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Following Sheffield United’s defeat to Millwall, the OPTA supercomputer has made a 180-degree turn on Ruben Selles.
Sheffield United are still winless under Ruben Selles this season, having lost four successive games in all competitions under the Spaniard.
The latest installment of the Blades’ challenging start to the 2025/26 Championship campaign was a 1-0 home defeat to Millwall.
Following the defeat against Millwall, who are set to lose Japhet Tanganga to Sheffield United, boos rang around S2, creating a hostile reaction directed towards the Blades boss and the owners.
Any pre-season optimism has been wiped out at Bramall Lane, and even the OPTA Analyst supercomputer has reversed on its optimistic Sheffield United prediction.
OPTA predict Sheffield United will finish outside the play-offs
Ahead of the 2025/26 Championship season, there were whispers as to whether Sheffield United could match the lofty heights they hit under Chris Wilder in the previous campaign before he was controversially replaced with Ruben Selles.
However, the OPTA predictions placed full faith in the Spaniard to get Sheffield United up and running, having predicted a Championship title win in his debut season at Bramall Lane.
Things have not gone their way so far, however, after three Championship defeats in a row. This has led to the OPTA supercomputer reconsidering its stance on the Blades, with Sheffield United now predicted to finish 8th in the Championship.
They now have a slim 5.7% likelihood of winning the title, in comparison to the pre-season predictions of 49.4% chance.
Sheffield United are now 40.54% likely to finish in the top six, whilst relegation to League One currently stands at a 4.28% chance.
- READ MORE: After Wrexham vs Sheffield Wednesday, supercomputer claims only one team will avoid relegation
Ruben Selles needs to expect more from Blades attackers
In Sheffield United’s first three games of the Championship season, they have been incredibly unproductive in front of goal, bagging just one against Bristol City.
New Sheffield United signing Louie Barry has shown promise and excitement when going forward, but has often been isolated up top alongside Tom Cannon and Tyrese Campbell.
Cannon, in particular, has struggled to hit the heights since he joined Sheffield United in January. Selles’ latest experiment sought to utilise him out wide, but even that could not fix the forward’s ability up front.
The issues do not solely lie on the shoulders of the front line, with the midfield and defence struggling to create a sufficient number of chances for them to make a significant difference.