Sheffield United are comfortably sitting second in the EFL Championship for 2022–23. The Blades are looking for an automatic qualification back to the English Premier League. Sheffield United were also competing with Burnley in the race for the championship. However, a recent run of poor results has widened the gap to 13 points. Sheffield United have lost three of their previous four games, and this has even allowed other teams to catch up with them. These results are a bit of a worry for the manager. The team is under pressure and has a fear of losing the automatic qualification spot. We now look at some of the stats that show what has gone wrong with Sheffield United in recent matches.
Leaking goals
Sheffield United have lost their momentum recently after losing three of their last four matches. Middlesbrough earned a 3-1 victory at Bramall Lane. This was followed by a 3-2 away loss at Millwall. The Blades earned a 1-0 victory against Watford in their next match, and their previous match ended in a 1-0 loss against Blackburn Rovers. Sheffield United have conceded nine goals in these four matches.
Sheffield United on average concedes 0.91 goals per match. In the last four matches, they have conceded goals at an average of 2.25 per match. The opponents have attempted 41 shots during this period and six shots have been saved by the opposition.
Losing the goal-scoring touch
The Blades average 1.62 goals per match this season. They have scored the third-highest number of goals in the EFL Championship. However, in the last four matches, Sheffield United have scored four goals. Of these four goals, one was an own goal that came in a 1-0 win against Watford. The Blades tried to find the back of the net with 54 shot attempts, and 23 were on target. The accuracy rate and xG rate were on the higher side, but the conversion rate from these chances was very poor. Despite taking numerous shots from inside the penalty box, the Blades failed to find the back of the net regularly.
By looking at the shot assists map we can observe that numerous passes were sent into the opposition penalty box to create goal-scoring chances. However, the players failed to convert these chances. Only one shot assist came in these four matches.
Iliman Ndiaye, who has scored ten goals and created seven has been poor lately. The 23-year-old hasn’t scored a goal or created one since mid-January. In the last four matches, he attempted four shots and three were on target. He has lacked the creative touch lately and Sheffield United will hope that Ndiaye comes to form as soon as possible.
Betting analysis
As per the 1×2 betting odds, the odds rate for Sheffield United will rise due to their poor form. The last two matches have ended with a scoreline of 1-0. This means that the over lines might thrive in the coming games. They have quality in the team and can change the momentum in their favour.
Sheffield United will look to return to winning ways when they face Reading in the next match. The Blades are in the race for qualification and are also in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. They are one of the favourites for automatic qualification.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
