Sheffield United need to overcome Wrexham trend by relying on their biggest strength
Wrexham will be hungry to try and wrestle back control of a play-off place when they face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday afternoon.
Despite winning four of their last six Championship matches, Phil Parkinson’s side dropped out of the top six, albeit on goal difference, on Wednesday evening after Southampton beat Norwich City 1-0 at St Mary’s.
The Saints have been leading the chasing pack in recent weeks, producing an impressive 11-game unbeaten run, and they have now leapfrogged the Red Dragons in the standings, meaning the latter will be determined to reclaim sixth as quickly as possible.
With Southampton hosting Oxford United on Saturday afternoon, they will be well fancied to secure another three points. It means Wrexham will find themselves under pressure to keep pace with Tonda Eckert’s side at Bramall Lane.
Wrexham, who suffered their first away defeat of 2026 on Tuesday night, losing 3-1 to Watford at Vicarage Road, are dreaming of clinching a fourth successive promotion, meaning there will be as much pressure on them in S2 on Saturday afternoon as there will be on the Blades, who are refusing to give up on their own top six ambitions despite being ten points short of the top six.
Wrexham and United contributed to an eight-goal thriller at the Racecourse Ground when they met earlier this season on Boxing Day, with the hosts coming from 2-1 down and then 3-2 down to eventually win 5-3.
United were leading 3-2 at the halfway stage, meaning it looked as though they were on course to secure all three points. However, they let their guard down and conceded three second half goals to walk away empty-handed.
Unfortunately for boss Chris Wilder, that was one of five occasions where his side have been leading at half-time this season and have gone on to lose. The latest of those instances arrived at Carrow Road against Norwich City last week.
In fact, United, over the course of the season, have been a far better first half team than they have a second half team. United have the second-best first half record in the Championship this season whereas they have the 19th best record after the break. If, for example, full-time was called at half-time, United would be sitting second in the table with 58 points.
Wrexham, on the other hand, have a balanced record in both halves, boasting the tenth-best first half record and the eighth-best second half record.
Wrexham have developed a habit for coming alive in the second half of matches this season, scoring 33 Championship goals after the break; only Ipswich Town (42) and Coventry City (40) have netted more.
Of the 33 second half goals Wrexham have plundered, 16 of them have come beyond the 75th minute, meaning only Ipswich (20) have scored more beyond that juncture in the division. As a side note, six of those 16 Wrexham goals have been scored beyond the 90th minute, highlighting their willingness to go right to the end.
United have coped well under pressure in stoppage time this season, conceding just two goals after the 90th minute; only Bristol City and Middlesbrough (both one) have conceded fewer.
Although United, who conceded two goals beyond the 75th minute when they faced Wrexham on Boxing Day, have, as the evidence suggests, handled late pressure well this season, their overall record in the second half of matches does create a slight cause for concern. Of the 38 second halves they have fulfilled this season, they have lost 16 of them, with only Sheffield Wednesday (22) losing more.
Wrexham, on the flip side, have won 14 second halves this season, meaning they get stronger at a juncture where United get weaker, and you can guarantee Parkinson’s troops will have been made aware of that data ahead of Saturday’s S2 showdown.
Although a ten-point deficit to the play-offs feels as though it is too big a gap to close, United, until it becomes mathematically impossible, will not give up.
A victory over Wrexham coupled with a defeat for Southampton against Oxford will leave United seven points off the top six with seven games to go on the other side of the international break. Plugging that gap sounds a lot more achievable than a ten-point gap does.
But if United are to give themselves a fighting chance of staying in the race until after the international break, they are, as has been felt for weeks, going to have to beat Wrexham.
If they are to do just that, they may find themselves having to make their mark in the first half to make life as difficult as possible for their visitors in the period where they so often come alive.