Southampton travel to Bramall Lane for the first time in a league fixture since February 2009, which saw Saints beaten 2-1 by Sheffield United.
Saints have since embarked on a trip to the South Yorkshire outfit just once, which brought a 1-0 defeat to the Blades – who competed in League One at the time – in the League Cup quarter-final in December 2014.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side go into the game just one point and three places below the hosts. Both teams earned credible draws against top-six sides before the international break: Saints fought back from a goal down and then held on to a 1-1 draw with Manchester United while Sheffield United fought back from 2-0 down to earn a point at Stamford Bridge in a 2-2 draw with Chelsea.
Southampton are without Kevin Danso and Nathan Redmond for the trip to Bramall Lane, with the former facing a suspension and the latter still out injured for the time being. However, Ryan Bertrand and Michael Obafemi could return to first-team action this weekend, while Moussa Djenepo is unlikely to be risked despite being back in first-team training.
As Saints look to avoid a third consecutive defeat at the hands of Sheffield United, we take a look at what a Combined XI between the two sides would look like.
The line-up I’ve selected will operate in a 5-2-1-2 formation, which both Saints and the Blades have been known to deploy in recent times…
