Sheffield United handed Leeds United a huge boost last weekend, that exponentially increased the Whites’ chances of Premier League promotion.
Chris Wilder’s side suffered a shock loss to bottom side, Plymouth. The most frustrating part of the result is how the Blades lead for over a half of football for Plymouth to score twice in the space of seven minutes to seal all three points. Saturday was a frustrating day for Wilder’s side – Burnley won on Friday night, and Leeds won their game which kicked off at the same time.
Now, Sheffield United have it all to do if they want to stand a chance at promotion. Opta gives them a 6.54% chance of automatic promotion.
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Leeds United rivals believe that the season is not over yet
Credit: Imago Images
Chris Wilder gave his team a scathing talk after the loss to Plymouth. After the game, he mentioned that he was just motivating his players. Ally McCoist recently suggested that Sheffield United can catch Leeds in the final four games.
Now, the Blades boss is adamant that his team is not out of contention for promotion yet. There are four games left in the Championship, and Sheffield United are five points behind both Burnley and Leeds United. Wilder spoke about his team talk last weekend, and hit back at critics that said the Blades’ season is over:
“I thought it was important,” he said via the Yorkshire Post. “It wasn’t a Phil Brown moment.
“It was a calm chat to say we have to take responsibility for three games where we’ve turned a really good position into a not so good one. We have to own and accept that we haven’t been good enough.
“There’ll be a lot of people talking about our season being done and dusted, it’s not. We’ve given up an advantage, that’s all we’ve done.”
Sheffield United upcoming fixtures says otherwise
Chris Wilder may believe the Blades still have a chance, but looking at their upcoming fixtures, that chance will be very slim. Sheffield United face Cardiff, Burnley, Stoke and Blackburn. That combination of teams may be the worst that any promotion candidate could face in their last four games.
Cardiff are in the relegation zone, Burnley are chasing automatic promotion, Stoke are still not out of danger, and Blackburn have an outside chance of making the playoffs. All these teams have something to play for before they face the Blades – good luck to Chris Wilder.
