Daniel Farke’s team is only ahead of the Blades on goal differential, while Chris Wilder’s team is tied with Leeds United, another Yorkshire rival, at the top of the Championship with 80 points.
Sheffield United will be hoping to do better than they did in their last two top tier campaigns, where they finished in last place both times, should they manage to return to the Premier League this season.
We questioned former player and Sky Sports commentator Lee Hendrie in an exclusive interview with Football League World: “Do you think Sheffield United have a squad strong enough right now to compete in the Premier League if they go up?” Or would they require significant strengthening?
“If Sheffield United advances, do they have a strong enough team to compete in the Premier League?” Hendrie asked. No. Looking at Sheffield United’s roster, I would say no.
“I believe they are aware of that nonetheless, and I believe that every team that emerges from the Championship is aware that their current roster has potential. However, we have seen teams like Ipswich attempt to add players and strengthen their roster, but it hasn’t always worked out.
“Burnley has done it before and been demoted. It’s a really tough one, but not right now. They would probably be aware that they need to bolster their team. They would be aware that they need to acquire specific players who meet Premier League requirements.
“Teams that get promoted from the Championship seem to be dropping right back down, and that’s mainly due to a lack of talent and, of course, the fact that they can’t pay the best players, if you will.
“So yes, they will have to strengthen if promoted.”
Under Wilder, Sheffield United has undoubtedly been one of the Championship’s most impressive teams this year.
Only Leeds and Burnley have given up less goals than the Blades’ 28 after 38 games this season, making their defence one of the hardest in the division to breach.
On the other hand, although United hasn’t had much trouble scoring goals, they haven’t scored enough goals this early in the season to indicate they have enough firepower to guarantee they would have a significant advantage in the top flight the following season, should they qualify.
| Sheffield United’s 24/25 Championship stats after 38 games played | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games played | Goals scored | Goals scored per game | Expected goals | Shots on target per game | Top scorer (League only) |
| 38 | 53 | 1.4 | 50.4 | 4.1 | Tyrese Campbell – 9 |
Blades have scored 53 goals in the second division so far this season, although Leeds (76), Sunderland (55), Coventry (55), Middlesbrough (57), and Norwich (60) have all surpassed them.
According to FotMob, United has the sixth-best average of 1.4 goals per game in the Championship, while their 50.4 anticipated goals (xG) and 4.1 shots on goal per game are the eighth-highest in the division thus far.
Tyrese Campbell leads the league with nine goals, which may cause some Bramall Lane supporters to worry that their team needs to improve their attacking options if they want to compete as a top division team this summer.
However, these statistics show that they might be in for another lengthy Premier League season if they don’t adequately strengthen their assault force.
