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

Sheffield United and Birmingham City will kick off their Championship campaigns on Saturday evening, when they square off at Bramall Lane on the opening weekend.

Both sides won EFL Cup first-round ties last weekend and will hope to fight for Championship promotion this season, having finished just four points apart in 14th and 10th spots respectively last time around.

Match preview

Sheffield United will kick off their 2026-27 Championship campaign on Saturday aiming for a major improvement on a tough year last time around.

After only being denied an immediate return to the Premier League in a playoff final defeat in 2024-25, the Blades underwent a summer of change, replacing Chris Wilder only to turn back to him in September after a dismal start, as they eventually limped to a 14th-placed finish having spent much of the campaign at the wrong end of the division.

That term ended with a tally of 60 points from 46 outings, and with only basement side Sheffield Wednesday suffering more losses, but the South Yorkshire side, on the back of a final-day win, have set their focus on 2026-27 and underwent a positive pre-season, drawing against Chesterfield and VfL Bochum alongside four wins.

Their competitive season then got underway in an EFL Cup tie away at third-tier Mansfield Town last Sunday, and Wilder's men cruised through with a 3-0 victory courtesy of Patrick Bamford's opener and second-half goals from Mark McGuinness and Callum O'Hare.

Now heading into a full season back under Wilder with hopes of fighting at the right end of the division and staking their claim for a return to the top flight, Sheffield United will hope to kick off with a home win on Saturday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, come into a second consecutive Championship season with the hopes of their own sustained push for promotion.

Birmingham City arrived back in England's second tier in 2025-26 on the back of a record-breaking League One season, winning the league with 111 points, and they had a creditable second season under Chris Davies, adapting seamlessly and finishing 10th on 64 points from their 46 matches.

Ending nine points short of the top six, the Blues were perhaps cost an even better campaign and a chance at back-to-back promotions through the playoffs, by a poor away record, with only three sides picking up fewer than the 20 points they managed on the road.

On the back of a pre-season in which they won all five games, Davies's men took a first step towards putting that right in last week's first competitive outing when they visited Swansea City in the EFL Cup first round, progressing with a 1-0 victory thanks to August Priske's goal on the stroke of half time.

With confidence to take from that opening away win over fellow second-tier opposition, Birmingham City will now bid to get up and running with three points on the road in the Championship to set the tone for another promotion bid this term.

Sheffield United form (all competitions):

D W W W D W

Birmingham City form (all competitions):

W W W W W W

Team News

Sheffield United will field a similar starting XI to last week's cup victory, with talismanic midfielder Gustavo Hamer having departed this week after missing their competitive opener.

Kalvin Phillips has since returned to Bramall Lane on loan from Manchester City, but he will be eased in after a long-term injury, with Joe Rothwell, Sydie Peck, Oliver Arblaster and Jairo Riedewald also in competition for midfield spots.

Tom Cannon, Patrick Bamford and Callum O'Hare will all hope to continue at the top end of the pitch, while Tahith Chong was forced off in the first half against Mansfield and left-back Sam McCallum missed the trip meaning Harrison Burrows should start at the back.

Birmingham City are without Marc Leonard, who missed all of pre-season through injury, while defenders Lee Buchanan and Ethan Laird have been slowly eased back after their own issues.

Summer signing Luis Vazquez will hope for a first start in attack, but August Priske may continue up front after his goal in the cup last time out alongside key man Jay Stansfield, who has netted 41 league goals for the Blues in the last three seasons.

Their most significant summer business was making the loan of midfielder Jhon Solis permanent, and he should again join Tomoki Iwata and Paik Seung-Ho in the engine room.

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Seriki, Tanganga, McGuinness, Burrows; Donovan, Peck, Rothwell, O'Hare; Bamford, Cannon

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Osayi-Samuel, Klarer, Neumann, Cochrane; Iwata, Solis; Vicente, Paik, Stansfield; Priske

We say: Sheffield United 1-1 Birmingham City

Saturday's game is certainly a tough one to call, as can often be the case with early-season games, given the two sides are relatively evenly-matched.

Both with confidence from pre-season and cup wins, but yet to be fully up to speed, we anticipate a share of the spoils at Bramall Lane.

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