Sheffield United in defiant mood ahead of tough Aston Villa test despite Chelsea frustration

Defender Auston Trusty insists that Sheffield United will travel to Aston Villa on Friday with belief and confidence as they look to puncture their remarkable record at Villa Park. Unai Emery's side are unbeaten at home in 15 league games and no team has won more league matches at home in 2023 than Villa.

In those 15 games Villa have scored 39 goals, letting in just seven and keeping eight clean sheets. They have been similarly miserly at home in Europe, too, and it will be another tough test for Chris Wilder's Blades fresh from the disappointment of the weekend defeat at Chelsea. United looked good value for a point in that one after frustrating the hosts for the entire first half, before what the manager described as "a mad 15 minutes" saw their inexperience shine through and the hosts prevail 2-0.

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Defeat left United still rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, with away trips to Villa and champions Manchester City ending the year either side of Boxing Day's crunch clash at home to Luton Town. The result may not have gone their way at Stamford Bridge but defender Trusty insists the Blades can take belief into their trip to the second city on Friday evening.

"We can play against anybody," said the American, when asked what United can take from the Chelsea game. "It's up to us. It’s not that any team’s better than us; it’s not that any team has more class players or whatever. We’re all class players and we can fight in this league and we can perform in this league. It’s literally up to us; that’s the mindset and that’s what the gaffer is telling us.

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"It’s our mindset. It’s all there for us. We always believed but that’s been [Wilder's] biggest message, just keep on believing. He wasn’t screaming at us [after Chelsea]. He was just telling us to keep on believing because it’s about belief and confidence. They're the two things we have to have as a team and we have to represent. And we can get results if we have them."

Villa can go top of the Premier League, albeit potentially on temporarily, with victory over the Blades at what is expected to be a raucous Villa Park but United are desperate for points for their own ambitions for the season. "We have to move on and learn from the mistakes," added Trusty.

"See what we did well and what we can do better. That's football; we go on to the next game. The show goes on and we have to keep getting points and trying to get opportunities, and take advantage of every game that we can."