Sheffield United are the surprise package in the Premier League
Three of the best Championship teams from the 2018/19 season were promoted to the Premier League for the 2019/20 season namely, Norwich City, Sheffield United, and Aston Villa.
How have they been faring, one might be tempted to ask? Well, only one out of the three looks nailed on to remain in the Premier League for the 2019/20 season and it’s Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United.
The likes of Norwich City and Aston Villa are currently languishing in the relegation places as they are positioned 20th and 19th respectively with 21 points and 25 points each.
This is a far cry from fellow promoted side Sheffield United who are in the top half of the Premier League table. The Blades, who have their eyes on a place in Europe, currently sit above the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal having played one game less than Spurs.
Sheffield United sit 7th in the Premier League with 43 points, 5 points below fourth-placed Chelsea, and have a game in hand. They were also in a good run of form before football was suspended in England due to the coronavirus outbreak.
They’ve not lost in their last 4 games with 3 wins and a draw but have lost 1 in their last 5. Funny enough, it was a slim 1 nil defeat at home against second-placed Manchester City. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to cut them some slack.
Sheffield United have been a very formidable side this season and have been very compact on the pitch. They’ve been a thorn in the flash of the supposed big sides in the Premier League.
Out of the current top 10 on the Premier League table, only Leicester City, Liverpool and Manchester City have beaten the Blades and they were all hard-fought victories.
They beat Arsenal at home and drew at the Emirates. They also drew 2 all against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge at the early stages of the season and drew 1 all away to Tottenham Hotspur.
Chris Wilder’s men have not been humiliated by any side this season but don’t score much either. They are a low scoring but very efficient side. Only Manchester United have scored thrice against them this season in a 3 all draw at Bramall Lane.
They are not that much of a rigid side going by their propensity to not score much nor concede much. They are a very tactical side who know how to keep possession, defend in numbers behind the ball, and launch deadly attacks against opponents.
Their highest goalscorers this season are Lys Mousset with 5 goals, Oliver McBurnie with 4 goals, midfielder John Fleck with 5 goals, and John Lundstram with 4 goals. Another notable mention is Billy Sharp with 3 goals.
The Blades have scored 30 goals this season, the lowest among the current 2019/20 Premier League top 10 and have conceded 25. They’ve been the major revelation of the 2019/20 season and when football resumes, hopefully, they maintain the fine momentum.
The Blades have undoubtedly punched above their weight this season, and making it into Europe next season would be a shock but a welcome development at Bramall Lane. Let’s see how they cope when the game resumes in England.
