‘I love it’ – EFL expert makes claim on the one thing that Sheffield United and Sunderland share

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Sheffield United and Sunderland are just two games from glory in the 2024/25 campaign, as they head into the second legs of their Championship play-off clashes in the lead.

The Championship play-offs have already thrown up some incredible stories over the last week, but with Sheffield United’s significant advantage over Bristol City, it already looks as though we have our first team into the final.

Nevertheless, football is a funny game and it is not over until it is over – although Bristol City have to break their own record if they are to progress to Wembley in 90 minutes on Monday evening.

To do that, they will have to break down a Sheffield United side who have been incredibly resolute this season. This could prove tough, and this may come down to one tactical decision that Chris Wilder and Regis Le Bris seem to agree on.

Sheffield United and Sunderland have a common tactic that has served them well

Football has gone away from tradition in the last few years, with more clubs starting to adapt different formations opposed to the more natural 4-4-2.

For example, Coventry City have utilised a three centre-backs system under Frank Lampard, as they climbed the Championship table, and while that has been successful, they were caught out by Sunderland’s variation of the 4-4-2 on Friday.

Bristol City were also on the wrong side of Sheffield United’s adaptation and Ali Maxwell fired praise towards Wilder and Le Bris for this.

He said: “I love it. There’s a period where everyone’s playing with an extra body in the centre of the park or an extra player in the back line.

“Most teams are playing one up front where you just think, this is how we can expect it to look going forward. And then top teams at the level in massive games are playing, a 4-4-2 in basic terms.”

Maxwell continued: “I think that’s really, really exciting because it just shows how quickly things change and how adaptable managers and recruitment departments need to be. 

“There used to be this real buzzword for sporting directors of recruiting to a style of play. Now it’s a bit like if the league is going to change to this extent every year, is that the right way of going about things?”

A final between the Blades and Sunderland would be the perfect match-up

While they are not playing in the traditional version of this formation, both sides are keen to get bodies forward by playing with two strikers and this proved difficult for Bristol City to contain on Thursday.

Kieffer Moore earned praise for his performance in the first leg, and he combined excellently with Tyreece Campbell throughout the clash despite neither finding their way onto the scoresheet.

Meanwhile, Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor both found the back of the net against Coventry despite their lack of form in recent weeks.

If both Sheffield United and Sunderland do progress, it would make for a very interesting final and it one of the two managers may change their system ever so slightly so they are not as well-matched.