Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Sheffield United hearts were broken on Monday evening with defeat to Burnley ending their automatic promotion hopes, but Chris Wilder firmly believes his side can make it out of the Championship via the play-offs.
The three-horse race for the Championship title finally lost a rider this week, with Sheffield United falling by the wayside after a 2-1 loss to Burnley at Turf Moor on Monday.
That result secured automatic promotion for Burnley, and also Leeds United at the same time, with Chris Wilder’s side condemned to participate in the Championship play-offs instead.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LeedsLeeds | 44 | 27 | 13 | 4 | 89 | 29 | 60 | 94 |
| 2 |  BurnleyBurnley | 44 | 26 | 16 | 2 | 61 | 15 | 46 | 94 |
| 3 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 44 | 27 | 7 | 10 | 60 | 35 | 25 | 86 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 44 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 58 | 41 | 17 | 76 |
| 5 |  Bristol CityBristol City | 44 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 57 | 49 | 8 | 67 |
| 6 |  CoventryCoventry | 44 | 19 | 9 | 16 | 62 | 57 | 5 | 66 |
With two games to go, the key for the Blades now is to gain some momentum before heading into the two-leg semi-final that will go a long way to deciding their fate.
Up next is a clash with Wilder’s old friend Mark Robins at Stoke, before the final day fixture against Blackburn Rovers at Bramall Lane. But for Wilder, the focus is all on getting to Wembley and the Premier League.
What Chris Wilder said about play-offs target and Newcastle United
Simply put, Sheffield United’s play-offs record is awful, losing in all eight of their play-off attempts in the past.
Discussing that horrendous statistic and looking ahead to how he will navigate the journey this time around, Wilder was full of positivity, and identified Newcastle United’s recent Carabao Cup success as the blueprint for his Blades team.
He said: “The club has been here for a long time, since 1889, and it’s going to be here for another 150 or 200 years, unless something happens to take it away from us all.
“There’ll be a time to put that record to bed, and hopefully the time is this season. I know what it’s like, even though it was on a smaller scale, to come through the play-offs and win [with Oxford United]. It’s an incredible feeling.
“As a perfect example, everyone thought Newcastle would get turned over in the Carabao Cup but they had a day and a night to remember. It will happen. Sheffield United will win play-off semi-finals and will win a play-off final. And it’s about time that they did it.”
We still don’t know which of the play-off contenders Sheffield United will face, though we do know third place will face sixth, which means it’s likely to be either Coventry City or Middlesbrough as things stand.
Sheffield United have to be favourites for the play-offs
The Blades may go into the play-offs filled with disappointment at missing out on the top two, but they cannot let that keep them down, as they are still far and away the favourites to win the play-offs.
Aside from the blip in form of late, Sheffield United have been formidable all season, grinding out results relentlessly and keeping pace with Burnley and Leeds in what Wilder described as an ‘insane’ campaign.
| League Position | Times won | Percentage of times won |
| 3rd | 13 | 36% |
| 4th | 9 | 25% |
| 5th | 9 | 25% |
| 6th | 5 | 14% |
With Sunderland stagnating in fourth place, and neither Coventry or Middlesbrough asserting themselves in the top six yet, it surely looks to be Bristol City who could cause United the most problems in the play-offs.
They may be the underdogs, but Bristol City are a strong unit and Wilder will have to be wary if and when his side come up against Liam Manning’s team.
But, regardless of who they play, it would take something special to deny Sheffield United now. The third place team historically has the best chance of going up, and Wilder will never have a better chance to break the curse of the play-offs for the Blades.