Southampton vs Sheffield United – Preview | OneFootball

Sheffield United head to the South Coast on Wednesday evening to take on an out of form Southampton side at St Mary’s.

The Saints suffered a 2-1 defeat last weekend when they hosted Hull City. They have struggled for three points in recent weeks with their last victory coming in early December.

While the Blades may have lost 1-0 on Saturday away at Charlton Athletic, it was a performance the football club should feel immensely proud of due to playing most of the match with just nine men. Prior to the first red card, United looked good value for the win but the Addicks’ stopper made some fantastic saves in the first half.

Team News

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 17: Japhet Tanganga of Sheffield United interacts with Referee Oliver Langford after teammate El Hadji Djibril Soumare (not pictured) is shown a red following a challenge on Harvey Knibbs of Charlton Athletic (not pictured) during the Sky Bet Championship match between Charlton Athletic and Sheffield United at The Valley on January 17, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by James Fearn/Getty Images)

Southampton’s main injury news revolves around standout young midfielder Shea Charles. The former Sheffield Wednesday man has not featured since October because of a hamstring issue, though he is expected to return within the next couple of weeks.

United were happy to see Sydie Peck return to the matchday squad, however fellow midfielder Jairo Riedewald was absent from the squad at the weekend. United’s midfield suffered an even bigger blow with Djibril Soumare now being suspended.

Japhet Tanganga will also be unavailable due to his red card. Plus, Tyler Bindon’s situation is unclear with the New Zealander being forced off at half-time at The Valley because of illness, leaving the spine of the Blades team massively stretched this week.

Southampton’s Impact Player For This Game

With Sheffield United’s midfield looking stretched once again in terms of personnel, perhaps Finn Azaz can capitalise on this. The Irishman already has seven goals and four assists in the Championship this season.

Azaz has been a standout attacking midfielder in the second tier for a number of seasons now, and it’s no surprise that the Saints splashed the cash on him last summer to bring him down South. He’s once again excelling in all key passing metrics.

Azaz averages almost six progressive passes per game (96th percentile), over four passes into the final third (94th percentile), and over two key passes per game (89th percentile), making him one of the best passes of the football in the Championship.

While he stands out in terms of having four shot-creating actions per game (87th percentile), his defensive work rate is also admirable. He gets stuck into tackles, and he is not afraid to challenge opposition dribblers; more often than not he wins those battles averaging a 61% success rate for dribblers tackled.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

PRESTON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 24: Andre Brooks of Sheffield United scores his team’s first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Preston North End and Sheffield United at Deepdale Stadium on October 24, 2025 in Preston, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Sheffield United lost at the weekend, but having nine men had a lot to do with that. Prior to the first sending off, United were in complete control. The application of everyone was outstanding, particularly Sam McCallum and Andre Brooks. And it’s the latter who I think could have a big game down the right against the Saints.

Against Charlton, Brooks showed his defensive abilities with a 100% tackle success rate, four ball recoveries, seven of 15 duels, and a clearance off the line. Hopefully, he won’t be under anywhere near as much pressure defensively on Wednesday.

With his burst of pace and strafe dribbling, he could be a complete mismatch against Saints left-back Ryan Manning. Manning has always been technically sound, but there’s always been questions regarding his defensive one-vs-one ability and his recovery speed. Even if the Blades can create a two-vs-two with Femi Seriki bombing down the outside, then this could pay dividends for United; we’ve seen just how effective Brooks and Seriki can combine down the right flank in the final third, and so far not many teams have had the answer for them.

My Prediction

Not many neutrals would’ve had Southampton in 15th and Sheffield United in 17th at this stage in the campaign back in pre-season, but this is the reality we’re in. Despite this, both teams should still feel optimistic regarding a push for the play-offs; Opta’s expected league table currently has the Saints third, whilst the Blades are fourth. Granted, you take that with a small pinch of salt, nevertheless it is a positive indicator for both teams.

This is a tough match to call, especially with United’s midfield and back line being at full stretch, therefore I’m going for a score draw.

Stats taken from FBref and Opta.