PitchMath
Championship · 2026

Stoke City 2–1 Sheffield United · Championship

2–1Full-time analysis

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

Match at a glance

Stoke City won 2–1.

Shots
128
Shots on target
53
Expected goals
0.540.48
Possession
62%38%

Full time

What the match recorded

Stoke City beat Sheffield United 2–1. Recorded in this match (Stoke City – Sheffield United): shots 12–8, shots on target 5–3, expected goals 0.54–0.48, possession 62%–38%. 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.

Sheffield United's recent record differs from the season

weak

Sheffield United's last-five goals scored average is above their season average.

1.4 goals/match ▲Goals forLast 5 · Season1.13 goals/match
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: An unweighted last-five average is compared with the unweighted season average.

Window: last_5 versus season

MetricLast 5SeasonBaseline
Goals for1.4 goals/match1.13 goals/match1.27 goals/match

Caveat: Five matches are sensitive to opponent mix and isolated match states.

Recent scheduling adds useful context

weak

A compressed recent schedule is recorded for Stoke City, Sheffield United.

6.9 days ▲Rest daysStoke City · Sheffield United6.02 days
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Rest days and completed matches in the prior 14 days are shown directly.

Window: previous 14 days

MetricStoke CitySheffield UnitedBaseline
Rest days6.9 days6.02 days—
Matches last 14 days3 matches3 matches—

Caveat: The database does not describe travel, rotation decisions or player-level workload.

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.

11.9 shots/match ▲ShotsStoke City · Sheffield United8.25 shots/match
Evidence and caveat

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

Window: season

MetricStoke CitySheffield UnitedBaseline
Shots11.9 shots/match8.25 shots/match13 shots/match
Shots against13.9 shots/match16.3 shots/match13 shots/match

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

This match

Match statistics

  • Shots12 shots8 shotsStoke City 12 shots, Sheffield United 8 shots
  • Shots on target5 shots3 shotsStoke City 5 shots, Sheffield United 3 shots
  • Expected goals0.54 xG0.48 xGStoke City 0.54 xG, Sheffield United 0.48 xG
  • Possession62%38%Stoke City 62%, Sheffield United 38%
  • Corners8 corners1 cornerStoke City 8 corners, Sheffield United 1 corner
  • Fouls12 fouls15 foulsStoke City 12 fouls, Sheffield United 15 fouls
  • Yellow cards4 cards4 cardsStoke City 4 cards, Sheffield United 4 cards
  • Passes467 passes290 passesStoke City 467 passes, Sheffield United 290 passes
  • Pass accuracy82.2%67.9%Stoke City 82.2%, Sheffield United 67.9%
  • Shots inside box6 shots3 shotsStoke City 6 shots, Sheffield United 3 shots
  • Blocked shots2 blocks2 blocksStoke City 2 blocks, Sheffield United 2 blocks
  • Goalkeeper saves2 saves3 savesStoke City 2 saves, Sheffield United 3 saves
  • Offsides2 offsides0 offsidesStoke City 2 offsides, Sheffield United 0 offsides

As it happened

Key moments

  1. 10′Kalvin PhillipsYellow card · Sheffield United
  2. 32′Justin DevennyYellow card · Stoke City
  3. 43′Maksym TalovierovYellow card · Stoke City
  4. Half-time
  5. 51′Kalvin PhillipsGoal · Sheffield United
  6. 54′Oliver ArblasterYellow card · Sheffield United
  7. 63′Ethan GalbraithYellow card · Stoke City
  8. 63′Liam KitchingYellow card · Sheffield United
  9. 63′Eric BocatYellow card · Stoke City
  10. 69′Rhys Norrington-DaviesYellow card · Sheffield United
  11. 78′Jack McGlynnGoal · Stoke City
  12. 86′Sam GallagherGoal · Stoke City
  13. Full time
Player changes · 10grouped by team and minute
  • 64′Stoke City · 2 player changesGeorge Hirst · Sam Gallagher
  • 65′Stoke City · 1 player changeJunior Tchamadeu
  • 67′Sheffield United · 1 player changeThomas Cannon
  • 80′Stoke City · 1 player changeLuca Bombino
  • 80′Sheffield United · 3 player changesJordan Ayew · Tahith Chong · Jamie Shackleton
  • 80′Stoke City · 1 player changeMillion Manhoef
  • 88′Sheffield United · 1 player changeRomelle Donovan

Who started

Lineups

Show both lineups

Lineups as recorded. The source does not mark them confirmed.

Stoke City3-4-2-1
  1. Viktor JohanssonG
  2. Ben JohnsonD
  3. Luke GrahamD
  4. Ben WilmotD
  5. Eric BocatD
  6. Maksym TalovierovD
  7. Ethan GalbraithM
  8. Djibril SoumaréM
  9. Jack McGlynnF
  10. Lamine CisséF
  11. Justin DevennyF
Sheffield United3-4-3
  1. Michael CooperG
  2. Japhet TangangaD
  3. Hamza ChoudhuryD
  4. Liam KitchingD
  5. Mark McGuinnessD
  6. Rhys Norrington-DaviesD
  7. Kalvin PhillipsM
  8. Sydie PeckM
  9. Romelle DonovanF
  10. Ben Brereton DíazF
  11. Patrick BamfordF

History

Head-to-head

Recent meetings between these teams.

Last 5 meetings

0Stoke City
0Draws
5Sheffield United
Stoke City — Sheffield United · Championship1–2
Sheffield United — Stoke City · Championship4–0
Stoke City — Sheffield United · Championship0–2
Sheffield United — Stoke City · Championship2–0
Sheffield United — Stoke City · Championship3–1

Head-to-Head & Recent Meetings

Metric comparison

Team comparison

Season averages, with the sample size beside each metric.

Where the edge is

Season: Stoke City favored in 9 of 13 directional metrics · Sheffield United in 3 · 1 too close

led this metric higher value (descriptive) too close

Window

Season

Stoke City8 matchesSheffield United8 matches
1.63 goals/match ▲Goals scored8/81.13 goals/match
1.5 goals/matchGoals allowed8/8▲ 1.38 goals/match
0.93 xG/matchExpected goals8/8▲ 0.99 xG/match
11.9 shots/match ▲Shots8/88.25 shots/match
4.13 shots/match ▲Shots on target8/83.13 shots/match
46.5% ●Possession8/840%
4.5 corners/match ●Corners8/82.88 corners/match
15.4 fouls/matchFouls8/812 fouls/match

Evidence quality

How much supports this analysis

Grade B · Useful evidenceUseful evidence — limited
Season samples8 / 8home / away teams
Recent samples5 / 5last-five windows
FreshnessLess than one dayfrom nearest prior match
  • Evidence is usable but does not meet the strongest completeness threshold.

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.
Analysis cutoff: Sat, 19 Sept 2026, 15:30 UTC · analysis-v4

Team rankings in Championship

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

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