Follow live coverage as Sheffield United face Portsmouth in the Championship today.
An increasingly competitive second tier in English football remains an intense and exciting competition, with the prize of a place in the Premier League on offer at the end of the season.
Relegation from the top flight last term means Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton are all back in the second tier this term and will be expected to push for play-off spots again at least, but so too will newly-promoted Birmingham City and Wrexham, with a host of hopefuls eyeing up the £200m jackpot that comes with promotion to the top flight. At the other end of the table, Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City hope to stay up amid crises.
Follow updates from today’s game in the live blog below.
Sheffield United FC 3 - 0 Portsmouth FC
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:38Match ends, Sheffield United 3, Portsmouth 0.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:36Second Half ends, Sheffield United 3, Portsmouth 0.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:35Makenzie Kirk (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:34Fourth official has announced 4 minutes of added time.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:32Offside, Sheffield United. Danny Ings is caught offside.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:30Offside, Sheffield United. Danny Ings is caught offside.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:29Attempt missed. Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Callum O'Hare.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:28Attempt saved. Andre Brooks (Sheffield United) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the top centre of the goal by Nicolas Schmid (Portsmouth). Assisted by Gustavo Hamer.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:27Attempt blocked. Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:26Substitution, Sheffield United. Mark McGuinness replaces Femi Seriki.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:26Substitution, Sheffield United. Djibril Soumaré replaces Jairo Riedewald.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:25Foul by Andre Dozzell (Portsmouth).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:19Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Zak Swanson.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:17Substitution, Sheffield United. Danny Ings replaces Thomas Cannon.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:17Substitution, Portsmouth. Yang Min-Hyeok replaces Florian Bianchini.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:17Substitution, Portsmouth. Marlon Pack replaces Márk Kosznovszky.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:15Goal! Sheffield United 3, Portsmouth 0. Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Callum O'Hare following a corner.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:15Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Josh Knight.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:14Márk Kosznovszky (Portsmouth) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:14Foul by Márk Kosznovszky (Portsmouth).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:13Attempt missed. Márk Kosznovszky (Portsmouth) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Andre Dozzell.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:12Substitution, Portsmouth. Conor Chaplin replaces Josh Murphy.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:10Offside, Sheffield United. Andre Brooks is caught offside.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:06Substitution, Sheffield United. Harrison Burrows replaces Sam McCallum.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:06Substitution, Sheffield United. Gustavo Hamer replaces Patrick Bamford.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:05Substitution, Portsmouth. Makenzie Kirk replaces Colby Bishop.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:05Foul by Patrick Bamford (Sheffield United).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:05Attempt blocked. Thomas Cannon (Sheffield United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Sam McCallum.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:00Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
21:00Delay in match (Sheffield United).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:59Attempt blocked. Sydie Peck (Sheffield United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:58Attempt saved. Josh Murphy (Portsmouth) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Michael Cooper (Sheffield United). Assisted by Márk Kosznovszky.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:57Goal! Sheffield United 2, Portsmouth 0. Patrick Bamford (Sheffield United) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner following a corner.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:56Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Josh Knight.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:53Offside, Portsmouth. Colby Bishop is caught offside.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:53Offside, Sheffield United. Patrick Bamford is caught offside.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:52Offside, Sheffield United. Thomas Cannon is caught offside.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:50Thomas Cannon (Sheffield United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:49Foul by Josh Knight (Portsmouth).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:48Second Half begins Sheffield United 1, Portsmouth 0.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:47Substitution, Portsmouth. Jordan Williams replaces Adrian Segecic.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:32First Half ends, Sheffield United 1, Portsmouth 0.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:32Corner, Portsmouth. Conceded by Japhet Tanganga.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:31Attempt saved. Sam McCallum (Sheffield United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Nicolas Schmid (Portsmouth). Assisted by Callum O'Hare.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:30Fourth official has announced 2 minutes of added time.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:29Foul by Sydie Peck (Sheffield United).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:29Foul by Márk Kosznovszky (Portsmouth).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:25Goal! Sheffield United 1, Portsmouth 0. Sydie Peck (Sheffield United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:24Terry Devlin (Portsmouth) is shown the red card.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:24Penalty conceded by Terry Devlin (Portsmouth) with a handball in the penalty area.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:24Attempt blocked. Japhet Tanganga (Sheffield United) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Sam McCallum with a cross.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:23Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Josh Murphy.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:22Foul by Zak Swanson (Portsmouth).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:20Corner, Portsmouth. Conceded by Ben Mee.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:20Foul by Sydie Peck (Sheffield United).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:18Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Regan Poole.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:14Attempt missed. Patrick Bamford (Sheffield United) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Ben Mee following a set piece situation.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:14Foul by Regan Poole (Portsmouth).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:10Josh Knight (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:08Nicolas Schmid (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:06Attempt missed. Patrick Bamford (Sheffield United) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Japhet Tanganga.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:03Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Terry Devlin.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:03Attempt blocked. Andre Brooks (Sheffield United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:02Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Josh Knight.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:02Attempt blocked. Thomas Cannon (Sheffield United) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Patrick Bamford with a headed pass.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:02Foul by Josh Murphy (Portsmouth).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:00Offside, Sheffield United. Japhet Tanganga is caught offside.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:00Foul by Márk Kosznovszky (Portsmouth).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
19:57Attempt missed. Florian Bianchini (Portsmouth) header from a difficult angle on the left is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Josh Murphy with a cross.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
20:03Attempt saved. Colby Bishop (Portsmouth) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the top centre of the goal by Michael Cooper (Sheffield United). Assisted by Zak Swanson.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
19:53Foul by Callum O'Hare (Sheffield United).
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
19:49Attempt missed. Andre Brooks (Sheffield United) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
19:45First Half begins.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
19:15Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
Sheffield United vs Portsmouth
17:45Follow live football coverage with The Independent today.
We will have all the latest scores, goals and updates plus analysis and reaction throughout the game here. This season we're bringing you live coverage from every match in the Premier League, WSL, Championship, Carabao Cup and FA Cup from the third round onwards - as well as the best from the Champions League and beyond in Europe.
