Bristol City vs Sheffield United – Preview | OneFootball

The Championship play-offs begin on Thursday evening and it’s Bristol City against Sheffield United that will get things underway at Ashton Gate.

Bristol City very nearly slipped out of the top six on the final day last Saturday, and they needed to come from 2-0 down against Paul Heckingbottom’s Preston North End, and an equaliser from the Blades against Blackburn Rovers, to confirm their spot in the play-offs in the end.

The Robins have accumulated five points in their final five games, but the main talking point should be their now leaky defence; they have now failed to keep a clean sheet in 11 games, and they head into the first-leg against Sheffield United after conceding nine goals in three games.

Sheffield United will be hoping to make history in the play-offs; this is their ninth attempt of going up via the play-offs having failed miserably in the previous eight. The Blades have a small checklist that they’ll be hoping to tick off over these next few weeks; they’ve only ever scored more than one goal once in play-off semi-final first-legs (1997/98 – Sheffield United 2-1 Sunderland), and have never won a first-leg when they’ve been the visitors.

Chris Wilder’s side racked up seven points from their final five league games after beating Stoke City 2-0 in the penultimate game, and then earning a score draw at Bramall Lane versus Blackburn Rovers. This makes them the form team heading into the play-offs – Coventry City accumulated seven points in five but lost two on the bounce against relegated opposition before beating Middlesbrough on the final day.

Team News

While we already know the season-ending injuries to both Luke McNally and Mark Sykes, Cam Pring could potentially be added to this list. Pring has missed each of the Robins’ last two games after he sustained a hamstring injury in their Easter Monday defeat to Luton Town. Liam Manning told the media that he is “likely to miss a few weeks.”

Manning has been forced to manage both Joe Williams and Scott Twine since the March international break with respective quad and groin injuries, though Twine did feature against Preston on the final day for the first time in weeks.

The Blades only have minor issues to contend with for the first-leg as Femi Seriki will miss out at Ashton Gate due to the shoulder injury he picked up against Blackburn, but does have a chance to play in the home leg. Meanwhile, Ben Brereton Diaz, who missed the final game due to illness, is a doubt for the trip to Bristol.

Bristol City’s Impact Player For This Game

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – MARCH 11: Sydie Peck of Sheffield United (R) holds off the challenge of Max Bird of Bristol City during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Bristol City FC at Bramall Lane on March 11, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Bristol City have several players who I really like because of how composed they are on the ball. Despite what the stats and score lines say, I actually think the Robins were far the better team in both regular season fixtures against the Blades. And a lot of their success is down to their midfield.

Max Bird has been on my radar for quite a few years now since coming through the Derby County ranks, and at 24, he’s becoming a lot more of a complete player.

What’s always struck me about Bird is his versatility because he can play across different levels in midfield, and I think you can tell that in his game nowadays because in Manning’s system he does have the license to drop into a six position to get on the ball, or stay high up in an attacking midfield position.

The Englishman ended the Championship regular season as Bristol City’s top creator with eight goals and it’s easy to understand why. Throughout the campaign he has been absolutely outstanding in the final third compared to other midfielders:

I personally think no matter what happens to Bristol City in the next few weeks, a few Premier League teams like Crystal Palace and Fulham will be looking at Bird.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – MARCH 28: Gustavo Hamer of Sheffield United celebrates with team-mates Harrison Burrows and Hamza Choudhury after scoring the opening goal from a free-kick during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Coventry City FC at Bramall Lane on March 28, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Pretty obvious; if the Blades are going to finally get the monkey off their backs and win the play-offs they’ll need Gustavo Hamer to help carry them over the line.

The Dutchman recently won the Championship Player of the Season award after scoring nine goals and serving up seven assists, along with a bunch of moments of magic sprinkled in there.

With Hamer’s regular role of drifting inside from the left, often operating in the left half-space and from a classic number ten spot, United will be hoping to feed him the ball at every opportunity possible. And if they can get him on the ball frequently, you’d expect him to find the breakthrough against a now leaky Bristol City defence.

Hamer averaged over two key passes per 90, over four passes into the final third, and over two passes into the penalty area – these numbers are exceptionally high.

I think it’s worth mentioning Hamer, while he can play great in tight spaces, is much more effective when a game is stretched because of his aggressive passing style. So it will be interesting to see if the Robins, being at home, will get slightly more offensive minded if the game is still deadlock heading into the final 30 minutes.

My Prediction

It may sound weird, but I genuinely believe the play-off semi-final tie will be much harder than the final, if United do get to Wembley. Out of all of the teams involved in that play-off race on the final day, I was hoping to definitely avoid Bristol City; I just think stylistically and tactically they are a bad matchup.

However, their leaky defence over the last several weeks is very encouraging from a Sheffield United point of view.

I’m not too big on form heading into the play-offs, as I pointed out last week, recent years it has not mattered in the slightest. The play-offs purely come down to luck and big moments, and while I think Bristol City are the most well-balanced and measured team in the play-offs, I believe the Blades have more ‘big game players’ in their squad.

I’m predicting a 2-1 win for Sheffield United at Ashton Gate, but they may have to come from behind again like in the regular season fixture.

All stats taken from FBref and Opta.