Where Sheffield United have edge over Leeds United in promotion race after midfielder's "afraid" verdict

The Championship season is only just over the one-third point but already the race for the Premier League is shaping up to be an intriguing one. Two of last season’s relegated teams, Sheffield United and Burnley, are right in the mix alongside the powerful Leeds United and Sunderland’s young guns.

Watford, Middlesbrough and West Brom have also made good starts to the campaign as they look to break into that higher echelon while Leeds have the chance to go back top tonight when they face Luton Town, after the Blades’ 3-0 win over Oxford United last night took them clear at the summit. No team has won more games or points than the Blades this season, with Leeds new boy Josuha Guilavogui clear over where his side need to get better to keep pace with Chris Wilder’s men.

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“We have to improve our game away because at home we are really, really strong,” said the 34-year-old, who joined Leeds last month. “We are really dominant and even the teams coming to Elland Road, they are afraid of us, afraid of our fans. You can see, when we are coming in the flow, there is no chance at all. If we want to be champions or finish in the top two, we have to make good performances away. A team like Sheffield United, they are not better than us, but they manage to win. They won in Bristol and we only drew there.”

United, of course, came from behind to win in the 98th minute at Bristol City thanks to Harrison Burrows’ dramatic strike, with the Blades reacting to back-to-back defeats at Elland Road and Middlesbrough to take 16 points from a possible 18 since. More stiff tests await, including a home clash with fellow promotion hopefuls Sunderland before trips to West Bromwich Albion and Millwall - who turned over Leeds earlier this month at the Den.

“We lost at least one point there,” added Guilavogui, speaking to LeedsLive. “But I'm really confident and we have a good coach, good staff and we are prepared. Also, the team, I was not here the last year, but I learned a lot with this dramatic loss in Wembley and you can feel that this season. In football it is always the same sentence: you learn more when you lose a game than when you are winning a game. You know, at the end, maybe one point, two points, three points can make the difference. We have to go for it.”