Billed the heavyweight clash of the weekend, Chris Wilder and Sheffield United travelled to Elland Road to face off with Leeds and Marcelo Bielsa. With both teams battling it out with Norwich City for the two automatic promotion spots we were guaranteed fireworks.
Lineups
Bielsa, as he has done throughout his career, sent out his usual core group of players, with an unchanged XI from the comfortable midweek victory over Reading.
Wilder, however, made a number of changes from their 2-0 victory against Rotherham. Martin Craine, Billy Sharp and David McGoldrick coming in for Gary Madine, Scott Hogan and Kieran Dowell. This also saw a slight shift in shape with the Blades setting up in a clear 5-3-2 out of possession. This meant a more advanced role for Chris Basham and a return to the right-sided centre-back spot for Cranie.
Although this could be seen as a conservative move from Wilder, Basham’s ability to control the tempo of play was key. Coupled with his talent to break lines through dribbling caused issues for Leeds all afternoon long.
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