PitchMath
Championship · 2026

Cardiff City 2–2 Sheffield United · Championship

2–2Full-time analysis

This page describes the completed match context. The result is not presented as a prior forecast.

Match at a glance

Cardiff City and Sheffield United drew 2–2.

Shots
286
Shots on target
104
Expected goals
1.961.53
Possession
67%33%

Full time

What the match recorded

Cardiff City and Sheffield United drew 2–2. Recorded in this match (Cardiff City – Sheffield United): shots 28–6, shots on target 10–4, expected goals 1.96–1.53, possession 67%–33%. This is what was recorded. It is not a claim that the result was foreseeable.

Pre-match record

What the data showed before kick-off. Kept for reference; it did not know the result.

The teams have contrasting possession records

weak

Cardiff City have recorded the higher season possession share.

66% ●PossessionCardiff City · Sheffield United36.3%
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: The recorded possession gap is 29.7 percentage points.

Window: season

MetricCardiff CitySheffield UnitedBaseline
Possession66%36.3%50.5%

Caveat: Possession share does not show where possession occurred or how chances were created.

Sheffield United show a distinct attacking-volume record

weak

Sheffield United's shot volume and the opposing shot-allowance context sit below their competition baselines.

18.3 shots/match ▲ShotsCardiff City · Sheffield United7 shots/match
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Team shot volume is paired with the opponent's recorded shot allowance.

Window: season

MetricCardiff CitySheffield UnitedBaseline
Shots18.3 shots/match7 shots/match13.3 shots/match
Shots against13 shots/match15.7 shots/match14 shots/match

Caveat: Shot volume describes activity; it does not establish finishing quality or a match outcome.

This match

Match statistics

  • Shots28 shots6 shotsCardiff City 28 shots, Sheffield United 6 shots
  • Shots on target10 shots4 shotsCardiff City 10 shots, Sheffield United 4 shots
  • Expected goals1.96 xG1.53 xGCardiff City 1.96 xG, Sheffield United 1.53 xG
  • Possession67%33%Cardiff City 67%, Sheffield United 33%
  • Corners12 corners2 cornersCardiff City 12 corners, Sheffield United 2 corners
  • Fouls12 fouls11 foulsCardiff City 12 fouls, Sheffield United 11 fouls
  • Yellow cards2 cards2 cardsCardiff City 2 cards, Sheffield United 2 cards
  • Passes514 passes259 passesCardiff City 514 passes, Sheffield United 259 passes
  • Pass accuracy83.5%66.8%Cardiff City 83.5%, Sheffield United 66.8%
  • Shots inside box21 shots4 shotsCardiff City 21 shots, Sheffield United 4 shots
  • Blocked shots10 blocks1 blockCardiff City 10 blocks, Sheffield United 1 block
  • Goalkeeper saves2 saves8 savesCardiff City 2 saves, Sheffield United 8 saves
  • Offsides2 offsides1 offsideCardiff City 2 offsides, Sheffield United 1 offside

As it happened

Key moments

  1. 2′Jack MoylanGoal · Cardiff City
  2. 4′Thomas CannonPenalty goal · Sheffield United
  3. 4′Alex RobertsonYellow card · Cardiff City
  4. 7′Callum O'HareGoal · Sheffield United
  5. 10′Mark McGuinnessYellow card · Sheffield United
  6. 33′Jack MoylanYellow card · Cardiff City
  7. 38′Cian AshfordGoal · Cardiff City
  8. Half-time
  9. 75′Sydie PeckYellow card · Sheffield United
  10. Full time
Player changes · 10grouped by team and minute
  • 46′Sheffield United · 2 player changesJamie Shackleton · Kalvin Phillips
  • 58′Sheffield United · 1 player changeRhys Norrington-Davies
  • 65′Sheffield United · 1 player changeJaïro Riedewald
  • 72′Cardiff City · 1 player changeChris Willock
  • 84′Sheffield United · 1 player changeBen Brereton Díaz
  • 85′Cardiff City · 3 player changesCallum Robinson · Isaak Davies · Joel Colwill
  • 90′Cardiff City · 1 player changeCalum Scanlon

History

Head-to-head

Recent meetings between these teams.

Last 5 meetings

0Cardiff City
0Draws
5Sheffield United
Sheffield United — Cardiff City · Championship2–0
Cardiff City — Sheffield United · Championship0–2
Sheffield United — Cardiff City · Championship4–1
Cardiff City — Sheffield United · Championship0–1
Sheffield United — Cardiff City · Championship1–0

Head-to-Head & Recent Meetings

Metric comparison

Team comparison

Season averages, with the sample size beside each metric.

Where the edge is

Season: Cardiff City favored in 0 of 13 directional metrics · Sheffield United in 0 · 13 too close

led this metric higher value (descriptive) too close

Window

Season

Cardiff City3 matchesSheffield United3 matches
1.67 goals/match ▲Goals scored3/30.67 goals/match
1.67 goals/matchGoals allowed3/3▲ 0.67 goals/match
1.62 xG/match ▲Expected goals3/31.21 xG/match
18.3 shots/match ▲Shots3/37 shots/match
6.67 shots/match ▲Shots on target3/32.33 shots/match
66% ●Possession3/336.3%
9.33 corners/match ●Corners3/32.33 corners/match
10.3 fouls/matchFouls3/311 fouls/match

Evidence quality

How much supports this analysis

Grade C · Limited evidenceLimited evidence — limited
Season samples3 / 3home / away teams
Recent samples3 / 3last-five windows
FreshnessLess than one dayfrom nearest prior match
  • At least one team has fewer than the configured season sample.
  • At least one team has an incomplete last-five window.

Known unknowns

  • Lineups, injuries, suspensions and tactical changes are not available in the retained dataset.
  • Some metrics are unavailable or below their observation minimum: cards.
  • The completed-match sample is too small for broad style conclusions.
Analysis cutoff: Sat, 29 Aug 2026, 18:00 UTC · analysis-v4

Team rankings in Championship

Goals per match rankingxG per match rankingShots per match ranking
TeamsCardiff CitySheffield United
CompetitionChampionship
Head-to-headCardiff City — Sheffield United
MethodHow PitchMath calculates this

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