Sheffield United

Charlton Athletic will be aiming to put a halt to a miserable run of games when they host Sheffield United on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Having won their opening three games, the Addicks have not been able to claim another victory since and are currently in a rut of four successive losses.

The Blades will have their own play-off ambitions in mind, however, with just one point keeping them outside in ninth as it stands.

• Charlton did the league double over Sheffield United last season, winning both games 1-0. They last won three in a row against the Blades between 1955 and 1957.

• ●Sheffield United have won just two of their last 17 away league games against Charlton (D6 L9), with these wins coming consecutively in November 2007 and November 2008.

• Charlton are winless in their last 11 league games (D5 L6), losing the last four in a row. They last had a longer run without victory between December and February in 2023-24 (16).

• Sheffield United have won consecutive league games for the first time this season, last winning three in a row in November/December last year (4).

• All four of Sydie Peck's league goals for Sheffield United this season have come away from home, with the 22-year-old netting a hat-trick at Preston last time out.

Adam Oxley
BBC Radio Sheffield

Image source, Shutterstock

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder described Sydie Peck's all-round performances as excellent in their 3-2 win at Preston North End, citing that the recently turned 22-year-old plays his football with emotion and intelligence.

This was demonstrated by the midfielder's three goals at Deepdale - making something happen for the opener, keeping his cool and finishing with real quality for the second, being in the right place, at the right time for his third.

Both manager and player want Peck to get more goals, and a 19-minute hat-trick will certainly help. It's early November and he now has four on the board this campaign, as well as three assists, which is well on course to beat last season's totals of five and five respectively.

Right now, the sky's the limit for Peck, and you feel Wilder knows this. As with other academy stars like Femi Seriki and Andre Brooks before his move to Norwich City, the gaffer can be tough on them, expecting and demanding more from them, publicly, unlike others in the squad.

Peck's stock is high, and rising. He has become a regular in the England under-21 side, he's one of the first names on the Blades teamsheet, and his underlying shooting, passing, possession and defending statistics show he ranks as one of the Championship's best players in his position.

He was coveted by Premier League clubs last summer, and you'd imagine he will be the subject of interest once again in January, especially after United sold a trio of stars pre-season to help balance the books.

In the Deepdale debrief, Wilder also talked about Peck as a future Sheffield United captain, with the midfielder having been handed the armband too soon under Ruben Selles, in Wilder's opinion.

You can certainly see Peck's leadership qualities, alongside his technical capabilities and positive, box-to-box approach.

He fits into the category as one of those players you love to have on your team and hate to play against. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He's not afraid of giving it back to opposition players and supporters (just ask Sheffield Wednesday fans), and he appears to be instrumental in on-pitch huddles, dragging his team-mates towards United's supporters to get everyone going.

Peck is still improving, still finding greater consistency in his performances, and still adding more numbers.

Who knows what his ceiling will prove to be in football but Peck appears to have the right minerals, the right attitude and qualities to reach new heights in the game.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder spoke to BBC Radio Sheffield after his side's 3-2 win at Preston North End.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Preston are hoping to end an eight-game winless run which has produced only two points when they host Sheffield United on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

The Blades visit Deepdale unbeaten in their past three outings, including two victories.

• Preston did the league double over Sheffield United last season, having been winless in their previous eight (D2 L6). They have not won three in a row against the Blades since 1897.

• Sheffield United lost this exact fixture 3-2 last season, last losing consecutive away league games against Preston in 2010/2011.

• Preston have won just two of their past 13 home league games (D3 L8), failing to keep a single clean sheet in that run.

• Just four of Sheffield United's past 42 away league games have been drawn (W20 L18), though these draws have all come in their last 14 on the road (W6 L4).

• Preston boss Graham Alexander is unbeaten in all five of his league games against Sheffield United (W2 D3), with this his first meeting with the Blades since a 1-1 draw with Scunthorpe in February 2017.

Image source, Shutterstock

It's been quite a noisy past few months when it comes to Sheffield United.

The row between current and former owners dominated the airwaves and headlines for several weeks.

On the pitch, there had also been some unrest - in particular after the EFL Cup defeat at Fleetwood - which doesn't look quite as bad now following Arsenal's defeat at Highbury in the same competition.

Yet when you open up the Championship table and see United placed 10th, just three points off the play-off places, it's tempting to ask why the mood hasn't been better.

There are always going to be questions asked about selection, tactics or individual results. That's football.

For example, I don't think there was anything wrong with fans pining to see Romelle Donovan start against Wrexham.

He's an exciting player to watch. He took his opportunity on Friday, delivering another electrifying performance.

Overall, I think United are doing well.

Only Swansea have more clean sheets. Liam Kitching looks like a great addition, while goalkeeper Michael Cooper appears to be back to his very best.

They've been unlucky in multiple games - the Portsmouth red card, Stoke scoring worldies, a tight game against Wolves decided by a last-gasp winner.

I'm not suggesting there's anything unique about these games - all teams have them - but it's not as if United have been playing terribly and getting battered.

