Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
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Sheffield United
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Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United face Coventry City and Frank Lampard at Bramall Lane, looking to win and pile the pressure on Burnley and Leeds United at the top of the Championship.
The Championship finally returns this Friday evening, with the marquee tie seeing Sheffield United and Coventry City face off before any of their rivals for promotion to the Premier League.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LeedsLeeds | 38 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 76 | 25 | 51 | 80 |
| 2 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 38 | 25 | 7 | 6 | 53 | 28 | 25 | 80 |
| 3 |  BurnleyBurnley | 38 | 21 | 15 | 2 | 52 | 11 | 41 | 78 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 38 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 55 | 37 | 18 | 69 |
| 5 |  CoventryCoventry | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 55 | 48 | 7 | 59 |
| 6 |  West BromWest Brom | 38 | 13 | 18 | 7 | 48 | 34 | 14 | 57 |
The two sides played out a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture at the CBS Arena in November. It’s a huge game given what is at stake for both sides regarding the Championship title race but also on the play-off picture ahead of the final eight games for play-off chasers.
Our combined Sheffield United and Coventry City XI represents the quality on show is high for both teams and especially relevant to Frank Lampard and his recent record-breaking Coventry side.
EFL experts predict the outcome of Sheffield United against Coventry City at Bramall Lane
An Anel Ahmedhodzic red card at 2-1 in the first half allowed Bobby Thomas to equalise in the 80th minute to share the points in a desmond back in November, after Tyrese Campbell and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi had put them ahead.
Speaking via the Championship Check-In podcast, Benjamin Bloom and EFL pundit for both Sky and the BBC, Sam Parkin, have had their say on how the game will unravel on Friday night, with one of the pair going for a similar outcome to last time out.
Bloom said: “We start off with a gigantic game at Bramall Lane, Sheffield United vs Coventry.”
Parkin responded: “Yeah, really big game. I kind of fancy this to be really entertaining. And I think Coventry will have a bit of a go.
“For that reason, I’m going to go for a 2-2. I’m going to go for a few of the biggies to drop points in this round.
“Just because I think the teams that have been on really good runs and I think the teams pushing for play-offs need that break as much as the teams that are jostling for those automatic positions.
“So, I think two teams to go in highly motivated and play out a bit of a thriller. Maybe a bit more an open game that we’ve been experiencing with Sheffield United in recent weeks.”
Bloom added: “Okay, I’m going to take the low-margin Sheffield United win. But I’m not going to take the clean sheet.
“So I was thinking I’d just lob in another 1-0 Sheffield United again. 15 one-goal victories. But like you, I do like Coventry.
“I think Coventry might even take the lead, and it might be a comeback. Maybe it’ll be 1-1 at half-time and Blades will win it in the second half. So, I will take a 2-1.”
The chances of both Sheffield United and Coventry City gaining promotion together — what the data says
We ranked the 20 best players in the Championship recently, and many of them will be on show to fans around the country for the televised Sky and ITV game. In a clash which Chris Wilder will be looking for a moment of inspiration to settle, and both Gus Hamer and Callum O’Hare may have a point to prove.
Lampard has spoken previously about Wilder and the games in years gone by between them, while Wilder has enjoyed ‘tremendous’ previous fixtures against the former Derby County and Chelsea boss.
Opta have outlined the chances of both achieving their goal this term, with Sheffield United having a 24.62% chance of the title and a 63.16% of automatic promotion of any kind. Meanwhile, Coventry may not be able to make the top two but they have been handed the highest percentage chance of any play-off chaser below fourth at 70.74%.
It could well be that momentum following this game sees one of the two canter towards their goal of promotion, with any edge likely to also give a psychological boost ahead of the final seven games. Leeds United will certainly hope that’s Coventry due to their next two matches.