Sheffield United told the points total they may need to win promotion race v Leeds United, Burnley, Sunderland

Sheffield United may have just discovered the points tally they need to guarantee they will be playing Premier League football next term, after a remarkable campaign so far. No team in the EFL have won as many as United’s 22 games and none can match their haul of 72 points earned so far.

Only a two-point deduction in the summer prevents the Blades being level with a remarkable Leeds United outfit at the top of the Championship table, with the two pace-setters going head to head next Monday in what promises to be one of the most exciting games of the season to date.

If they keep going at their current average rate of 2.18 points per game then United will finish the season with 98, but there are some tough tests on the horizon - including clashes with Leeds and Burnley as well as a Steel City derby against their biggest rivals Wednesday.

And with a four-way promotion race threatening to go down to the wire, Leeds boss Daniel Farke has set his sights on earning 20 more points in the final 13 games of the campaign to make sure his side will go up this season and avoid any possibility of more play-off disappointment after losing last season’s showpiece final at Wembley.

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"Yes, there's a gap,” the German said, “and that's definitely, definitely good. But sadly there are more than just four or five games to go. Sadly, we have still many, many games to go. "If we were to stop right now on 72 points, we would perhaps make it into the top six, but it's not guaranteed. Hopefully we won't lose all the last 13 games, so I think it's a major step.

"But we have to definitely reach the play-offs and in order to be there in the top two with automatic promotion, yeah, we need to win 20 more points. And for that, it's a long road. Each and every game is complicated.

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"We have difficult away games and challenging home games and for that we have to maintain the momentum to keep it going. So nothing is won yet. On 72 points, we will never be in the top two so we have to win many more points and we want to keep going."

Farke will be absent from the touchline at Bramall Lane on Monday evening after picking up his third yellow card of the season, which triggers a one-match touchline ban, after running onto the pitch to celebrate his side’s last-minute winner against Sunderland. "If I miss this game at Bramall Lane due to goal celebrations, I have to adapt to the rules," he said.