At the start of the season, when Southampton and Sheffield United were scheduled to face off in late January, many believed that it could have massive implications on the promotion race in the second half of the campaign, but the reality on Wednesday is completely different.
The two sides are sitting in the bottom half of the table, closer to the relegation zone than they are to the top six. Indeed, a second defeat in a matter of days could lead to either side slipping closer to the drop ahead of massive games over the weekend.
But, before Sheffield United host Ipswich Town, and Southampton travel to local rivals Portsmouth, the focus is on picking up as much momentum as possible at the expense of the other.
Both sides go into this one with large squads and relatively clean injury bills, but there are still five players who will miss this massive clash between two sides who have larger expectations than where they currently lie.
Cameron Bragg
Starting with the hosts, Tonda Eckert didn’t reveal any fresh injury updates in his pre-match press conference, which would indicate that the injury list is a similar one to their defeat against Hull City last Saturday.
Cam Bragg, who has been a revelation in the Saints’ side under Eckert since the German came in as interim manager, missed the game on Saturday after failing his concussion protocol following a collision in the FA Cup third round win at Doncaster Rovers the week prior.
The 21-year-old may also be out of the battle with the Blades as he continues his recovery.
Mads Roerslev
Mads Roerslev defending against Cody Gakpo for Brentford
Mads Roerslev has had a difficult time breaking into the Southampton side following his switch from Brentford in the summer, and that’s been highlighted by a two-and-a-half month layoff due to an Achilles injury.
However, Eckert revealed that the one-time Danish international has been back on the training pitch over the past week or so.
Despite this, Roerslev “still needs a little bit of time” before he can make his full return to action for the Saints, and perhaps his return could bring an upturn in luck on the pitch.
Jairo Riedewald
Sheffield United were looking all healthy the last time Chris Wilder delivered a press conference ahead of their visit to Charlton Athletic on Saturday, but a hellish weekend has changed things massively.
The only fresh injury concern is Jairo Riedewald, who has played a massive part in the Blades’ resurgence under Chris Wilder after signing as a free agent in October.
However, he missed just his third Championship game since arriving at The Valley after picking up a hamstring injury in training the day before the side headed down to London.
Blades boss Chris Wilder revealed that the 29-year-old will be out “for the next couple of weeks”, meaning he’ll be absent from both this week’s games against Southampton and then Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Japhet Tanganga
In the wake of the news that Sheffield United’s appeal for the red card brandished to Japhet Tanganga was rejected by the FA, it means that the Blades captain will be suspended for the next three games, starting with the trip to St Mary’s on Wednesday night.
Chris Wilder, post-match, felt that the decision from referee Oliver Langford was “ridiculous” and that the challenge – which saw Tanganga catch Sonny Carey with an elbow in an aerial challenge – was a yellow card offence at best.
Unfortunately for him, the FA disagreed, and the 26-year-old, who signed from Millwall in the summer transfer window for a fee that could reach £10 million, will be missing big games against Southampton, Ipswich and his former club Millwall.
Djibril Soumare
There was no appeal for the red card that was shown to Djirbril Soumare, however, after the foul on Harvey Knibbs saw the Charlton forward leave the pitch on a stretcher in agony.
Like Tanganga, Soumare will be missing for the next three games, and out-of-favour Alex Matos is set to come into the Blades squad in both his and Reidewald’s absence, according to the Sheffield Star.
Discussion about this post