Published 13 August 2026. Analysis and predictions are our opinion,
not a guarantee of anything. 18+, please gamble responsibly.
Sheffield United open the new Championship season at home to Birmingham City on Saturday, kick-off 5.30pm UK time at Bramall Lane. It is the first competitive league fixture of 2026/27 for both clubs, and it lands with two sides pointed in opposite directions after promotion near-misses last term.
Chris Wilder is back for a third campaign in charge of the Blades after a 2025/26 season that never got going, the Yorkshire side stuck in mid-table having lost early momentum during a brief spell under Ruben Selles before Wilder returned. Preparation this summer has looked better: four wins and two draws in pre-season, followed by a comfortable 3-0 win over Mansfield Town in the Carabao Cup first round. The squad has changed shape too. Gustavo Hamer, the midfield engine of Wilder’s promotion-chasing sides, has gone to Coventry City, and winger Andre Brooks has followed to Norwich City. In have come Romelle Donovan, Matt Doherty and Kalvin Phillips, the last of those arriving with plenty of Premier League and international pedigree to draw on this far down the divisions. It is also the first season in seven that Sheffield United go into without parachute payments cushioning the budget, which sharpens the need for Wilder to get his rebuilt side firing early.
Birmingham City arrive for a second straight season in the Championship under Chris Davies, and the scale of the American ownership’s investment means expectation has only grown since the takeover. A play-off finish last term fell short of the target, and Davies knows a slow start now invites pressure quickly. The headline arrival is August Priske, the Danish striker signed from Djurgardens in the January window on a five-and-a-half-year deal. Priske scored the winner in a pre-season friendly against Burton Albion, but Davies has been candid that Birmingham have not yet found the best way to use him, the forward still waiting for his first Championship goal after eleven appearances in claret and blue. Getting crosses into the box for a player who thrives on service is the stated priority heading into the new campaign.
History gives neither side a clear edge. The two clubs have met 13 times since 2006, Birmingham winning 6, Sheffield United 3, with 4 draws, and the last meeting went the way of the Blues, 2-1. Goals have generally followed when these two meet, an average of 2.18 per game across recent meetings with both teams scoring in 64% of them.
What looks the smart angle
The market makes this close to a pick’em, which fits a fixture between two sides both still finding their level after summer upheaval. William Hill have Sheffield United at 29/20 at home, the draw at 21/10 and Birmingham City at 9/5, prices tight enough that there is little separating a home side adjusting to a rebuilt midfield from a visiting team still waiting on their record signing to click. With the draw having featured in 4 of the last 11 meetings between these two, and both sides having turned over key personnel over the summer, the stalemate looks worth a second look, out to 12/5 with Betfred. That is a read on the head-to-head pattern and the state both squads are in, not a tip, and an early goal for either side could easily settle it.
Elsewhere in the Championship
Saturday is a full card for the second tier’s opening weekend. Bolton Wanderers host Preston North End at lunchtime, while Bristol City v Millwall, Charlton Athletic v Derby County, Middlesbrough v Lincoln City, Norwich City v West Bromwich Albion, Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City v Swansea City all kick off in the afternoon. Watford’s first game of the season against Southampton follows on Sunday, an early look at two sides many expect to be there or thereabouts come May.
18+ | BeGambleAware.org. Odds shown are a snapshot at the time of writing and can move before kick-off. Any view on the match above is opinion, not advice, and is not a guarantee of any outcome.
