Preview: Sheffield United vs Birmingham City - prediction, team news, lineups

Both on a mission to claim a self-earned present in the form of three points during their final match before Christmas, Sheffield United and Birmingham City lock horns at Bramall Lane in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Blades suffered a sobering defeat at the home of West Bromwich Albion last time out, whilst Blues shared the spoils with Charlton Athletic in the Second City.

Match preview

After missing out on an immediate return to the Premier League via the playoffs by the narrowest of margins last season, Sheffield United have endured a rollercoaster start to 2025-26, leaving them with serious catching up to do.

The Blades were victims of their own Ruben Selles experiment at the start of the term, with former head coach Chris Wilder since coming back to Bramall Lane to steady the ship and take the side on a six-game unbeaten run (W4 D2) recently.

However, that streak of positive results came to a sudden end at The Hawthorns last Friday night, when second-half strikes from Aune Heggebo and Karlan Grant punished Sheffield United for wastefulness in the first period.

Looking to avoid a third straight game without victory, the Blades are sitting in 18th spot in the Championship rankings ahead of this weekend's hosting of Birmingham, 11 points behind Hull City in sixth.

Set to be key in United's hopes of salvaging something from a poor start to the term, Callum O'Hare is returning to his best form under the tutelage of Wilder, with the playmaker leading the goalscoring (5) and assist (5) charts for the Yorkshire outfit.

At the end of a gruelling three-game week, last season's League One destroyers Birmingham City could only manage a point at home against Charlton, who were one of three sides to defeat Chris Davies's men in the third tier during 2024-25.

Blues were seemingly on course for a fifth straight league success at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park when towering defender Christoph Klarer headed home, but the Addicks snatched a point in a second period courtesy of substitute Tyreece Campbell.

After their first match of the season versus Ipswich Town, Birmingham were second in the odds to achieve automatic promotion, meaning that a current standing of 13th in Championship table is slightly underwhelming for the section of optimistic Bluenoses dreaming of a swift Premier League return.

Whilst a flurry of January transfer activity could put Blues back on the top-flight track, head coach Davies will be solely focused on addressing his side's awful away form over the festive period, with Saturday's visitors losing four of their last five league outings.

Shining on the left flank amid a difficult spell for the team as a collective, Demarai Gray has put November disappointment with Jamaica behind him to provide five goal contributions in his last six appearances.

Sheffield United Championship form:

W W W W D L

Birmingham City Championship form:

W D W L L D

Team News

Brought in as a free agent in September, Sheffield United's Ben Mee is currently sidelined because of a hand injury.

The Blades could make a number of attacking alterations after firing a blank against the Baggies, although Chiedozie Ogbene (hamstring) is unavailable for head coach Wilder.

After a string of less-than-convincing performances at right-back, Bright Osayi-Samuel has left Birmingham for Africa Cup of Nations duty with Nigeria.

With Ethan Laird recovering from a high-grade hamstring strain, Tomoki Iwata is the standout option at full-back for Blues.

Last featuring for the visitors in late August, Willum Willumsson could be back in the matchday squad this weekend, with the Iceland international hoping to make the attacking-midfield role his own.

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Seriki, McGuinness, Tanganga, Burrows; Chong, Arblaster, Riedewald, Hamer; O'Hare, Cannon

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Allsop; Iwata, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Paik, Doyle; Roberts, Stansfield, Gray; Ducksch

We say: Sheffield United 3-1 Birmingham City

After a poor display at West Brom last time out, Sheffield United will be fired up by manager Wilder as they seek a fourth Bramall Lane win of the campaign.

Another difficult away assignment is on the horizon for Birmingham, who are likely to struggle in Yorkshire this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.