Sheffield United receive historic title verdict amid Leeds United "wobble" and "unbelievable" Burnley point

Sheffield United play the first of seven ‘cup finals’ at Oxford United on Saturday as they look to maintain their recent form and nail down a place in next season’s Premier League. The Blades have won eight of their last 10 games as the Championship finishing line rapidly approaches.

They have turned around what at one point was a five-point deficit to Leeds United into a two-point advantage over the former league leaders, who are now level with third-placed Burnley ahead of a run-in that will guarantee many more twists and turns - especially with the Blades still to travel to Turf Moor on Easter Monday.

Boss Chris Wilder has told his side to embrace the pressure of the promotion push and it seems like they are doing exactly that, turning around the club’s fortunes remarkably after last season’s poor Premier League relegation campaign. While full focus is on finishing inside the top two, the Blades are also in pole position to win the first Championship title in their history, and their first second-tier title since 1952/53.

One man who believes they will do just that is Tim Sherwood, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa manager-turned-pundit. “I think Sheffield United will win the Championship,” he predicted. “When I look at their squad I think they’ve got very good Championship players.

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“They've got players who are very good. A lot of them look like they can play in the Premier League and have played in the Premier League before. I think they're more equipped to play in the Premier League. With Leeds, I think both teams will get over the line, but Leeds are having a bit of a wobble at the moment.

“I think they just need to hold their nerve. We know how that crowd can be magnificent at Elland Road there, but sometimes it can be a hindrance because of the demand. Quite rightly they demand because it's a huge football club, but the players have to be able to cope with it.

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“We have seen Illan Meslier making a couple of errors again, as he did last season, so the players need to cope with that sort of atmosphere and just be able to get over the line.”

Speaking to OLBG, Sherwood predicted that Leeds will hold off the challenge of Burnley and join the Blades in the top-flight next season. “I like them [Leeds] for the automatic spots, but Burnley and Scott Parker have put in such an unbelievable run together that you can’t rule them out,” he added.

“This is such a crazy league and anyone can beat anyone at any time so it's still wide open, if I had to predict it now, I’d say Sheffield United with Chris Wilder’s experience and Daniel Farke has already done it. But Scott Parker has already done it ... those three are ahead of everyone.”