James Beattie and Keith Gillespie will both miss Sheffield United's opening-day clash in the early kick off at Birmingham.Beattie, last season's leading goalscorer, has yet to return to full match fitness following minor knee surgery, while Gillespie badly sprained an ankle in last month's friendly against Bury.

Summer loan signings Greg Halford and Matthew Spring could be in line for their competitive debuts, with manager Kevin Blackwell expected to pick two from four available strikers.

New recruit Darius Henderson and Danny Webber were both rested in last weekend's friendly against Huddersfield, while Billy Sharp and Jon Stead started.

David Cotterill is expected to start out wide on the right, with Gary Speed and Michael Tonge in central midfield and Stephen Quinn, Spring, Nick Montgomery and Lee Hendrie all vying for starting places.

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