The Blades are without a win in 11 matches this campaign and are bottom of the division, while the Saints returned to winning ways last time out to climb into fifth place.

Match preview

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder pictured on November 22, 2020 © Reuters

Only once before in Premier League history - Queens Park Rangers in 2012-13 - has a side failed to win any of their opening 12 fixtures.

Indeed, in English top flight history, only Manchester United in 1930-31 have won as few or fewer points after 11 matches than Sheff Utd's one.

It goes without saying that the Yorkshire outfit are in desperate need of a morale-boosting victory from somewhere, with the gap on 17th place now standing at six points.

That is certainly not an unsurmountable gap at this still early stage, but the Blades are offering little to suggest that their losing run is about to come to an end.

The most recent of their defeats came against Leicester City last weekend, with boyhood Sheffield Wednesday fan Jamie Vardy scoring a last-minute winner at Bramall Lane.

Chris Wilder's frustration was clear as he accused his players of making bad decisions, referring to errors made by Chris Basham and John Fleck in the build-up to the winner.

United boss Wilder's job is not at immediate risk, though a run of 15 winless games in all competitions, with 14 ending in defeat, makes you wonder if the time is right for a change.

Danny Ings celebrates scoring for Southampton against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on December 7, 2020 © Reuters

As for Southampton, they will see this as an opportunity to put back-to-back wins on the board following Monday's late win against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Pascal Gross gave Brighton the lead in the first half, but Jannik Vestergaard powered in a header to equalise and Danny Ings scored from the spot late on.

The Saints were given a helping hand by VAR at the Amex Stadium and boss Ralph Hasenhuttl admitted after the game that his side were not at their best.

It was a big victory for Southampton on the back of a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers and 3-2 loss to Manchester United, throwing away a two-goal lead in the latter.

Hasenhuttl's men did the double over Sheff Utd last season, though they have not won three in a row against the Blades since a run of four on the spin in 1950.

Southampton Premier League form: WWWDLW

Sheffield United Premier League form: LLLLLL

Team News

Sheffield United's Oliver McBurnie reacts on January 21, 2020 © Reuters

Ings marked his return to action following a five-week layoff with the winning penalty against Brighton and is fit enough to start this game.

Nathan Redmond is also back in contention for the Saints, meaning that William Smallbone is their only fitness or suspension concern.

Assuming that Ings leads the line alongside Che Adams, it is then a choice between Theo Walcott, Stuart Armstrong, Moussa Djenepo and Redmond in the two wide positions.

United are still without Jack O'Connell and will check on the fitness of Ethan Ampadu, Enda Stevens and Lys Mousset ahead of Sunday's clash on the South Coast.

Oli McBurnie and Oliver Burke started up top again against Leicester, but Rhian Brewster, David McGoldrick and Billy Sharp are all in contention to come into the side.

Scotland international McBurnie has scored more Premier League goals than any other United player (seven) since the start of last season, but he has not netted in consecutive games.

Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Djenepo; Adams, Ings

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Basham, Egan, Bryan; Baldock, Lundstram, Berge, Fleck, Lowe; McBurnie, Burke

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We say: Southampton 2-0 Sheffield United

United came close to taking a point off Leicester last weekend, but it ultimately proved to be a familiar story as they slipped to a sixth defeat in a row.

Southampton are flying high in fifth and will be confident of improving on, or at least consolidating, that position with three points on Sunday.

On the basis of the sides' recent form and previous encounters, there is little to suggest that United can pull off an upset here.

Top betting tip

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Video prediction

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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Southampton win with a probability of 49.77%. A draw had a probability of 25.5% and a win for Sheffield United had a probability of 24.74%.

The most likely scoreline for a Southampton win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.96%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.38%) and 2-0 (9.27%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.1%), while for a Sheffield United win it was 0-1 (7.82%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Southampton would win this match.