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If anyone needs a win this weekend, it’s Sheffield United and Chris Wilder, and the Blades boss could not have asked for better opponents than Cardiff City.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Sheffield United appeared to have taken control of the Championship title race and were heading back to the Premier League.
Now, though, the Blades have fallen apart, with three straight defeats against Oxford United, Millwall, and at the weekend, bottom of the league side Plymouth Argyle.
That game led to frustrations overflowing for Chris Wilder, who clashed with Plymouth players at full-time. It’s safe to say, the United boss needs a positive outcome on Friday, then.
- READ MORE: Championship today as Chris Wilder loses his head, Sunderland stutter, and Burnley march on
Cardiff City haven’t beaten the Blades in the league since 2017
The Blades face Cardiff City in their upcoming fixture on Friday afternoon, with the Bluebirds currently sitting in the relegation zone after defeat to fellow strugglers Stoke City at the weekend.
With Cardiff firmly involved in the Championship relegation battle, some would say they are the kind of dogged, dangerous opponents no one would want to face.
But, the truth is, Cardiff are showing very little evidence of putting up a fight, and their record against Sheffield United makes for dismal reading.
In fact, Cardiff have not beaten Sheffield United in their last six league meetings stretching back to August 2017.
| Date | Result | Competition |
| 15 Aug 2017 | Cardiff City 2-0 Sheffield United | Championship |
| 02 Apr 2018 | Sheffield United 1-1 Cardiff City | Championship |
| 04 Dec 2021 | Cardiff City 2-3 Sheffield United | Championship |
| 23 Apr 2022 | Sheffield United 1-0 Cardiff City | Championship |
| 12 Nov 2022 | Cardiff City 0-1 Sheffield United | Championship |
| 15 Apr 2023 | Sheffield United 4-1 Cardiff City | Championship |
| 21 Dec 2024 | Cardiff City 0-2 Sheffield United | Championship |
| 09 Jan 2025 | Sheffield United 0-1 Cardiff City | FA Cup |
Aside from the anomalous FA Cup win over the Blades in January, Cardiff have lost the last five league clashes with United, with an aggregate score of 11-2.
Indeed, be it home or away, Cardiff just cannot seem to get the better of Sheffield United, and given their current plight, we don’t expect that to change any time soon.
Everything is on the line for Chris Wilder this week
After his meltdown at the weekend, the pressure is firmly on Chris Wilder right now, and the Blades could be out of the Championship title race by this time next week if they don’t get the results they need in the next two games.
Wilder’s confident statements of the past have come back to bite him of late, and the Sheffield United manager has essentially become the laughing stock of the league after his recent antics.
He won’t like that one bit, and he will be absolutely desperate to put things right, starting on Friday.
The funny thing is, while Wilder has been praised by Neil Warnock in the past as the right man for the Blades, he might actually end up facing the old master on Friday, as Warnock is being lined up as a replacement for Omer Riza, with Cardiff on panic stations.