Oxford United fans will be irked by what’s going on at Sheffield United right now | OneFootball

The U's will certainly be aware of how Chris Wilder hopes to leapfrog his former side in the Championship table after a slow start

Oxford United and Sheffield United have both endured extremely frustrating starts to the Championship campaign, despite there being an understandable difference in expectation levels at both the Kassam Stadium and Bramall Lane before a ball was kicked in August.

The former, as was the case after their promotion through the League One play-offs against Bolton Wanderers in May 2024, were tipped for a season of struggle, despite being under the guidance of the vastly experienced Gary Rowett, who has previously overseen matters in differing circumstances at second-tier level with the likes of Millwall and Birmingham City.

Meanwhile, the Blades were hoping to respond from the most dramatic of setbacks which denied them an immediate return to the Premier League back in May, when former Oxford boss and boyhood United supporter, Chris Wilder, oversaw the final game of his second stint in charge in a crushing 2-1 defeat to Sunderland in the play-off final on May 24th.

Plenty of drama has since ensued in the red and white half of the Steel City in particular, albeit not in the manner which those at Bramall Lane were hoping for in the first full season of COH Sports' ownership.

However, there is now a sense of hope that a revival can finally be sparked, two months after Wilder replaced his successor, Ruben Selles, for a third stint after a disastrous period which saw 10 consecutive losses recorded in the Championship and EFL Cup respectively.

Ultimately, these are also developments which will have those in Oxfordshire on red alert given the current standings.

Oxford United's start to the Championship season has been mixed

Many have, unsurprisingly, heaped plenty of praise on Oxford as a club for even being in the position of competing against several ex-Premier League stalwarts, particularly when taking the fact the U's were in League Two just 10 seasons ago into account.

The resources made available to Rowett in comparison to the likes of Sheffield United and the newly relegated trio of Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton have also been well-documented, with the aforementioned four sides all benefiting from parachute payments, albeit the Blades' transfer strategy has since been flipped to a certain extent.

As such, the Yellows have, once again, had to be extremely meticulous when moulding a squad capable of maintaining the club's second-tier status for a second-straight campaign, with seven players coming through the door in the summer - five of which were finalised as loan deals.

Despite their lowly position, Rowett's men have hardly been pushovers for any side, with seven of their eight defeats thus far coming through a one-goal margin, whilst they have also caused problems for league leaders Coventry City, Leicester and most recently, Middlesbrough at the Kassam.

On Tuesday night, they also staged a late show against Norwich City in Philippe Clement's first Carrow Road outing, with Filip Krastev finding target in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to cancel out Jovon Makama's opener, taking home what could be a crucial point against a current rival in the standings.

Since returning to S2 in September, Wilder hasn't quite been able to see his side perform to their maximum on a consistent basis, despite recording back-to-back victories over Watford and Blackburn Rovers in mid-October.

However, there is now hope for the 58-year-old that the aforementioned set of events can transpire, and that they could be ignited by last Sunday's 3-0 success over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in the Steel City derby.

It was the most clinical and all-round performance put in by United for several months, albeit many would argue, especially with the benefit of hindsight, that they expected nothing less against an Owls side short on numbers across the pitch despite the recent addition of Liam Cooper as a free agent to Henrik Pedersen's threadbare squad.

Whilst the predicament of both Sheffield clubs is still hardly comparable, Wilder's side have also struggled in terms of keeping key men fit throughout the campaign - much to his frustration - but, once again, there is hope on this front with Gus Hamer now back available for selection, whilst Ollie Arblaster will slowly be drip-fed minutes after suffering an ACL issue 12 months ago.

After also failing to score goals on a consistent basis, Tyrese Campbell's brace in S6 will have done wonders for his confidence, as well as Tom Cannon, who netted just his second goal for the club with a neat finish after previously coming under scrutiny for a lack of end product.

This is on top of the experienced duo of Danny Ings and Patrick Bamford, with the latter signing an initial short-term deal until January. Despite fears over a lack of fitness and match sharpness, the two-time Championship winner immediately made his debut against Wednesday and has already made his presence felt within the dressing room.

As such, there is a chance the 32-year-old could remain in South Yorkshire for the remainder of the season, which only adds to the experience at Wilder's disposal that he will hope aids a resurgence between now and May, although it could be his former side who pay the price.