Will Vaulks in action at Bramall Lane last season (Photo: Sheffield United FC)

Oxford United’s tricky start to 2026 continues on Sunday with a visit to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United, following the disappointment of a 2-1 defeat at Ipswich on New Year’s Day.

It’s fair to say that Bramall Lane has not been a happy hunting ground for the U’s. with just three wins and one draw from 15 visits.

It all started off so well, with Oxford’s first visit to the home of the Blades ending in a 2-1 win. This was in the U’s first season in the second tier, in September 1968, with goals from the club’s all-time leading scorer Graham Atkinson and John Shuker earning the points for Arthur Turner’s team.

United lost on their next five visits to S2 before the rot was halted thanks to a Steve Biggins double in March 1984, as Oxford hurtled towards the Third Division title under Jim Smith. This was the third of three consecutive games in Yorkshire, with the U’s also beating Hull City and drawing with Bradford City.

With both sides winning promotion to Division Two, they met again the following season, with the away game again taking place in March. On this occasion, a Jeremy Charles goal earned a point for the Yellows as they won their second successive title to earn a place in the top flight.

After a further three defeats at Bramall Lane, the side’s next triumph there was another March meeting, this time in 1999, as goals from Andy Thomson and Nicky Banger briefly lifted the gloom as United plummeted from the second to the third tier.

Since then, Oxford have played three times at Sheffield United without any joy. They lost 3-0 in the FA Cup in 2011, 2-1 in League One in 2016, and last season they again went down 3-0, in November, as Callum O’Hare scored his first Blades goal and Tyrese Campbell and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi completed the scoring. It’s just a shame that Sunday’s fixture couldn’t have waited a couple more months.

You can check out United’s full list of results against Sheffield United HERE.

On This Date

Prior to this fixture, United have played just eight times on 4th January, winning three and drawing three. The two defeats were both on the road, at Merthyr Tydfil in the Southern League in 1958 and at Highbury in 2003 when the U’s lost 2-0 to Arsenal in the FA Cup third round, with a perfectly good Steve Basham goal being ruled out for offside in just the third minute; if only we had VAR back then!

Last season, United travelled to Deepdale on this date and drew 1-1 thanks to Rúben Rodrigues’s strike.

All the other games that Oxford have played on 4th January were in the FA Cup, including a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in 1986 and a 4-1 win over Hartlepool United in 2020, with Shandon Baptiste’s unforgettable goal.

You can see all of Oxford’s results on this date HERE.

The Match

Oxford come into Sunday’s game with just one win in their last seven fixtures – that Boxing Day victory over Southampton – including a draw at Blackburn Rovers and defeats home and away to Swansea City and on the road at Charlton and Ipswich.

Sheffield United, on the other hand, have lost just two of their last 11 games and on New Year’s Day they beat Leicester City 3-1 to go 15th in the Championship table. All a far cry from the start of the season, when they lost their first six matches, a run ended, of course, with their 1-0 win at the Kassam Stadium on 27th September.

United are now in 23rd place, with just Sheffield Wednesday below them. As it is, Oxford are going into their fourth game under this period of Craig Short’s temporary management, but with a new boss set to be appointed next week, hopefully it will soon be time for United to turn the corner.

Short will have to do without Tyler Goodrham, who turned his ankle in the defeat at Portman Road, although new loan signing from Tottenham Jamie Donley arrived in time to be included. Whether he is thrust straight into the deep end is a question for the management, as he featured just six times in his previous loan spell at Stoke, with his only two starts coming in the League Cup.

There is an outside chance that Cameron Brannagan might be included in Sunday’s squad, as there is for Matt Phillips, while there has been no news on the fitness (or otherwise) of Hidde ter Avest or Ben Davies. In addition, Przsemysłav Płacheta was withdrawn at half time at Portman Road as a precautionary measure, so it is touch and go if he is available or not.

Chris Wilder has a decent record in games against his former club and we’d be pleasantly surprised if Oxford can break that hoodoo this weekend. All the omens point towards a United defeat, and we wouldn’t be too surprised if that was the outcome. However, one of the wonderful things about football is its ability to shock, so let’s hope for something shocking on Sunday.

UTFO!