Chris Wilder sends key message to Sheffield United fans ahead of Brighton and Hove Albion clash

Chris Wilder has told Sheffield United fans that their "knowledge" will be "incredibly important" on Sunday as the Blades take on Brighton and Hove Albion at Bramall Lane. The Blades host the Seagulls just weeks after their meeting in the FA Cup, which saw the visitors progress to the next round with a 5-2 victory.

Wilder believes the scoreline was slightly skewed by two penalties, scored by Joao Pedro, on an afternoon which disheartened a lot of Blades supporters but saw their side compete against Europe-chasing Brighton in terms of many of the key statistics on the afternoon.

The style of Roberto De Zerbi's side poses a different challenge to the one United faced at Luton Town last weekend, with their ability to keep the ball and dominate possession until they sense an opening in the opponent's shape and then move quickly to explot it. It means that United will have to be patient and disciplined - both on the pitch, and in the stands.

"The first game, I thought it was a pretty unjust scoreline at the end. We were chasing a cup tie and our team was dramatically changed," Wilder said. "Then we had the Villa game, which we've owned and it's still stinging for me. I'm not defending anything here, because it was a painful afternoon for us all. But these things can happen to you.

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"I was watching the West Ham game last week and this is West Ham - established in the Premier League, winning a European competition, in the top six, and find themselves four down at half time [to Arsenal]. These thing can happen if you don't get your game right and players don't do the things we talked about. We have to get the balance right.

"The knowledge of the crowd is incredibly important on Sunday. And their approach to it. Because I could set the team up to go after Brighton, full press, man for man, we're going to get after you and stand on the halfway line. And I know what's going to happen because of the way they play, the way they move the ball. They want the game, that's the game they want.

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"What you have to do - and what we didn't do in the first game - is get your gameplan right and be patient. That doesn't mean be passive. Be competitive and aggressive, hopefully break it up and have the ability to make chances. No doubt in that game we did. And then be clinical and put it to bed.

"All those things in, hopefully the supporters understand that. Every team in the country will have that feelings about it. But it has to be in the right areas at the right time and if we get that right, if we're spot on and clinical, hopefully we might get the right result."

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Wilder acknowleged that United fans want their side to play front-foot, attacking football but experience has taught him that pragmatism is sometimes the order of the day, a horses-for-courses style based on the quality, and style, of the opposition United are facing in a division when they cannot afford to simply just try and impose their own approach on games.

"We all want to see what Jurgen Klopp calls heavy metal football," Wilder added. "That's why they're possibly the most talked-about side in the Premier League. We all want to aspire to that and I'd love to see my team go out and play like that, but they've had the opportunity to build that football club for an enormous number of years.

"We have to be realistic, we're in the Premier League. It's not defeatist or negative. You'd totally love to see that but you understand what can happen. The biggest thing is come four o'clock on Sunday afternoon, that we got the result that represents a really good performance in and out of possession."