Leeds United sit at the summit of the Championship table but Sheffield United cut their lead down to two points on Wednesday night when they beat Middlesbrough 3-1 at Bramall Lane. The two Yorkshire sides have emerged as the two best teams of the Championship this season and are now the favourites to earn automatic promotion to the Premier League. Leeds’ recent form, where they have not conceded a goal in six league games, has led to suggestions that they are closing in on winning the Championship but it is still very tight at the top. The Yorkshire rivals are also set to face off later in the month. However, Chris Wilder has not missed the opportunity to pile some extra pressure on the Whites.
Daniel Farke’s men are in pristine form at this stage of the season and given how the season is shaping up, Leeds are now well on their way to securing automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Leeds are also being backed to win the Championship outright over their closest rivals but the reality is that their lead at the top is still just two points and they have a five-point buffer over teams outside the automatic promotion spots.
The Whites still need to remain focused and can’t afford to drop their levels ahead of two big games against Sunderland, at home, and Sheffield United, away, in the next couple of weeks.
Sheffield United showed on Wednesday night that they are not going away from the race anytime soon with a win over a good Middlesbrough side.
However, Chris Wilder did use his post-match comments to pile some extra pressure on Leeds as the promotion race heats up between the two Yorkshire rivals.
‘Leeds United will win the Championship, we can only make it interesting’ – Chris Wilder
Burnley and Sunderland are still in the automatic promotion spots but Leeds and Sheffield United are the outstanding teams of the Championship this season.
The Blades have always been expected to compete for promotion after dropping from the Premier League last season as they had the money to spend big on players and in Wilder, they have one of the most experienced coaches at this level.
However, Leeds have been the most consistent team in the league this season and for a while now, Sheffield United have been forced to play catch-up to their Yorkshire rivals.
Wilder acknowledged the brilliance of the Leeds side and conceded that they deserve to be the favourites to win the league and go up this season.
The Sheffield United boss also stressed that they are his personal tip to win the Championship and it is up to him and his players to ensure that the race remains interesting until the end of the season.
“Leeds are the talked-about team and rightly so. A fabulous group of players and well-coached, smashing everybody here, there and everywhere and everybody’s tip to win it”, Wilder was quoted as saying by the Yorkshire Post.
“From my point of view, I’d say the same.
“But we want to make it interesting and hopefully we will do [so] in terms of collecting the points and producing those performances.”
The Sheffield United boss is trying to apply the heat on Leeds, the players will do well to ignore his comments
Once Sheffield United dropped back to the Championship last season they became the instant favourites to win the league and get straight back up to the Premier League.
The parachute money from the Premier League meant that they had a financial advantage over others in the Championship and Wilder is a proven manager at this level.
The fact that they are being outrun by a Leeds side who lost three of their best players last summer and had to undergo a rebuild, must prick Sheffield United and Wilder.
Can you name the missing sponsor from these 10 Leeds United shirts?
The Blades boss terming Leeds as the favourites to win the league is a nice method to take the pressure off his players and apply more heat on the Whites.
However, the difference between the two sides is still just two points and Wilder is aware of how unpredictable the Championship is as a league.
Sheffield United have as much of a chance to win the league as Leeds but it suits the Blades boss if the Whites are under more pressure in the coming months.
I am certain that Farke is experienced enough to understand the mind games Wilder is trying to play and will do everything to ensure the Leeds players keep their feet firmly on the ground.
