The Sheffield Wednesday centre-back is expected to face Sheffield United for a third time in Owls colours on Monday.
Tom Lees has praised Sheffield United’s achievements this season ahead of the Blades’ trip to Sheffield Wednesday on Monday.
United are second on goal difference ahead of this weekend’s round of Championship fixtures, and have only lost one of their last 12 games in the competition – defying many people’s pre-season expectations.
Form-wise, it is a surprisingly similar story for Wednesday, who have also suffered just one defeat in a dozen league matches, although they have won two fewer than their city rivals throughout that time and only returned to the division’s top half for the first time in four months on Tuesday.
Sheffield Wednesday’s previous two home games have, however, seen a more offensive style implemented, to good effect.
But while Lees laughed off the suggestion that he and Michael Hector will look to mimic the overlapping tendencies of Sheffield United’s outer two centre-backs, the Owls captain hinted his side will be better prepared than in previous derbies to exploit any gaps that may appear.
He told BBC Radio Sheffield: “As much as people on this side don’t wanna hear it, you can’t deny that (Sheffield United) have done very well this year. There’s lots of players that are really doing well.
“Their two (overlapping centre-backs) stand out a lot because it’s different to what anyone’s ever seen before, the way that they do that.
“But the energy that we’ve showed in the last couple of games, hopefully, that might cause them to think twice about leaving themselves too open and taking too much of a gamble with committing too many numbers forward.”
Can Sheffield Wednesday put a dent in Sheffield United’s promotion hopes on Monday?
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