Sheffield United have won the FA Cup on four occasions; 1899 (4-1 v Derby County), 1902 (2-1 v Southampton), 1915 (3-0 v Chelsea) and 1925 (1-0 v Cardiff City) and have been beaten finalists on two occasions; 1901 (1-3 v Tottenham Hotspur) and in 1936 (0-1 v Arsenal).
The Blades, in total have also appeared in 13 semi-finals previously to this weekend's encounter; 1899 (v Liverpool, W 1-0), 1901 (v Aston Villa, W 3-0), 1902 (v Derby County, W 1-0), 1914 (v Burnley, L0-1), 1915 (v Bolton Wanderers, W 2-0), 1923 (v Bolton Wanderers, L 0-1), 1925 (v Southampton, W 2-0), 1928 (v Huddersfield Town, L 0-1), 1936 (v Fulham, W 2-1), 1961 (v Leicester City, L 0-2), 1993 (v Sheffield Wednesday, L 1-2), 1998 (v Newcastle United, L 0-1) and 2003 (v Arsenal, L 0-1). Only the 1993 fixture against rivals Wednesday has taken place at Wembley.
An unexpected victory last Tuesday night over local rivals Rotherham United gave the Blades a slim chance of making the play-offs come the end of the season. Sheffield United warmed-up for their FA Cup semi-final against Hull with a 1-0 win at home to Rotherham following a last-minute penalty from Ben Davies. Blades boss Nigel Clough made wholesale changes to his starting line-up, resting a number of players ahead of Sunday's match at Wembley. In a fast-paced first half, Rotherham had the best effort when James Tavernier ran into the area and fired in a shot which was well saved by George Long.
Tavernier also slipped a good ball through to Tom Hitchcock inside the area, forcing Long to block with his legs. Rotherham's Alex Revell headed straight at Long and then put a thumping drive wide. The visitors made a couple of penalty appeals early after the restart, first claiming there had been a handball inside the area and then when Hitchcock went down under a challenge from Kieron Freeman.
The hosts rarely put Adam Collin under any pressure with the goalkeeper comfortably saving Harry Maguire's header. However, the winner came when Davies tucked away a spot-kick, which was awarded after Rotherham Captain Craig Morgan clashed with Maguire at a corner.
Blades boss Nigel Clough had made wholesale changes to the side which had drawn 1-1 the previous Saturday, opting to rest eight first team players but remain 8 points behind Peterborough United in sixth place with just 15 more points left to play for and a further 4 teams chasing down that final play-off spot. George Long, Matt Hill, Terry Kennedy, Ben Davies, Connor Dimaio and Billy Paynter where all handed a starting role but are likely to be replaced by Mark Howard, Bob Harris, Neill Collins, Conor Coady, Ryan Flynn and Jamie Murphy at Wembley, whilst Stefan Scougall will also be expected to start in place of Stephen McGinn.
They will be without and striker Billy Paynter who is cup-tied, whilst Shaun Miller (Shrewsbury Town), Callum McFadzean (Burton Albion) and Elliott Whitehouse (Alfreton Town) are both out on loan. On the injury front the former Derby County boss is without Belgian midfielder Florent Cuvelier (ligaments), who is sidelined for the remainder of the season.
The Road to Wembley...
| 09 Nov 2013 | Colchester United vs. Blades |
W |
3-2 |
Round 1 |
| 08 Dec 2013 | Cambridge United vs. Blades | W | 2-0 | Round 2 |
| 04 Jan 2014 | Aston Villa vs. Blades | W | 2-1 | Round 3 |
| 26 Jan 2014 | Blades vs. Fulham | D | 1-1 | Round 4 |
| 04 Feb 2014 | Fulham vs. Blades | W | 1-0 | (Replay) |
| 16 Feb 2014 | Blades vs. Nottingham Forest | W | 3-1 | Round 5 |
| 09 Mar 2014 | Blades vs. Charlton Athletic | W | 2-0 | Round 6 |
Blades Possible Line-Up (4-4-1-1):
Howard
Brayford - Maguire - Collins - Harris
Flynn - Doyle (c) - Coady - Murphy
Scougall
Baxter
Although cup-tied, striker Billy Paynter is a former Hull City employee. He initially joined the Tigers on loan from Port Vale in November 2005 - making his debut in a 3-1 defeat at Reading. His deal was made permanent in January but in August 2006 was transferred to Southend United, ending an 8 month relationship at the KC Stadium. He left the Tigers having made 12 (+11) appearances and scored 3 goals in total.
Blades-Mad Prediction: Sheffield United 1 Hull City 0