Friday night sees the Sheffield clubs once again renew their rivalry in the first meeting between the two sides in the 2018/19 campaign.

Sheffield United host their near neighbours Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow night in the Steel City derby with both sides needing the points for different reasons.

Chris Wilder’s men sit third in the table after recently flirting with the top spot, and are just off the summit by one point.

They could go back there, albeit temporarily, with a win tomorrow evening.

Jos Luhukay’s men, meanwhile, have contrasting fortunes with them 17th in the league and just four points off the bottom three.

Wednesday have lost their last four games in a row, winning once in their previous six matches, while Friday’s opponents have won three of their last six, drawing once.

Their positions in the league and their current form could not be different at present, but one parallel between the two sides is their goalkeepers.

United’s Dean Henderson and Wednesday’s Cameron Dawson have both been ever-presents for their teams this season, both playing in every minute of every Championship game.

Continuity breeds confidence, and that then turns to wins - but for Wednesday it has been their outfield tinkering, unlike United’s consistent approach that has been their downfall.

With Wilder’s men naming a similar XI most weeks, that has shown in the confidence between the team, moreover, the defensive unit and the keeper.

That is evident with Henderson keeping four clean sheets this term compared to Dawson’s zero.

Wednesday’s lack of shut-outs could be attributed to the fact Luhukay has been erratic with his team shape and selection at times.

And that has given Dawson and the defence doubts between them both as to whether they are able to keep the opposition out.

That would result in confusion and a lack of cohesion as a defensive unit.

And with that confidence comes the willingness to do more and show a more assured approach.

With Henderson keeping four clear sheets, he has also made 12 successful catches this term, and that shows he is willing to come fo the ball to snuff out attacks.

Again, that goes back to a cohesive back line and a defensive unit that understands one another.

Wednesday, alternatively, have not had that and especially during their last four games, having failed to show any sign of form.

Dawson has only made two successful catches, and that could be a reason why he has been adopting a more defensive approach in staying on his lone more - and that goes back to his insecurities surrounding the Wednesday defence.

Sheffield United’s stopper edges it in terms of a success rate of shots saved, 67.8 per cent for the Blades compared to the 66.3 per cent of the Owls’ man between the sticks.

That shows both are relativity capable of saving efforts form the opposition as the pair are solid, young shot-stoppers.

The styles of play have an effect on the number of average passes per game either keeper have.

Wednesday keep the ball more and move it around more than their opponents on Friday night with Dawson more involved with the ball at his feel, averaging 30.6 passes per game.

Sheffield United are somewhat more direct, with Wilder wanting to ball to go forward more regularly and quicker than that of the Owls’ boss.

That shows with Henderson only managing 22.6 passes per game, eight less of his opposite number.

From that, we also see who is more comfortable on the ball and in possession under pressure.

Dawson for Wednesday emerges with a superior pass success rate per fixture with a percentage of 59.9. While Henderson only ranks with 42.5 per cent pass success rate per game.

On the surface of it, it looks like Dawson spreads the play more and offloads the ball with shorter passes to his defenders or dropping midfielders.

Henderson, meanwhile, tends to clear the ball further forward more, and with a lesser success rate, that comes down to who wins the aerial duel further up the pitch.

Both keepers have their pros and their cons and this Steel City derby will be a clash of styles and approaches under the lights of Bramall Lane tomorrow evening.

Based purely on the stats presented, it seems as if Sheffield United’s number one has the slight advantage heading into this fixture.

That is down to the amount of clean sheets and saves per game he has, giving him a lot more confidence that a Wednesday stopper who has been a part of four straight defeats and is without a clean sheet all season.

Defences play a huge part too and with United more resolute at the back and a more organised unit, this Steel City derby duel winner is most definitely the Blades’ Henderson.