Sheffield United

Preston come into this game looking to avoid a third successive league defeat for the first time since April.

Having scored more than one goal in a game for the first time this season in their 3-1 win at Blackburn on Tuesday, Sheffield United are hoping to make it three victories in a row.

• Preston North End are winless in their past eight league games against Sheffield United (D2 L6), losing all of the last four.

• Sheffield United are unbeaten in each of their past four league trips to Preston North End (W3 D1) and could win three in a row for the first time.

• Preston have lost their last two league games, having lost only one of their previous 10 (W4 D5). Since the start of last season they've only lost three successive league games once before (run of four in April).

• Sheffield United have won each of their past two league games, as many as in their previous 12 (D1 L9), last winning three in a row in February last season (run of four).

• Only Junior Firpo (14) has been involved in more Championship goals among defenders since the start of last season than Sheffield United's Harrison Burrows (10 – 6 goals, 4 assists), who scored and assisted against Blackburn last time out.

Sheffield United defender Harrison Burrows says winning games is what will give his side confidence, after they came from behind to beat Blackburn Rovers 3-1.

Goals from Burrows, an own goal, and Tyrese Campbell gave the Blades consecutive wins for the first time this season.

"Winning games is ultimately what gives me as a player confidence and what will give the team confidence, so now we have back-to-back wins, we feel like we are going in the right direction," Burrows told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"The gaffer has pulled me out of the team for a reason and I believe in all the actions that he takes, so I think it was the right thing to do because it has made me want to work that little bit harder.

"Over the last few weeks we have been trying to build that feeling back and you can tell that every day we are inching closer to that and like I said, wins are ultimately what gives us that confidence.

"When you win games it is the best feeling in football, it brings everyone together, so at the end when you're celebrating with the fans it is top class and I want to thank them for coming and giving us that extra push.

"It doesn't matter about how you play it is all about winning games in the Championship."

Sheffield United moved out of the Championship bottom three after their win against Blackburn Rovers.

But the Blades were forced to do it the hard way as they came from behind thanks to a scintilating second half display at Ewood Park.

And boss Chris Wilder was pleased with his side's response as they put together back-to-back wins for the first time since March.

"I didn't think there was a lot in the game in the first half. We just lacked that little bit of quality, we just needed to smooth it out a little bit," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield:

"I was disappointed to come in at half-time down in the game because I didn't think there was a lot in it and I thought we had the better opportunties to hurt them but we didn't and they took their chance.

"We got asked a question at half-time and it was no good feeling sorry for ourselves, we had to be brave and courageous and calm in our approach. We did that.

"I thought there was a real desire and drive from the players to get back into the game and go and win it which was really satisfying from my point of view."

New Sheffield United signing Jairo Riedewald made an impressive start to his Blades career after helping them to their second win of the season in Saturday's vital 1-0 victory over Watford.

The 29-year-old Dutchman was brought into the squad as a free agent on Friday and came off the bench to help United hold on to their lead after Callum O'Hare scored the winner in the second half.

Prior to that victory the Blades were bottom of the Championship with just three points but for the midfielder, that makes the challenge more enticing.

"I've been here before with Crystal Palace. Seven games in, no goals, no wins and we still ended up 11th," Riedewald told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"It gives you an amazing feeling when you are written off and you prove them wrong and so it was the perfect place for me to prove them wrong and to climb up the table."

The Blades have now gone above rivals Sheffield Wednesday, albeit still in the drop zone, and Riedewald is hoping to continue to help them climb the table.

"I started off with a win, hopefully it's the first of many and we will see," he added.

"For me, it's about being part of this amazing group, this amazing project and climbing up the table. We will see at the end of my contract what they think."

Listen to the full interview with Riedewald and more Sheffield United content on BBC Sounds.

Blackburn enter this game as one of five sides yet to record a win at home in the Championship. Their last victory at Ewood Park came on 26 April when they beat Watford 2-1, which was part of a four-game winning sequence.

Sheffield United know a win on Tuesday would take them above their opponents and potentially out of the relegation zone.

• Blackburn Rovers have only won three of their past 12 league games against Sheffield United (D3 L6), although each of those three victories did come at Ewood Park.

• Sheffield United won this exact fixture last season 2-0, but haven't won consecutive league visits to Blackburn since November 1970.

• Blackburn are yet to win a home league game this season in four attempts (D1 L3); only in 1932-33 (5), 1979-80 (6), and 1996-97 (5) have they started a league campaign without a win in their first five or more at home.

• Sheffield United have lost seven of their past nine away league games (W2), with no side losing more times on the road in the Championship since the start of April.

• Sheffield United have never lost to Blackburn in the Championship under Chris Wilder (P4 W3 D1), with Wilder's only league defeat to Rovers coming as Middlesbrough boss in January 2022.

Adam Cottier
BBC Final Score reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It was a game that won't live long in the memory, but Sheffield United found salvation with some guts, some resilience and also a touch of fortune as they won for the first time at home this season.

The Blades were far from perfect, but it felt like some cobwebs were blown away and, had Gus Hamer played against Watford, the scoreline may have been far greater in Sheffield United's favour.

New players are clearly still finding their feet. The latest - Jairo Riedewald - looked good after coming on; Jamie Shackleton made his return after a long-term injury.

But it was the performance of Sam McCallum on the left side of defence that stood out here.

Preferred to Harrison Burrows, his poise and dynamism on the flank epitomised exactly what his team needed - and will continue to need - to pull further clear of trouble, continuing at Ewood Park on Tuesday.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder admits he is addicted to the buzz of winning at Bramall Lane with his beloved Blades.

