Sheffield United host Derby County at Bramall Lane on 24 October 2026, a Championship fixture that pits a side with realistic play off ambitions against one anchored at the bottom. United sit 11th on 15 points, Derby are 23rd on just six.
Wilder returned to Bramall Lane on 15 September 2025 after Rubén Sellés was moved on, while Eustace took the Derby job on 13 February 2025 replacing Paul Warne. The two managers have crossed paths twice with their current clubs and that is essentially where the head to head record ends. United come into this with six points from nine available since the international break, a 1-0 win over Bristol City on 17 October giving way to a 2-3 defeat to Portsmouth but leaving them still within reach of the top six. Derby's run is considerably grimmer, with a 0-1 loss to Stoke and a 1-4 hammering at QPR among the results that have left them without a league win in six outings.
Hamza Choudhury is suspended after his red card against Portsmouth and Jamie Shackleton remains sidelined with a long term foot injury, so Wilder will need to reshuffle his midfield. Derby are also short at the back, missing Matt Clarke through injury and Jacob Widell Zetterström with a knee problem, leaving Eustace without two of his more experienced centre backs against a side who have scored from set pieces consistently under Wilder.
Wilder's United line up in a 4-4-2 built around set pieces and rapid transitions, with Kalvin Phillips anchoring the midfield, Patrick Bamford leading the line as top scorer with at least four league goals and Oliver Arblaster providing energy and tempo from slightly deeper. Without Choudhury, Phillips will need to cover more ground to shield the back four while Arblaster takes on additional responsibility for dictating play.
Derby set up in a 4-2-3-1 that has looked structurally vulnerable for most of the season, having conceded 20 goals in 11 games, with high turnovers in midfield repeatedly exposing the back line and poor finishing compounding the damage. Sammie Szmodics is their top scorer and the only player who has consistently created chances from open play this season but the absence of Clarke and Zetterström means less proven centre backs are being asked to handle pressure they have not yet shown they can manage. The central duel between Phillips and Clark will likely shape the contest: Phillips's positioning and reading of play should allow United to win second balls and launch counters, while Clark needs pockets of space to link Szmodics into the game and Derby's best outlet on the break comes with precious little cover behind it.
United have won five of the last seven league meetings between the sides, conceding just two goals across those victories, with the two most recent fixtures splitting evenly: Derby won 1-3 in November 2025 before United responded with a 1-2 win in May 2026. United have generally looked comfortable shutting out Derby's threat while generating enough to win it themselves.
United have scored from set pieces consistently under Wilder and with Derby missing two centre backs, aerial battles at both ends become more decisive than usual. A 1-0 win for Sheffield United feels like the most likely outcome. Derby will almost certainly sit deep and try to frustrate, the narrow margin reflecting both teams' recent scoring trends but United's set piece threat and midfield control should produce the decisive moment, most likely a Bamford header or a rebound that Arblaster finishes after Phillips wins a central duel. Derby may create a half chance or two through Szmodics on the break but without Clarke and Zetterström they are too exposed to the second ball to sustain anything.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
