With the 2023/24 Premier League campaign kicking off last week, Nottingham Forest will be looking to bounce back from their opening-day defeat at Arsenal in front of their home fans this weekend.
The Reds were beaten by the Gunners on Saturday lunchtime, with Taiwo Awoniyi's consolation unable to spark a successful turnaround at the Emirates Stadium.
After gaining automatic promotion from the Championship, Sheffield United's first away trip of the season comes at the City Ground, as they seek their first points of the season after being beaten themselves by Crystal Palace.
Ahead of the clash at the City Ground, Football FanCast takes a deeper look into the previous meetings in years gone by…
Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United: Who has the better head-to-head record?
There isn't much separating these two sides in this statistic, but Nottingham Forest just edge it.
The pair have each had their own spells of dominance in this fixture, with Sheffield United claiming 11 wins across their 16 meetings between 1925 and 1952, whilst Forest got their own back from 1963 to 1971, going unbeaten against the Blades during this period.
In recent times, the results have constantly swung back and forth, which is evinced in the stat below.
Nottingham Forest wins: 46 Draws: 32 Sheffield United wins: 44 Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United: Who has the more wins at the City Ground?
Forest will certainly be the favourites in their first home game of the campaign. Last term, the east Midlanders won the majority of their points at the City Ground, and it was a difficult place to go to, even for some of the league's strongest teams.
Treble winners Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw there in February, and three months later, Arsenal suffered a fatal blow in their title charge after Steve Cooper's side clinched a 1-0 victory to hand the Premier League trophy to the Citizens – whilst retaining their top-flight status in the process.
Though, Sheffield United can take some comfort in the fact that they've had their fair share of victories away at the Reds.
Nottingham Forest wins: 27 Draws: 16 Sheffield United wins: 17 Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United: Who has the better cup record?
Sheffield United have never met the Tricky Trees in any cup competition other than the FA Cup, where they have racked up a sizable advantage in victories.
The Blades are four-time FA Cup winners in comparison to Forest's two triumphs, but they have never won the League Cup, whilst the east Midlanders have won the competition on four occasions.
But it is Paul Heckingbottom's side who tend to come out on top when they are pitted against each other in the cup, with the Blades' last victory coming en route to the FA Cup semis in 2014.
Nottingham Forest wins: 3 Draws: 3 Sheffield United wins: 8 Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United: What were the last five meetings?
17th May 2022 – Nottingham Forest 1-2 Sheffield United: The last meeting between the pair saw Forest clinch a dramatic victory in the play-off semi-final second leg via a penalty shootout.
Brice Samba saved spot-kicks from Oliver Norwood, Conor Hourihane and Morgan Gibbs-White to send his side through to the play-off final at Wembley, where they defeated Huddersfield Town 1-0 to gain promotion to the Premier League, ending their 23-year absence from the division.
14th May 2022 – Sheffield United 1-2 Nottingham Forest: Three days prior, Forest defeated the Blades 2-1 at Bramall Lane thanks to goals from Jack Colback and Brennan Johnson, who scored his 19th goal of the campaign.
Norway international Sander Berge netted a vital stoppage-time consolation goal, which kept the tie well and truly alive going into the second leg at the City ground.
This fixture was the first time the two sides had ever faced each other in the play-offs.
4th March 2022 – Sheffield United 1-1 Nottingham Forest: Ryan Yates headed home a last-gasp equaliser to keep Forest within touching distance of the top six.
The crucial away point moved them up to eighth, two points adrift of the sixth-placed Blades, who were on the verge of moving five points ahead of their promotion-challenging rivals.
Ulitmately, Cooper's side ended the campaign in fourth on 80 points whilst Paul Heckingbottom's Sheffield United finished 5th on 75 points, setting up the aforementioned play-off semi-final clash.
2nd November 2021 – Nottingham Forest 1-1 Sheffield United: The reverse fixture produced the same result, and it was the east Midlanders again who fought back late on to salvage a point.
Morgan Gibbs-White broke the deadlock in the 78th minute for Sheffield United before Lewis Grabban levelled in the 83rd. At times, it was an 'ill-tempered' clash as the pair fought to get back into the win column.
Neither side had hit their rhythm yet, with Forest languishing in 16th at that stage, whilst the Blades sat one place above their eventual play-off rivals on goal difference.
