Sheffield United come into their 28th Championship game of the season in an enviable position, having put themselves in the automatic promotion spots with an 11-point lead over the chasing pack and with an eye-catching tally of 16 league victories all on the board.
That position has been helped by their impressive form since the return to action from the World Cup break, with Paul Heckingbottom’s side extending their unbeaten run to seven second-tier matches including six triumphs, firstly beating Huddersfield Town and Wigan Athletic prior to Christmas before continuing with three-point hauls against Coventry City and Blackpool.
The Blades’ unbeaten streak then looked set to be put to an end in their first game of the new year, as they trailed by a goal to nil away at Queens Park Rangers following Ilias Chair’s early finish, only for John Egan to salvage a point with
an equaliser deep into injury time, before they again travelled to London to take on Millwall in the FA Cup third round and won 2-0 courtesy of goals from Daniel Jebbison and Jayden Bogle.
On their return to Bramall Lane and Championship action last Saturday, Heckingbottom’s men hosted Stoke City, and after going into the interval with a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Iliman Ndiayeand Bogle.
the latter would net his second of the game late on to wrap up all three points in a 3-1 triumph and stretch their lead over third place back to 11 points with 19 league games to go this term.
Now in the midst of a seven-game unbeaten run in the second tier, with the league’s tightest defensive record and its second-highest goals tally, the Blades will aim to continue their eye-
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catching streak of form with another three-point haul to further strengthen their position alongside Burnley in the top two in their bid to return to the Premier League this time around.
They face a tough test on Friday, though, as Hull City arrive in a positive run of their own, having climbed to 16th spot thanks to a six-match unbeaten streak.
Soon after Liam Rosenior’s appointment as manager, the Tigers went into the World Cup break at the bottom end of the table with 24 points from their opening 21 outings, but they have not been beaten in the second tier since, adding 10 points to their tally in the process, as they firstly played out draws with Watford, Sunderland and Blackpool.
