while moving on from Sunday's loss at AFC Bournemouth, is key for Leicester, Stearman believes.
"They’ve no doubt looked at how Sheffield United play," he added. "I was still at the club when Leicester came to Bramall Lane, and they were the best team I’d seen there.
"They were fast, they were free-flowing. The combination of James Maddison and Jamie Vardy was a joy to watch and they went away with three points that day.
"They’ve got to dust themselves off after the result in the last game. Don’t dwell on it, learn from the mistakes, and move ahead and try and push on with three valuable points."
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