Sheffield United vs Southampton Prediction: Blades set for another close contest

Sheffield United finally stopped the rot last Saturday, beating Oxford United 1-0 to pick up their first points of the 2025/26 EFL Championship campaign - at the seventh attempt. Next up for the Blades is a Tuesday night (19:45 BST, Sky Sports+) visit from Southampton, who won their season opener but are now without a victory in their last six league games.

Below are my Sheffield United vs Southampton predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this midweek meeting at Bramall Lane.

Team News

Jamie Shackleton (foot), Andre Brooks (ankle), Ollie Arblaster (knee) and Sai Sachdev (leg) will miss Tuesday's game for Sheffield United, while Tom Davies and Danny Ings have both trained but may not be fit enough.

Chris Wilder could name an unchanged starting XI following Saturday's success at the Kassam Stadium, where Callum O'Hare was the hero with a 65th-minute winner.

Football Odds

Welington (ankle) is out injured for Southampton, who otherwise appear to have a fully fit squad available. Following a disappointing 1-1 home draw with Middlesbrough on the weekend, though, Will Still could make several changes to his lineup.

Leo Scienza, Ryan Fraser, Elias Jelert and Jack Stephens are among those in contention for starts.

Today's Football Fixtures

Sheffield United vs Southampton Odds

Sheffield United, fresh off a long-awaited victory, are 11/8, or a 42.1% chance, to record back-to-back wins, while Southampton are 2/1 (33.3%) to claim their first three points since beating Wrexham 2-1 on August 9.

Saints have drawn four of their last six league matches, and you can back another stalemate for the South Coast club at 23/10, with both teams to score priced at 8/11.

Total Goals - Under 2.5 @ 10/11

Sheffield United have endured drubbings at home to Bristol City (1-4) and away to Ipswich Town (5-0), but their other five league games this season have all ended 1-0. The first four of those saw them lose before they finally got off the mark against Oxford United on Saturday.

The Blades have only been involved in 15 goals (two for, 13 against), which averages out at 2.14 per game.

Southampton, meanwhile, have seen three of their seven Championship matches finish with two or fewer strikes, including two of their last three.

Still's side have scored eight times and conceded 10, with their games averaging 2.57 goals.

Backing under 2.5 goals between the two teams on Tuesday, then, looks like the smart play.

Player to Receive a Card - Caspar Jander (SOU) @ 18/5

Caspar Jander is only 22, but the German midfielder has already racked up 24 yellow cards and two reds in his fledgling career.

The Southampton summer signing was cautioned 15 times and dismissed once in 60 German third-division appearances for MSV Duisburg before moving to FC Nurnberg, where he picked up eight yellows and one red in the 2. Bundesliga last season.

He made a single outing in the competition this term before joining Southampton, and was booked.

Jander is yet to be shown a card for Saints, but he's committed six fouls across four appearances (three starts), including three in his only league away game at Hull City on September 20.

On Tuesday, Jander will face the likes of O'Hare, Sydie Peck and Gustavo Hamer, fouled, on average, 1.4, 1.3 and 1.1 times per game, respectively, in the Championship this season, so he could be forced into giving away a few free-kicks at Bramall Lane, which could see him go into the book.

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