They're in a solid position after 13 games with a chance to kick on.

This is despite a summer where they lost Gus Hamer, Andre Brooks and Callum O'Hare and couldn't pump the millions earned into new permanent signings.

We shouldn't just forget that happened. How many clubs could have three of their best, most creative goalscoring and producing players surgically removed from the squad, and just crack on as if it never happened?

The ownership row over money owed to United World also didn't help at all, placing a dark cloud over Bramall Lane, creating doubt about the suitability of the people running the club.

Expectations have been raised considerably at United in recent years after multiple Premier League stints.

Perspective shouldn't be lost, though, on just how challenging recent times will have been.

Despite this, you could see on Friday a Blades team that is very useful. They passed with a purpose. They pressed relentlessly.

Wrexham barely had a sniff in the game. United should've had a penalty and if that is given, and scored, at 2-0 they'd have had a chance to turn the game into a romp.

Play like that more often than not and there's no reason why Chris Wilder's team can't be in the mix.

Tuesday at Preston will be a good next test. North End are struggling badly with only one win to their name. Can United go to Deepdale, get the job done, and handle an opponent like this without any drama?

It doesn't need to be free-flowing football and a 3-0 win. It just needs to be solid, professional, and three more points. On to the next one.

If they can manage that, some of the recent negativity may turn into an increasing level of optimism that this can be an interesting season.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder spoke to BBC Radio Sheffield after his side's 1-0 win over Wrexham.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has said striker Ryan One is facing "a number of weeks" on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

The 20-year-old initially suffered the problem in the 0-0 draw with Birmingham in August and was out for two months.

The Scotland Under-21 international returned as a substitute in the wins over Lincoln and Bristol City earlier this month but aggravated the issue in training last week.

"We've had some disappointing news regarding Ryan. It was the same spot he got the initial injury, so he is going to be out for a number of weeks," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"All of our supporters understand the importance of him. He was great for us in the Bristol City and Lincoln games when he came on.

"It's a disappointing one because we're ready for Ryan to make an impact, whether that's off the bench or starting."

Wilder is hopeful striker Patrick Bamford will be available for Friday's game against Wrexham (20:00 GMT) after being forced off with a shoulder injury in the draw with Derby on Saturday.

Defender Mark McGuinness will return to the squad for the game against the Red Dragons after missing the Rams draw because of concussion protocol.

Image source, Opta

Sheffield United and Wrexham kick-off the Championship weekend with a Friday night meeting at Bramall Lane (20:00 GMT).

The Blades have taken seven points from their past four league games and salvaged a 1-1 draw at home to Derby last time out, meaning another three points would take them within a point of the play-off places.

The Red Dragons are winless in their past four away games, scoring only once, and Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Blackburn left them 17th, though just two points behind the Blades.

• Sheffield United have won just one of their six league games against Wrexham (D1 L4), a 2-0 home win in October 1982.

• Wrexham have won four of their past six away Football League games against Yorkshire sides (L2), one more than across their 21 visits combined between December 1996 and April 2024.

• Sheffield United have won just three of their past 13 home league games (D4 L6), having won five of their previous six at Bramall Lane before that.

• After losing their last away league game 2-0 against Blackburn, Wrexham will be looking to avoid losing successive away league games for the first time in 2026.

• At 28 years and 78 days, Wrexham have the oldest average starting XI in the Championship so far this season.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder spoke to BBC Radio Sheffield after the Blades' 1-1 draw against Derby County at Bramall Lane. For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Derby County will be hoping to start ascending up the table as they visit Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday (12:30 BST).

The Rams have only won one game this season to find themselves inside the bottom three.

Victory could leave Derby on the same points as 21st placed Norwich City (9) but the side also has a goal difference of seven to make up on the Canaries.

Hosts Sheffield United, meanwhile, are two points shy of the play-offs and looking to break into the top eight.

• Sheffield United have won five of their last seven league games against Derby County (L2), conceding just two goals in total across those five victories.

• After winning this exact fixture 3-1 last season, Derby County will be looking to win successive away league games against Sheffield United for the first time since October 1958.

• Sheffield United have won two of their last three league games (L1), as many as in their opening eight league games to begin 2026-27 (D3 L3).

• Derby have won just one of their last 12 league games (D3 L8), including none of their previous seven (D2 L5), while no side has failed to score in more different Championship games this season than the Rams (4).

• Derby lead the Championship this season for high turnovers (99), and are joint-second for shot-ending high turnovers (16), though they're yet to score from such a situation this term.

Sheffield United legend Billy Sharp joins the pod following his retirement after a 22-year-long career. He tells us what made him an EFL bagsman and how he knew it was time to hang up the boots.

Burnley have not won at home in the league for an entire year- how real is the threat of back-to-back relegation? What's the root of their problem?

Where's it going wrong at Derby County and Norwich City?

Plus, there's been a sacking in League Two: having been let go by Crawley Town, what next for Colin Kazim-Richards?

Listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.