19th April 2019 – Sheffield United 2-0 Nottingham Forest: Sheffield United moved into second place after defeating 10-man Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Bramall Lane. Chris Wilder's side went up that season, pipping Leeds United to the final automatic promotion spot.
Forest, under the stewardship of Martin O'Neill, sunk into 13th, 10 points adrift of the play-off places with three games to spare.
Who has played for Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United?
Billy Sharp (Sheffield United 2004-2005, 2007-2010, 2015-2023; Nottingham Forest 2012-13): The Championship's all-time top goalscorer spent a year on loan at Forest from Southampton during the 2012/13 season. He netted 10 league goals that year whilst laying on five assists.
Sharp made 377 appearances for boyhood club Sheffield United, scoring 129 goals whilst providing 44 assists. He was an integral part of the club's promotion to both the Championship and the Premier League.
The striker is now a free agent after being released at the end of the season. Rotherham United had been in talks to sign the 37-year-old, but if reports are to be believed, they decided to pull out due to the time it has taken him to make a decision.
David McGoldrick (Nottingham Forest 2009-2013; Sheffield United 2018-2022): The Republic of Ireland international was on Forest's books for four years. He made 73 appearances in total, scoring nine goals whilst providing five assists.
His time at Bramall Lane was far more fruitful. McGoldrick, like Sharp, was a key player during the club's return back to the Premier League, after spending 12 years outside of the division. The centre-forward racked up 42 goal contributions in 136 games for the Blades.
He now plies his trade in League Two with Notts County, who signed the forward this summer on a free transfer following a 25-goal season with League One outfit Derby County.
Oliver Burke (Nottingham Forest 2013-2016; Sheffield United 2020-2022): Burke, a Nottingham Forest academy graduate, was snapped up by RB Leipzig in 2016 for £13m after netting four goals in five games at the start of the 2016/17 Championship campaign. His time in Forest's first team was short-lived, making just 31 appearances.
He joined Sheffield United in September 2020 from West Bromwich Albion and went on to appear 36 times, which remarkably is the most amount of games he's played at a single club. The 26-year-old is now at Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen.
Adlene Guedioura (Nottingham Forest 2012-13, 2018-2019; Sheffield United 2021-2022): The 62-cap Algeria international made a century of appearances for Forest across his two spells at the club.
Contrastingly, he appeared just twice for Sheffield United across a brief four-month spell and will certainly be better known for his time in a Forest shirt.
Guedioura, 37, is currently playing his football in Qatar with Al Wakrah SC.
Ben Osborn (Nottingham Forest 2014-2019; Sheffield United 2019-present): Osborn graduated from the Nottingham Forest academy and went on to make 230 appearances for the club before sealing a Premier League move to Sheffield United in 2019.
The former England youth international has been a valuable member of the Blades' squad over the last four years and now has the chance to play in the top flight again this season.
What is Nottingham Forest's biggest win over Sheffield United?
9th October 1976 – Nottingham Forest 6-1 Sheffield United: The Tricky Trees' biggest win over Sheffield United came during Brian Clough's era, as his side annihilated the Blades thanks to goals from Viv Anderson, Terry Curran, Peter Withe, Barry Butlin and a brace netted by Ian Bowyer.
The east Midlands club gained automatic promotion that year from the second tier of English football.
What is Sheffield United's biggest win over Nottingham Forest?
3rd December 1904 – Sheffield United 4-0 Nottingham Forest: It has been well over a century since Sheffield United's biggest victory over Nottingham Forest.
John Nicholson was the club secretary back then, but often took duties associated with being a modern-day manager. Nicholson's side dispatched the Reds handsomely thanks to goals from Alonzo Drake, John Lang, Jimmy Donnelly and Arthur Brown, with the latter finishing the campaign as the division's top goalscorer after netting 23 times.
They finished in sixth place, eight points adrift of champions Newcastle United whilst Forest ended the campaign in 16th.
Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United: Key match stats
This will be the 123rd meeting between the pair The two sides will be in England's top flight simultaneously for the first time since the 1992/93 campaign Brennan Johnson has scored in his last two appearances against the Blades Morgan Gibbs-White will face his former side for the first time since departing Bramall Lane
