Sheffield United vs Portsmouth – Preview | OneFootball

Sheffield United host a Portsmouth team that’s lingering just three points above the drop zone as we head into this Saturday afternoon fixture.

After suffering a shock defeat at home to Hull City, the Blades bounced back with a win on the road against Derby County last weekend in a very cagey affair. As it stands, United are third in the league, level on points with second place Burnley, but they do have a game in hand over them. With the Clarets involved in the FA Cup this weekend, the Blades can jump back into the automatic places if they secure a draw against Pompey.

Portsmouth have had a very strange start to 2025. On New Year’s day, they secured a 4-0 victory over Swansea City at home. Since then, they’ve lost in a tight game against Sunderland, got battered 3-0 by Blackburn Rovers away, beaten Middlesbrough and Stoke City. Then, they suffered another thrashing on their travels against West Bromwich Albion, and they followed that up with a narrow loss to Millwall and then a goalless draw to Burnley.

It’s fair to say Pompey fans don’t know what to expect when they come to watch their team in 2025.

Transfer Business

John Mousinho managed to bulk out his squad in the January transfer window, and there are a few signings that I rate, for a club in Portsmouth’s position.

Firstly, Rob Atkinson on loan from Bristol City is a good addition for Pompey. He’s a solid left-sided defender. He is capable of playing left-back, wide left in a back three or in a traditional back four. He has already started four games for Portsmouth, and apart from the Blackburn game, they’ve only conceded once per game against very good attacking teams, and he recently helped them to a clean sheet against Burnley – so there is some slight progression here.

Isaac Hayden, on loan from Newcastle United, is a steady player for a club that has ambitions of finishing above the drop zone. He is an experienced battler that can break up play and essentially be a water carrier.

It’s the Adil Aouchiche signing that has me most intrigued. I used to watch this player play in Ligue 1 back when he was 17-year-old for a poor Saint Etienne team. He stood out by a mile, and I’ve followed his career ever since. When he came to Sunderland in 2023/24, I was interested to see how he’d do in the Championship. His numbers in terms of goals and assists weren’t great, contributing to four goals in 28 appearances (only ten starts). And this season he only has one assist in eight games, hence this loan move down south.

He has bags of talent and skill, but his attitude and work rate is very questionable; the reason why PSG let him go a few years ago. At 22, I’ve not given up on him yet, but he really does need to show what he’s about at Pompey or else his talent will be considered a waste.

Team News

There’ll be a sigh of relief from Chris Wilder I’m sure as Gustavo Hamer is eligible for selection again. Sheffield United are also close to having the trio of Tom Davies, Femi Seriki and Kieffer Moore available again. Wilder admitted in his press conference that Davies will be back in time for the Middlesbrough game. Seriki could be back for the Luton Town game, and Moore may return for the Leeds United clash.

Portsmouth have a number of players that have been ruled out for the season. Ibane Bowat, Jacob Farrell and Paddy Lane will not feature again this season. On a slightly positive note, Jordan Williams, Regan Poole and Kusini Yengi are ruled out but could return in the next coming weeks.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

WATFORD, ENGLAND – JANUARY 04: Gustavo Hamer of Sheffield United celebrates scoring his sides first goal with team mate Jack Robinson during the Sky Bet Championship match between Watford FC and Sheffield United FC at Vicarage Road on January 04, 2025 in Watford, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Chris Wilder will be happy to have Gustavo Hamer back from his two-match suspension. The Blades only managed to create just one big chance over the last two games against two of the bottom four teams in the Championship.

The Dutch midfielder has created 47 big chances throughout the season (joint-fourth best in the Championship). The next closest for United is their left-back Harrison Burrows with 32 big chances created, and this is mainly down to dead-ball situations (only 12 of those came from open play).

Hamer is third in total shots by Championship players this season, and he’s just one of only two Sheffield United players to be outperforming his expected goals tally (scoring 1.75 more than expected) from non-penalty situations with a minimum of 24 appearances. The other is Harrison Burrows (0.33 more than expected), per Opta.

Without Hamer, it’s difficult to imagine the Blades even being in the top six judging by the performance metrics available. And with the potential regular pairing of Hamza Choudhury and Vinicius Souza, Hamer being deployed in the number ten role could give him the freedom to drift all around the final third to create things.

Portsmouth’s Impact Player For This Game

BURNLEY, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 21 Callum Lang of Portsmouth celebrates scoring a goal to make the score 0-1 with his team-mates during the Sky Bet Championship match between Burnley FC and Portsmouth FC at Turf Moor on September 21, 2024 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Richard Martin-Roberts/Getty Images)

Portsmouth have their own threat in Callum Lang. I’d argue that Lang is to Pompey what Hamer is to the Blades, meaning he can be deployed out wide but his best position is in the role just behind a striker where he can make explosive runs in beyond the striker and latch onto flick-ons and lay-offs.

The 26-year-old Englishman has netted ten goals and served up two assists in 24 Championship starts. In his last three starts, Lang has registered five key passes, won a penalty, and scored a goal.

Lang isn’t a creative threat but he more than makes up for that with his goal threat. According to FBref, he currently ranks in the 86th percentile for non-penalty goals compared to Championship attacking midfielders and wingers, and 81st percentile when it comes to goals per shot, highlighting that he’s clinical when he pulls the trigger.

Lastly, Lang ranks in the 93rd percentile for goal-creating actions via a defensive action, so this is something to pay attention to. However, I can’t imagine Portsmouth playing an active press on Saturday as that would invite United to play quickly, and I still believe we’re much better when we play direct in terms of getting the ball into forward players within two or three passss from defence (probing slow build-up style does not suit the players we have, in my opinion).

My Prediction

Even though Portsmouth have one of the lowest creative metrics in the league, they are actually the third-best when it comes to converting chances (11.65%). It’s defensively that’s an issue. Mousinho’s team have given up an xG of 49.4, and they have the sixth-worst conversion rate from a defensive point of view.

The Blades should be coming into this game trying to make a statement against poor opposition at home. Yet, I’m not sure we actually can; we’ve struggled to create big chances all season despite having some outstanding attacking players for this level. In fact, every team in the league from 15th upwards creates more big chances per game than United (except from Burnley, who are on par with us 1.6 per game).

Having said that, I’m still going for a Blades win by a two-goal margin because I have faith we can improve offensively if Hamer is played in the ten with a free role.