Preview: Sheffield United vs Portsmouth - prediction, team news, lineups

Two relegation-threatened sides will face off when Sheffield United welcome Portsmouth to Bramall Lane for Wednesday's Championship encounter.

The Blades are languishing in the bottom three in the Championship table, while Portsmouth are four points better off in 19th position.

Match preview

Sheffield United are down in 22nd place after winning four, drawing one and losing 11 of their 16 Championship matches this season.

Chris Wilder's side went into the recent international window on the back of a four-game winless run, before they resumed their campaign with an emphatic 3-0 win in Sunday's Steel City derby against Sheffield Wednesday.

Tyrese Campbell netted a brace before Tom Cannon came off the bench to wrap up a resounding victory over Sheffield United's local rivals at Hillsborough.

After moving to within a point of safety, Sheffield United will now return to Bramall Lane with hopes of claiming back-to-back league victories for just the second time this season.

The Blades have struggled for wins at Bramall Lane this season, having seen their seven home league games produce one win, one draw and five defeats.

However, they may fancy their chances of taking maximum points from Wednesday's fixture, considering that they have won their last three home games against Portsmouth, including a 2-1 success in their most recent meeting in February.

Like Sheffield United, Portsmouth will head into the midweek encounter with a renewed sense of belief after ending their six-game winless run with a 3-1 win over Millwall at the weekend.

Zak Swanson produced a stunning strike from distance to score his first goal since December 2024, before Adrian Segecic doubled Pompey's advantage in the opening stages of the second period.

Pompey saw their lead halved just moments after Millwall were reduced to 10 men, but Jordan Williams's long-range effort eased the nerves and sealed the club's first victory since October 4.

After enjoying a successful outing at Fratton Park, Portsmouth will now be looking to record consecutive Championship wins for the first time this season.

However, that will be easier said than done for a team that have failed to win their last six away league games since beating Oxford United on the opening day of the season.

Their hopes of ending that run on Wednesday may be tempered by the fact that they have not beaten the Blades in an away league game since November 1955.

Sheffield United Championship form:

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Portsmouth Championship form:

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Team News

Sheffield United winger Chiedozie Ogbene will have to be assessed after he sat out Sunday's win with a hamstring issue.

There are also doubts surrounding Oliver Arblaster and Tahith Chong's availability following the pair's recent injury struggles.

Gustavo Hamer could be given more minutes off the bench after making his return from injury as a late substitute against Sheffield Wednesday.

As for the visitors, they remain without the services of Conor Shaughnessy, Jacob Farrell, Connor Ogilvie, Franco Umeh, Harvey Blair and Thomas Waddingham.

Callum Lang is not quite ready to start but will provide a useful option off the bench after returning from injury to play around half-an-hour on Saturday.

Pompey boss Mousinho could decide to name an unchanged lineup, although the likes of Marlon Pack and Conor Chaplin are options if he wants to freshen things up for the away trip.

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Seriki, Tanganga, Mee, McCallum; Brooks, Peck, Riedewald, O'Hare; Ings, Campbell

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Schmid; Devlin, Knight, Poole, Swanson; Kosznovszky, Dozzell; Bianchini, Segecic, Murphy; Bishop

We say: Sheffield United 2-0 Portsmouth

Portsmouth may have returned to winning ways at the weekend, but they tend to struggle in away games against Sheffield United.

With the hosts in high spirits after Sunday's derby success, we think that they will build upon that result by claiming a relatively comfortable win on Wednesday.

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