New season comes around quickly for Sheffield United supporters after play-off final heartbreak
Sheffield United supporters will discover their 2025/26 Championship schedule exactly a month today (May 26) after at least another season in the second-tier was confirmed over the weekend by defeat to Sunderland in the play-off final. The Blades had hoped to make an instant return to the Premier League but suffered yet more Wembley heartbreak after Tommy Watson’s 95th-minute winner.
Preparations had already long been made for both eventualities, of promotion and second-tier status, in terms of recruitment and planning, and fans have a bit of time to lick their wounds now before turning their attentions towards another promotion push next term. Unitedites will discover who their side will face on all the key dates on Thursday June 26, when the 2025/26 fixures are released at 12pm.
The fixture release day will also see United discover their opponents in round one of the Carabao Cup, with the draw taking place live on Sky Sports at 4.30pm on the same day.
The countdown will then start to the first weekend of the season, the league kicking off between August 8 and 10 - a week later than the third and fourth tiers. The 46 league games will take place over 33 weekends, nine midweeks and four Bank Holidays in the Championship, with international breaks scheduled for September 1-9, October 6-14 and November 10-18 this year.
The last day of the regular Championship season will be over the weekend of May 2 and 3 and should the Blades reach the play-off final for the second year in a row, they will be returning to Wembley on Saturday, May 23, 2026. Next season’s Carabao Cup will kick off with the first round in the week commencing August 11, with the final at Wembley on March 22, 2026.
The play-off weekend also confirmed the full line-up of Championship teams for next season, with Charlton Athletic sealing their return to the second tier after beating Leyton Orient at Wembley on Sunday afternoon. Birmingham City and Wrexham had already been automatically promoted, with both expected to splash the cash once again in the summer to strengthen their squads.
United and Wrexham have something of a mini-rivalry going back to 2023 when they met in a couple of bad-tempered FA Cup clashes. The Welsh side were a non-league side back then but on their way up the leagues under Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and the two sides will meet next season as league equals for the first time since 1983.
Blades fans will have some lengthy trips on the road again next term, with Ipswich Town and Southampton both coming straight back down from the Premier League. They will also have two more Sheffield derbies against Wednesday to look forward to, if that is possible, after the Owls’ mid-table finish this season.
Whether Danny Rohl will be in the dugout to resume his battle with Chris Wilder, which saw the German suffer a derby double in the last couple of meetings, remains to be seen, however, with speculation about his future at Hillsborough.
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