Sheff Utd vs Southampton predictions: Saints may be too slick for Blades
Sheff Utd have lost all three of their home league games this season
Southampton held leaders Middlesbrough to a draw in their last match
Recommended bet: Southampton to win
Chris Wilder has returned to Sheff Utd for a third spell in charge of his boyhood club and the early signs are that he can turn around their fortunes after he guided the side to their first win of the season against Oxford on Saturday.
The Blades sacked Wilder in June after they just missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season, finishing third behind promoted pair Leeds and Burnley before going down 2-1 to a last-minute goal by Sunderland in the play-off final.
The club's owners soon learned that change is not always for the better, though, as Wilder's replacement Ruben Selles failed to secure a single league point and was fired after a 5-0 defeat by Ipswich made it six defeats in six matches.
The Saints did not want to be in the Championship this season either, but have shown enough in their first couple of months after relegation to suggest they should finish higher than their current position of 19th.
Will Still's team have not won in the league since the opening day of the season, but they have lost only two of their seven second-tier games and held leaders Middlesbrough to a draw at St Mary's on Saturday.
The latest Sheff Utd vs Southampton odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Team news
Midfielder Tom Davies and striker Danny Ings are set to return to the Blades squad, but midfielder Tahith Chong is set to miss the game due to a knee injury.
Midfielder Oliver Arblaster (knee) and defenders Sai Sachdev (broken leg) and Jamie Shackleton (foot) are still unavailable for the hosts.
Southampton will be without defender Welington (ankle) and winger Samuel Edozie may still not be ready to make his first appearance of the season after injury.
The stats
Sheff Utd have lost seven of their eight league and cup matches this season, while seven of their last nine Championship games have produced under 2.5 goals.
United have lost five of their last six Championship games without scoring.
Southampton have scored in nine of their 10 league and cup matches this season and both teams have scored in four of Saints' last five matches in all competitions
Five of United's last six matches have produced exactly one goal.
The latest Sheff Utd vs Southampton odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
This match would not have been expected to be one between two teams in the bottom six of the Championship standings at the start of the season, but both clubs have a good chance of ending the season substantially higher in the table than they are now.
Southampton's plight is certainly not as bad as the bare fact of their league position suggests.
The Saints went to Liverpool in the EFL Cup third round a week ago and gave a good account of themselves in a 2-1 defeat.
Saturday's 1-1 draw with table-topping Middlesbrough was further evidence that they should be capable of taking points from any opponent at this level.
Wilder has a rebuilding job on his hands after the failed switch to Selles and, while the Bramall Lane crowd will be on the side of the man who managed them in the Premier League, a narrow 1-0 win over Oxford does not signal that they are immediately back to being promotion contenders.
Southampton still have enough quality in their side to secure a much-needed win on the road.
