Can This Sheffield United Squad Make History in the Play-offs? How Should the Blades Approach the Final Two Games? | OneFootball

Defeat on Monday evening for Sheffield United saw both Burnley and Leeds United secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.

But, while the Blades’ players will feel disappointed about coming up short in the race for the top two, they must clear their heads and dust themselves off ready to go for the play-off semi-finals in a few weeks time.

Of course, Unitedites will be dreading the sight of another play-off campaign, having never won promotion via this route.

Sheffield United And the Curse of the Promotion Play-offs

Many supporters bring up the promotion play-off ‘curse’, but it’s not a curse though is it? The reality is United have been poor in these matches; it’s nothing to do with being ‘cursed’. Chris Wilder recently spoke about United’s history in the play-offs and called the cursed claims “nonsense.

Sheffield United’s record in the play-offs:

When looking at each of these promotion play-off campaigns, the Blades have finished in a mixture of positions in the league, and they’ve come into the semi-finals in different sorts of form. There is no correlation between these defeats other than the fact that United haven’t been good enough in the big moments.

It’s a completely different set of players and a completely different manager this time around. Besides, history is there to be broken/made, and this is the best squad of players we’ve ever had going into a promotion play-off campaign – so don’t just write the Blades off just because of the apparent ‘curse’.

How United Have Fared Against Current Top Six And Potential Play-off Opponents

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – MARCH 28: Rhian Brewster of Sheffield United scores his team’s third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Coventry City FC at Bramall Lane on March 28, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

With two games to go, Sheffield United have played everybody but Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers twice now, and this is how they’ve fared against the current top six, as well as the potential play-off opponents.

As you can see, the only teams on this list that United have lost to on aggregate are the two automatic promoted teams, by some margin as well. The rest of them have been close aggregate scores, however, it is important to take into consideration those games individually.

The first game against Sunderland saw both teams reduced to ten men and Sunderland missing a penalty before United went on to win the game in the last ten minutes. The second game saw the Blades miss a pen in the opening few minutes before going on to lose 2-1.

The first game against Bristol City saw Chris Wilder’s men earn a late come-from-behind victory against ten-men Bristol City. The reverse fixture saw the Robins give the Blades a taste of their own medicine as they equalised in the final stages at Bramall Lane, which was more than deserved.

Coventry City away was very action-packed. United took a 2-1 lead, but the game flipped on its head when Anel Ahmedhodzic lost his head and got sent off, eventually leading to a second-half onslaught from the Sky Blues and earning a late equaliser. However, United blew Coventry away at Bramall Lane, scoring three, while Coventry got a consolation goal in the last couple of minutes.

Middlesbrough away could’ve gone very differently had Jesurun Rak-Sakyi’s effort not been cleared expertly off the line by Luke Ayling, and then Michael Carrick’s side scored late on to claim three points. The Blades battered Boro at the Lane though, and outside of a dubious first-half penalty, they barely had a sniff at Cooper’s goal.

The two games against Millwall were quite boring affairs from a Blades point of view. At the Den, United struggled to create anything until Rhian Brewster notched his first of the season. Meanwhile, the home fixture saw Millwall limit United and more than earn a 1-0 win.

What Should Sheffield United Do in the Final Two Games?

SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND – JANUARY 01: Chris Wilder (r) head coach of Sheffield United with his staff on the bench during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sunderland AFC and Sheffield United FC at Stadium of Light on January 01, 2025 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The debate has already begun on social media and fan forums as to what is the correct way of approaching the last couple of games.

One section of supporters want to see the best team that you could possibly field against Stoke and Blackburn in order to try and build form going into the play-offs. Whilst, the other portion of fans would prefer to rest the key players ready for the play-off semi-finals.

Personally, I would prefer it if the likes of Gustavo Hamer, Vinicius Souza and even Harrison Burrows were to sit out the final two games, or maybe give them all the final 15 minutes against Stoke on Friday night, just to keep them in that rhythm of playing at a competitive match intensity.

Already knowing our fate of being in the play-offs allows United to essentially treat the final two games as pre-season games, if they wish. That would be my approach, to be honest. Find the right balance between: protecting your star players, maintaining fitness and match sharpness, whilst trying to also instill confidence back into the squad.