Sheffield United’s promotion hopes have certainly been dented over the past week, with two defeats in four days seeing them drop from first to third in the blink of an eye. Chris Wilder’s side failed to find an equaliser against either Oxford United or Millwall as performance levels dropped at the worst possible time.
United have the chance to bounce back this weekend when they go to rock-bottom Plymouth Argyle and with only two points separating them from the top two, momentum can swing back their way just as quickly. The Blades have tended to arrest such blips pretty quickly before and there are still 15 points to play for between now and May.
Remaining fixtures vary between each team and with that in mind, The Star has taken a look at who Leeds United, Burnley and United have to play, calculating the difficulty of remaining opponents by average league position. Take a look to see how the next three weeks will pan out.
9. 4th. Sunderland (76 points)
Remaining fixtures: Swansea (H), Bristol City (A), Blackburn (A), Oxford (A), QPR (H) | Average position of opposition: 12.8 Photo: Stu Forster
10. 3rd. Sheffield United (83 points)
Remaining fixtures: Plymouth (A), Cardiff (H), Burnley (A), Stoke (A), Blackburn (H) | Average position of opposition: 16 | Getty Images
11. 2nd. Burnley (85 points)
Remaining fixtures: Norwich (H), Watford (A), Sheffield United (H), QPR (A), Millwall (H) | Average position of opposition: 9.6 Photo: Molly Darlington
12. 1st. Leeds United (85 points)
Remaining fixtures: Preston (H), Oxford (A), Stoke (H), Bristol City (H), Plymouth (A) | Average position of opposition: 16.6 | Danny Lawson/PA Wire