Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Finishing third and having to compete in the Championship play-offs is also bitterly disappointing, but Sheffield United will have to shake that off and take down Bristol City if they want to get promoted.
The three-horse race for promotion between Sheffield United, Burnley, and Leeds United lasted almost an entire season, but a dip in form in April cost the Blades dearly.
Naturally, though, as the third-best team in the division, Chris Wilder’s men head into the Championship play-offs as the favourites to win it all and secure promotion to the Premier League.
Standing in their way are Bristol City, and with the play-off dates just around the corner now, we’re sure Wilder and his men are well aware of the strengths the Robins possess.
Bristol City are incredibly strong at home
Bristol City have been the underdogs all season, but they are very much in the top six on merit after an impressive campaign.
Liam Manning’s side are incredibly solid and consistent, and while Bristol City’s play-off record leaves a lot to be desired, they do have one major advantage going into the double-header against Sheffield United.
That will especially be true for the impending first leg which takes place this Thursday, because the game will be played at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate stadium, where they have been in formidable form all year.
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG |
| 1 | Leeds Utd | 23 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 61 | 12 | +49 | 58 | 2.52 |
| 2 | Burnley | 23 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 35 | 8 | +27 | 51 | 2.22 |
| 3 | Sheffield Utd | 23 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 49 | 2.13 |
| 4 | Bristol City | 23 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 36 | 20 | +16 | 46 | 2.00 |
| 5 | Coventry City | 23 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 40 | 24 | +16 | 45 | 1.96 |
| 6 | Sunderland | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 43 | 1.87 |
In fact, since Boxing Day, Bristol City have lost just one game at home — a surprise 1-0 defeat to Swansea City in February — and have won 10 of the 13 matches on home turf in 2025.
Based on their home record, Bristol City would have finished fourth in the Championship table, just three points behind their next opponents with 46 points from 23 matches.
They’ll have to stand firm against a very strong Sheffield United team, of course, but if Bristol City can quell the threat posed by the Blades at Ashton Gate, you never know what could happen in the return fixture.
Chris Wilder needs to defy history to take Sheffield United up
Thankfully for Chris Wilder, his Blades team are very impressive away from home, too. In fact, they’re the second-best away team in the league after Burnley, with an average of 1.87 points-per-game on their travels.
United will be desperate to set their stall out on Thursday and put themselves in a good position for the second leg next Monday.
It’s all part of the mission to correct Sheffield United’s Championship play-offs record, which is filled with failure over the course of their past eight attempts to gain promotion via this route.
Wilder firmly intends to break that curse for his team, and in many ways, the Sheffield United manager can make all the difference. The Blades may have never triumphed in the play-offs, but they’ve never had Wilder at the helm for this format either.