Ruben Selles can ill afford another heavy defeat to begin his Blades reign but Birmingham impressed at home on Friday and will be out to prove themselves again.

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📂 Birmingham v Sheffield United Cheat Sheet

Cheat Sheet Pending...

📈 Birmingham v Sheffield United Form & Tactics

With the usual caveats that come with the EFL Cup first round, we do have a good idea of how Chris Davies will look to set up his Birmingham side.

The way that they kept the ball against Ipswich, at least until midway through the second half, was typical of the possession football Davies tries to use. It isn't possession without purpose, as they try to increase the pace in the opposition half, but there is a priority to look after the ball.

The formation is a 4-4-2 variants, with the front two playing split to allow one to come back and play in midfield where necessary. There are constant rotations on the flanks as well, with full backs and wingers playing close to each other in most phases of the game.

Their 1-1 draw with Ipswich on opening day will have left them encouraged by their form.

It is tempting to look at United's 1-4 defeat to Bristol City and simply say that it was a poor display.

However, having watched the match, there were spells, especially in the first half where Blades actually looked really good, and they dominated with some dynamic football.

It was also clear that Bristol City were able to play through United too easily and they created good situations against Selles’ team, without having to do too much to achieve it.

Selles’ 4-2-3-1 with both Gus Hamer and Callum O'Hare central probably gave Sydie Peck too much to do, and we will likely see new signing Soumaré start here in a more conservative midfield mix.

🏁 Ref Watch

Gavin Ward

• It is rare to see Ward officiating in a League Cup tie, records suggest he has done so only twice before

• In those ties he has only given out three yellow cards in total

• However, he averages 3.65 yellow cards per game across his career

📊 Birmingham v Sheffield United Key Stats

• Birmingham won only one corner against Ipswich, they may not be a lock for home corner advantage

• Birmingham have a really poor recent EFL Cup record, they haven't reached the third round since 2015

• Tommy Doyle, who is likely to make his first Blues start here, played for Sheffield United on loan in 2022/23

• Sheffield United have won only one EFL Cup tie in the last three seasons

• However, United have done really well in the FA Cup, which suggests that the EFL Cup is not taken as seriously 

• Despite losing the match 1-4, Blades won the xG battle 2.3-1.3 on Saturday evening, which suggests that the performance wasn't as bad as many have stated

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