Swansea City vs Sheffield United – Preview | OneFootball

Swansea City host Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon with both sides looking to get their first points on the board of the 2025/26 Championship season.

The Blades were on the receiving end of a clinical performance from Bristol City in their opening game, losing 4-1 at Bramall Lane. And United followed that up with a 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening having made ten changes to the starting eleven.

Swansea suffered a 1-0 loss at Middlesbrough in their first league game, but they went strong in the cup in midweek and earned a 3-1 victory against the ten men of League Two outfit Crawley Town.

Transfer Business

The Jacks have made a number of signings in the summer window. The one that stands out the most is the acquisition of Ethan Galbraith.

The 24-year-old impressed during his spell at Leyton Orient with his ball retention and energy in the middle of the park. Not only can he play as a traditional central midfielder, he can do the job in a more advanced role where he can show his effectiveness in pressing, though he isn’t the most creative of midfielders.

Team News

Alan Sheehan will remain without new defender Ricardo Santos this weekend due to injury. Whilst Ben Cabango should be fit to feature alongside Cameron Burgess after being forced off against Middlesbrough as well as missing their midweek cup tie.

Ruben Selles has confirmed that there are no new injuries for Sheffield United. There could be a potential first start in the league for Djibril Soumare after banking 60 minutes in the cup defeat in midweek.

Swansea City’s Impact Player For This Game

CARDIFF, WALES – JUNE 06: Liam Cullen of Wales is challenged by Lars Traber and Simon Luchinger of Liechtenstein during the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifier between Wales and Liechtenstein at Cardiff City Stadium on June 06, 2025 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)

Liam Cullen could be the difference maker as far as the home side are concerned.

The 24-year-old possesses good vision and shooting technique, and if he can drop into pockets of space in front of United’s threadbare defence and their midfield, he may have the time to compose himself and play some incisive passes into runners from out wide. Or, he could use those runs as a decoy to create more space for himself to unleash a strike on goal.

One issue with Cullen is that he doesn’t really possess pace to threaten in behind a defence, however, he is a smart player with his movement. And we saw just how much both Tyler Bindon and Rhys Norrington-Davies struggled last weekend against a number ten type player who rely on movement and IQ in Bristol City’s Anis Mehmeti and Scott Twine.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

When looking at the potential starting eleven for Swansea City, you’d imagine Josh Key will be the man that starts down the right for the home side. And this should certainly suit the qualities of United’s Louie Barry.

Despite suffering a miserable debut, Barry had a decent performance from an attacking point of view, making two key passes, driving down the inside and outside of his man on four occasions, and he was denied a stunning debut goal by a top save from the Robins’ stopper.

Against Key, Barry should thrive down the left as Key isn’t the best of one vs one defenders, as proven against Boro where he was dribbled past three times. Additionally, Key does like to bomb down the wing, so Swansea’s right flank could be exposed to a quick transition through Barry.

On the flip side, we saw Barry’s lack of defensive work rate last week when Ross McCrorie flew down the right against an exposed Harrison Burrows. So perhaps Key’s energy, and aggression in terms of his willingness to attack, could hurt the Blades if Barry doesn’t give defensive support.

My Prediction

It really was a game to forget last weekend at Bramall Lane for Ruben Selles and his team. They were pegged back early from a superb free-kick, and after getting back in the game, the Blades were dominating but ultimately suffered a suckerpunch on the break. And the two errors from Norrington-Davies in the second half proved costly.

When you look at the stats from that game, you wouldn’t believe the Robins left S2 with three points, let alone scoring four goals. The Blades dominated possession, registered 2.35 xG compared to City’s 1.33, had over double the amount of shots that Bristol City had, and the same goes for touches inside the opposition box.

Yes, statistics aren’t the be-all and end-all of a football match, but on a lot of occasions, they do show a fair assessment compared to the scoreline. What I’m getting at is, if the Blades attack with that similar performance from last weekend, they’ll be fine.

However, they seriously need to improve their defensive transitions. The addition of a natural defensive midfielder in Soumare will help that. But, they need more quality at the back. Norrington-Davies won’t cut it at this level at left centre-back. And Bindon could do with some experience and preferably speed alongside him. Jack Robinson doesn’t have speed, but he certainly has the experience to help out the New Zealander.

I think a back four of Femi Seriki, Tyler Bindon, Jack Robinson and Harrison Burrows, guarded by an athletic powerhouse in Djibril Soumare, should be an instant upgrade on the opening game’s defensive performance. Therefore, I think Sheffield United can win this one by a couple of goals due to their supreme quality in the final third.