Sheffield United vs Millwall – Preview | OneFootball

After Sheffield United fell to a shocking defeat at Oxford last Saturday, they will welcome Millwall to Bramall Lane in hopes of getting back on track.

The Blades missed a mega opportunity to move four points clear of third-place Leeds United last weekend; they failed to make a dent in Oxford’s defence as Gary Rowett’s men saw out a 1-0 win. This marked United’s first defeat on the road since New Year’s Day at Sunderland.

Millwall head to South Yorkshire after picking up three points at home against Portsmouth last time out, and they’re still in with a chance of clinching a play-off spot being just six points off fifth and sixth.

Alex Neil’s men have continued an interesting pattern in the Championship in recent weeks, their form reads: won, lost, won, lost, won, lost, won. The Blades will be hoping they can keep this trend going on Tuesday evening.

Team News

Chris Wilder revealed to the media that there are no fresh injuries to report for the Blades, and he admitted that he has some important decisions to make regarding a three-game week. He did state that he wouldn’t take a wrecking ball to Saturday’s starting eleven; expect two or three changes max.

Millwall’s star centre-back Japhet Tanganga is a doubt for the trip S2 after suffering an apparent broken hand on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, Camiel Neghli and Femi Azeez are already confirmed as out by Alex Neil, the Scottish manager has claimed both will be lucky to make it back for the last four games of the season.

Danny McNamara and Calum Scanlon have been confirmed as out for the season for a while now.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 12: Jesurun Rak-Sakyi of Sheffield United FC celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Middlesbrough FC at on February 12, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)

One of the changes I expect to see on Tuesday is Jesurun Rak-Sakyi coming in for Ben Brereton Diaz.

Personally, I thought the Chilean was very poor at the weekend. He offered little threat but that’s partly because Oxford sat in a low block, Brereton Diaz is a far better player when he has space to explode into. But, those opportunities were minimal last weekend.

Millwall will likely deploy a low block like Oxford did, so I expect Rak-Sakyi to come in, who is far better at destroying the opposition’s lines because of his dribbling ability, pace and agility.

The promising winger on loan from Crystal Palace has showcased his excellent one-vs-one skills this season, averaging over four take-on attempts per 90, seeing over two of them being successful. This sees him rank as one of the best attacking midfielders and wingers in the Championship in terms of dribbling metrics.

Because of Rak-Sakyi’s twitchy dribbling style, he often forces full-backs to retreat into their own box down the flanks, because they’re scared to commit to one side. This has seen the loanee register many touches inside the opposition box, he’s averaged over six touches in the box per 90, which ranks him in the 97th percentile among Championship attacking midfielders and wingers.

Another thing that makes me think this game is suited for Rak-Sakyi is the fact that he doesn’t just pump the ball into the box. Often, he will either cut it back with his right foot from the byline, or, he will cut inside on his left foot and look to tee up somebody more centrally for a shot, like Gustavo Hamer for example. With Jake Cooper and potentially Japhet Tanganga defending the box for Millwall, it seems very unlikely the Blades will get anything out of high crosses.

Millwall’s Impact Player For This Game

PRESTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 18: Mihailo Ivanovic of Millwall celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammates during the Sky Bet Championship match between Preston North End FC and Millwall FC at Deepdale on February 18, 2025 in Preston, England. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Considering the Blades conceded from a long throw-in on Saturday, 20-year-old Mihailo Ivanovic will be licking his chops at this one.

The 6ft2 striker comes into this game off the back of scoring a brace against Portsmouth, increasing his tally to eight in the Championship, which is a good return considering he’s only started 17 times (14 substitute appearances).

Three of those goals have been headers, so adding to the potential mix of Cooper and Tanganga from set-pieces, United will certainly need to defend their box much better than they did at Oxford, who are one of the smallest teams in the division. The Serbian striker also boasts one of the best aerial stats in the league as far as forwards go, averaging over four aerial duels won per 90 (97th percentile).

My Prediction

It’s no surprise that Millwall have been one of the sternest defenders in the league this season, as they usually are, conceding just 42xG, seventh best. The Blades haven’t been great in terms of creating quality chances this term, sitting just eighth in terms of total non-penalty xG. This should encourage Millwall fans as a point at Bramall Lane will still mean they have a decent chance of making the play-offs.

Of course, Sheffield United fans will be fearing the giant presence of Millwall captain Jake Cooper. The centre-back has scored five goals and served up an assist against the Blades in his last seven starts in all competitions, and a lot of those have come in the final 15 minutes of games.

With Burnley and Leeds United also in action on Tuesday night, Sheffield United will be hoping to do their job against Alex Neil’s men and then get some help from either Derby County or Middlesbrough.

We’re now in that stage of the season where every game really does feel like a must-win, especially at home. I expect a big bounce-back performance from the Blades at home, 2-1 win.

All stats taken from FBref and Opta.