Sheffield United vs Southampton: Where the game will be won and lost

You have to go as far back as 2014 to when Southampton last played Sheffield United in a competitive fixture; an embarrassing 1-0 defeat in the League Cup to a team two tiers below did not go down with fans a-like at the time.

In fact, the last time the Saints ran out victors against ‘The Blades’ was in 2008, the final day of the Championship season which saw the south-coast club dramatically avoid the clutches of relegation with a excitingly played out 3-2 score-line.

Since that day, both clubs have gone onto strive for Premier League success following dark days competing in the depths of League One football; however are now both highly regarded as teams that play expansive football and are lead by characteristic managers in Ralph Hasenhuttl and Chris Wilder.

Southampton travel to Bramall Lane to a side that have held-well so far in the English top-flight after being touted to be relegation favourites. Having only lost one game so far to a formidable Leicester City, given that Sheffield United have played Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth in this span of games, it appears that picking up a result might not be the easiest task in hand.

United’s quality and tactical style will give the Saints plenty to think about in the lead up to this game; so we’ll move onto what they could be, and what opportunities Hasenhuttl’s men could counter on.