Blackburn vs 25.08.26 18:451 – 2Full Time
Sheffield Utd — League Cup: stats, lineups & analysis
Match report
Sheffield Utd edge past Blackburn in League Cup round of 64
Sheffield Utd came from behind on the scoreboard to beat Blackburn 2-1 in a League Cup round of 64 tie at Ewood Park, having trailed only briefly after Oladapo Afolayan's equaliser before a late strike settled the contest.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Thomas Cannon put the visitors ahead after 20 minutes, and that lead held through half-time with Sheffield Utd 1-0 up at the break. Blackburn responded early in the second half as Afolayan converted a Ryoya Morishita assist in the 55th minute to level the score at 1-1.
The decisive moment came in the 81st minute when Romelle Donovan restored Sheffield Utd's advantage, making it 2-1 and securing victory for Chris Wilder's side. Blackburn had more of the ball, with 51 per cent possession, but Sheffield Utd were the more direct side in front of goal, firing 16 shots to the hosts' nine despite both teams managing five on target.
Thomas Cannon scored the opener and finished with a rating of 7.2, playing a key role in Sheffield Utd's win, while Sean McLoughlin was rated highest overall at 7.3 for Blackburn.
Sheffield Utd nearly doubled Blackburn's shot count, firing 16 attempts to the hosts' nine despite having less of the ball.
Sheffield Utd won 2–1 away against Blackburn (half-time 0–1).
Blackburn met Sheffield Utd in the League Cup (Round of 64). Kick-off was Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 18:45 UTC at Ewood Park. Referee: David Webb.
Team pages: Blackburn · Sheffield Utd · League Cup
Key moments
- 20' Goal: Thomas Cannon — 0–1 · Watch Thomas Cannon's goal video (20')
- 55' Goal: Oladapo Afolayan (assist: Ryoya Morishita) — 1–1 · Watch Oladapo Afolayan's goal video (55')
- 81' Goal: Romelle Donovan — 1–2 · Watch Romelle Donovan's goal video (81')
Starting line-ups
Blackburn (4-2-3-1)
Sheffield Utd (4-4-2)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Blackburn 30%, the draw 32%, Sheffield Utd 38%. It finished Blackburn 1–2 Sheffield Utd.
Sheffield Utd's rating edge, but the draw is in play — Sheffield Utd are the stronger side on our strength rating, and their cold finishing due to recover plus their control of the ball on top give Sheffield Utd the lean. The draw at 32% is lifted by a low-scoring environment.
Why Sheffield Utd at 38%?
Sheffield Utd sit 52 points higher on our strength rating — 1482 to 1534. Sides with a 50–100-point rating edge on the road won 32.9% of 10,538 such games. Sheffield Utd sit -0.38 goals per game below chance-quality — cold streaks like this have bounced back. Visitors this cold went on to win 32.5% of 1,323 games, vs 28.9% for visitors finishing normally. Sheffield Utd hold 12 more possession points (53 to 41 in recent games) — and between equals, control has been worth something. Between evenly-matched sides, when the visitors held this control edge the home team's win rate fell to 40.3% across 5,546 games, from 44.0% when styles were level. The 300 most similar past games finished 38–30–32.
Why only 38%?
No scored evidence points the other way. 38% is what this rating gap has been worth in games like these; the rest is the draw at 32% and Blackburn at 30%.
Why is the draw second, ahead of the Blackburn win?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 28.3%. These teams' recent games average 2.5 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 26.2% of 27,656. The goals environment adds 1.5 points to the draw. The control factor adds 1.4 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Blackburn have gained 77 strength-rating points over their last 10 games. Momentum is measured but not yet proven: climbing sides won 41.4% of 12,225 such games vs 40.7% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it stays at 0 points until the receipt clears its evidence bar.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Blackburn vs Sheffield Utd final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this League Cup fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Thomas Cannon's goal against Blackburn (20').
- Watch Oladapo Afolayan's goal against Sheffield Utd (55').
- Watch Romelle Donovan's goal against Blackburn (81').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Blackburn 1–2 Sheffield Utd. Explore more on the Blackburn and Sheffield Utd team pages or the League Cup page.