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

Separated by just a single point in the bottom half of the Championship table, Southampton and Sheffield United will square off at St Mary's on Wednesday.

The hosts have dropped to 15th spot in a seven-game winless run, while their visitors sit 17th after a defeat of their own last weekend.

Match preview

Southampton return to Championship action on Wednesday aiming to end a tough run of form and drop towards the wrong end of the division.

Following a poor start to the season and an initial upturn under Tonda Eckert, the Saints sat on 30 points from 20 outings with the playoff places in their sights, but they have since failed to add another notch to their wins column in seven attempts dating back to mid-December.

Eckert's men have drawn three and lost four of those outings, conceding 12 goals and only scoring five along the way, having also fallen short in their last two second-tier games.

Following a 4-0 thrashing away at Middlesbrough and a 3-2 FA Cup third-round win over Doncaster Rovers, the Saints hosted Hull City on Saturday and fell to a 2-1 defeat, having failed to find a leveller following Ross Stewart's 71st-minute goal after Kyle Joseph and Charlie Hughes had the visitors two up.

Now sitting 15th in the Championship, six points above the drop zone and five outside the top half, Southampton will hope to end their seven-game league drought with a much-needed victory on Wednesday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head to the south coast in search of their own return to winning ways to leapfrog the hosts.

Following a dismal start to the campaign, Sheffield United enjoyed an eye-catching run between late November and early January to escape the bottom three and quickly build confidence, racking up 22 points from a 10-game span to move onto 32 from 26.

That culminated in back-to-back triumphs over Stoke City and Leicester City, but Chris Wilder's men would go on to lose 4-3 in a home FA Cup tie with third-tier Mansfield Town, having trailed 4-1 on the hour mark.

Aiming to put that behind them and continue their climb with a third straight league win, the Blades visited Charlton Athletic on Saturday but faced an uphill battle after two first-half red cards, and they left empty-handed as Sonny Carey scored the only goal soon after the interval.

Having seen a potential climb towards the top half halted at the weekend, and seen their lead over the bottom three reduced back to five points, Sheffield United head to St Mary's hoping to reignite another winning run on Wednesday.

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Sheffield United Championship form:

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Team News

Southampton will remain without Mads Roerslev, Shea Charles and Samuel Edozie on Wednesday due to ongoing injuries.

Adam Armstrong will hope to lead the line again, with no player topping his 11 Championship goals so far this term, but Ross Stewart has a claim to come in after his goal off the bench at the weekend, having also netted a brace in the reverse fixture away at Sheffield United in September.

Finn Azaz and Leo Scienza should continue behind the preferred lone striker, while Tom Fellows and Ryan Manning offer further attacking support from wing-back roles in a 3-4-3 setup.

Sheffield United are unable to call on captain and key defender Japhet Tanganga and midfielder Djibril Soumare after their red cards at the weekend, while mainstay Jairo Riedewald also missed the trip to Charlton Athletic.

Sydie Peck did return to contention after an injury layoff at the weekend, though, and he and Gustavo Hamer should both come in from the outset in midfield.

Elsewhere, Ben Mee will join Tyler Bindon at the back in the absence of Tanganga, while Patrick Bamford should again lead the attack with Callum O'Hare, Tom Cannon, Andre Brooks, Tyrese Campbell and Danny Ings competing for spots.

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Peretz; Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Jelert; Fellows, Downes, Jander, Manning; Azaz, Armstrong, Scienza

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Seriki, Bindon, Mee, McCallum; Arblaster, Peck; Brooks, O'Hare, Hamer; Bamford

We say: Southampton 1-2 Sheffield United

While Sheffield United's weekend defeat can partially be put down to a pair of first-half red cards, Southampton's form under Eckert since their initial improvement may be cause for concern.

Lacking momentum and facing a Sheffield United side who majorly grew in confidence around the turn of the year, we see the Saints' struggles continuing on Wednesday.

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