Sheffield United vs Oxford United – Preview | OneFootball

Oxford United are the next visitors to take on Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday afternoon.

The Blades kicked off the 2026 calendar year with a bang on Thursday evening by completely dominating Leicester City from start to finish on their way to a 3-1 victory. This result leaves United just eight points off the top six.

Oxford United meanwhile are currently 23rd in the league and lost 2-1 against Ipswich Town on New Year’s Day. Oxford had an awful December picking up just four points in the entire month and this leaves them three points adrift of safety.

Team News

The Blades may once again be without Tom Davies and Ben Mee as they continue to carefully monitor the duo. Additionally, Sydie Peck is edging closer to being back in the matchday squad, though his more likeliest date of return could be for the FA Cup tie against Mansfield.

Oxford could be without defenders Ben Davies and Hidde ter Avest as well as midfielders Cameron Brannagan and Matt Phillips on Sunday, leaving their struggling squad stretched to the maximum.

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 had some outstanding individual performances on Thursday evening against Leicester. But Andre Brooks arguably impressed the most. There were situations where Brooks attempted something and it didn’t come off, and instead of feeling disheartened about it he would instantly look to try and win the ball back, and this caused Leicester all sorts of problems down their left.

Brooks thrives in moments where he can use his sheer athleticism to beat opponents, whether it’s a straight line speed or his excellent agility, we saw both on display in the build-up to Tom Cannon’s goal.

The boyhood Blade registers over four take-on attempts per game (85th percentile) and achieves a success rate of 40% which is just above average for Championship attacking midfielders and wingers. Essentially, it means Brooks often forces his opponents into conflict, thus creating space for overlapping runs from Femi Seriki, a combination which has been outstanding over the last couple of months.

Additionally, Brooks ranks in the 82nd percentile for shot-creating actions via take-ons. Overall, he doesn’t have good shot-creating actions per game (2.65), however, he does have excellent goal-creating actions per game with 0.6 (91st percentile). In basic terms, Brooks doesn’t create many shooting actions, but when he does, they often lead to goals.

Another aspect of Brooks’ game which goes underlooked is his defensive work rate. He averages over two tackles per game (92nd percentile), he is one of the very best attacking midfielders or wingers in the league when it comes to tackling dribblers, and he ranks in the 99th percentile for cutting passing lanes and blocking passes. This fits nicely into United’s overall exceptional pressing game.

Oxford United’s Impact Player For This Game

The Blades have produced some superb forwards over the last few years and one of those is Will Lankshear who has six goals and an assist in his first full loan spell in the Championship.

The 20-year-old has impressed everyone at Oxford outside of his goals; he can lead the line well to say he is an inexperienced forward at this level. Plus, his burst of acceleration always means centre-backs have to be wary of him playing on the last shoulder of the defence.

United barely gave Leicester forwards a sight of goal in the previous game, and this is where Lankshear could still impact the game; he has a 0.2 goal per shot ratio, which ranks him in the 77th percentile in the Championship. So even if Tanganga and co do mark him out of the game, he really only needs one small window of opportunity to potentially capitalise on that.

Lankshear has often been left isolated in recent weeks due to how dominant other teams have been against Oxford, and this could well be the case again on Sunday.

My Prediction

The Blades are riding high after back-to-back victories. On the flip side, Oxford are in serious trouble, they are one of the worst sides in the league in both penalty areas. However, one area where they are decent in is offensive set-pieces, 40% of their goals have come via this route (the second-highest percentage in the division).

According to Opta’s expected league table United are the third-best team in the Championship, whilst Oxford should be 20th. This stark contrast should reflect on the pitch on Sunday afternoon, the Blades can win this 2-0 or 3-0 to take another step towards the play-off spots.

Stats taken from FBref and Opta.