Swansea City v Sheffield Utd Competition - Sky Bet Championship Venue - Swansea.com Stadium Date - 16 August 2025 Kick off - 3:00pm Following their disappointing 0-1 away defeat at Boro last Saturday next up for Alan Sheehan’s Swansea squad is the first home match of the Championship season with a game against losing Play-Off Finalists Sheffield United. On Tuesday evening, the Swans reached the second round of the Carabao Cup as goals from Ronald, Bobby Wales and Ethan Galbraith secured a 3-1 victory over 10-man Crawley Town. The Championship hosts went in front after only four minutes as Ronald steered in their first goal of the season from close range. Alan Sheehan's team created a string of chances to extend their lead, eventually doing so when debutant Wales' snapshot rolled into the bottom corner. But Scott Lindsey's battling Crawley side took their first chance of the night when Kabongo Tshimanga tapped in from Louis Flower's cross to set up a tense finish. The League Two side's hopes of forcing a penalty shootout suffered a heavy blow when substitute Gavan Holahan was sent off for a challenge on Goncalo Franco, with Galbraith's sharp finish from outside the area eventually ending their resistance. The following evening substitute Jay Stansfield scored a late winner to give Birmingham City a deserved victory over Sheffield United in the Carabao Cup. The hosts were gifted an opener inside five minutes when debutant Dovydas Sasnauskas sold keeper Adam Davies short with a backpass and Demarai Gray nipped in to tee up Kyogo Furuhashi to score. The Japanese then missed two gilt-edged chances to add to their lead and they were punished in breathtaking fashion when Gus Hamer scored from just over the halfway line with a superb strike. Blues were not to be denied, though, as Stansfield turned adroitly on the edge of the area and his low shot took a deflection on its way past Davies. The Swans have played Sheffield United on 48 previous occasions, with the Blades have won half of these fixtures, with the Swans winning only 13 and 11 draws. In the corresponding fixture last season the Blades ran out 2-1 victors: Turning to Saturday, the Swans team could be bolstered by the debut of loanee Malick Yalcouye from Brighton. He played for Sturm Graz last season, playing in 26 matches in the Austrian top flight as well as 8 matches in the Champions League - even being MoM against Borussia Dortmund. The Blades will be desperate for a first win of the season whilst the Swans will want to build on the cup win over Crawley. I’m going for a 1-1 draw