Callum O'Hare's winner earned United their first home victory of the season and lifted them off the bottom of the Championship and above city rivals Sheffield Wednesday on goal difference.

Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield: "It was in the 93rd minute and I got asked the question by one of the punters. He said 'why do you do it?'. I've got to say that for about 10 seconds I scratched my head and I thought 'why do I do it?'.

"Then that roar at the final whistle, I knew then why I do it and all those who come know it, to follow your team, regardless of whether you're top of the league or at the bottom, it's for these moments. I've had a lot of moments like this and this group is trying to produce more of them.

"The players gave everything for that shirt today and everybody in the ground saw that.

"I've said to them afterwards, 'don't kid me, don't kid the punters. That's the bare minimum we need to produce'."

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has said new signing Jairo Riedewald will be available for Saturday's Championship game against Watford (15:00 BST).

Riedewald has not played professionally since his final game with former club Royal Antwerp in May, but Wilder is not concerned about him jumping straight in.

"We've given him a big MOT from an injury point of view and he's come up positive," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"I wouldn't have signed him if I didn't think we needed him and we need some experience in there."

Wilder has confirmed that he has "put a document in" to recruitment containing his recommendations for the squad but he has no plans on bringing in more free agents any time soon.

"I don't like the balance of the squad, from my point of view, from a character point of view, from an experience point of view," Wilder added.

"But I wouldn't have thought now there would be any more players coming. It was just one that came up, we liked it."

The Blades will be seeking their first home win of the season against Watford.

A record of one win and eight losses means United are bottom of the table with just three points from nine games.

"There are a lot of players who have lost a lot of confidence that we need to regain," he said.

"The 'we'll be OK' shout is not one for me.

"We are not OK. We are not 'it'll just happen'. We are not entitled just because we are a big club in the division, just because we are a club that had a decent last season - we've got to go and make it happen."

Listen to the full interview with Wilder and more Sheffield United content on BBC Sounds.

Javi Gracia will head up with his first game in charge of Watford (well, this time around anyway) as they take a trip to basement dwellers Sheffield United on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Hornets had enjoyed a real uptick in results over the past three games (W2 D1) but it wasn't enough to save former boss Paulo Pezzolano from his doomed fate.

Gracia will need to make a quick start though given that his predecessor left on a high and now they face a side who have lost all but one game so far this season (W1).

• Sheffield United have won each of their last three league games against Watford, last winning four in a row in August 1994.

• Watford have lost five of their last eight away league games against Sheffield United (W1 D2), failing to score on their previous two visits.

• Sheffield United have lost eight of their first nine league games this season (W1), the first time a second tier side has done that since 1988-89 (Brighton also W1 D0 L8). The last side at this level to start a season with nine losses in their first 10 was Oldham in 1928-29.

• Watford are unbeaten in their last three league games (W2 D1), picking up more points (7) than in their previous 11 league matches (6 – W1 D3 L7).

• Watford have earned more points from losing positions than any other side in the Championship this season (8), seven of which have come in their last three games.

Adam Oxley
BBC Radio Sheffield journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Judge us after 10 games.

That is what managers, players and supporters often say when teams have a poor start to a season, because it's usually viewed as a reasonable amount of time to assess results and performances.

Well, Sheffield United went into the first international break bottom of the Championship after losing their opening five games in league and cup.

Ruben Selles was sacked just one game later, and former boss Chris Wilder was reinstated with hopes high for an immediate impact.

But going into the second international break, the Blades remain bottom, and after 10 games in all competitions, they have one win and nine defeats.

For any club, that would be judged as a disaster.

For a club that competed in last season's Championship play-off final and spent three of the past six campaigns in the Premier League, it's incomprehensible.

United's American owners COH Sports have shouldered the blame for the club's nightmare start, having hired, fired and rehired in just 89 days this summer.

So how should we judge returning boss Wilder, his beleaguered playing squad and the team's prospects for the rest of the Championship season, as things stand?

Performances have improved in the four games under Wilder but it has not been the returning-manager bounce anyone expected, none more so than by Wilder himself.

For example, at Hull City last weekend, the Blades had more shots than the Tigers, more shots on target, more possession, more corners and a better pass success rate… but they lost 1-0, missing a late penalty in the process.

Most of the players are better than what they are showing, given what they have already demonstrated at Bramall Lane, or with other clubs throughout their careers. Their confidence is understandably low, and many are making mistakes they wouldn't usually make.

The multiple changes in manager, formation and style have to be taken in consideration, but none of these factors should give the players a free pass for where the club finds itself.

It is now down to Wilder and his staff to organise, motivate and galvanise those players, who in turn need to stand up and be counted if this season is going to be more than a fight for survival.

Right now, any talk of a promotion push – as referenced by the Blades board when reappointing Wilder – should be shelved. This does not mean it is impossible, but if results do not improve, that will quickly be the case.

The immediate focus for everyone at Sheffield United has to be getting out of the relegation zone, nothing more.

Many so-called big clubs have fallen through the top divisions to League One before, including the Blades themselves - and Luton Town's current situation should serve as a real warning of what could happen if performances and results don't continue to improve.

The Blades played the Hatters in the Premier League just over 18 months ago.

Nobody thought Luton could go down last season, but they did, and they have just sacked their manager Matt Bloomfield, sitting 11th in the third tier.

That position in League One is where Wilder originally inherited his boyhood club in 2016, before leading them to the Premier League in three years.

The task Wilder has inherited in his third spell as Blades boss currently feels as big as it did nine years ago, and nobody will be more determined that United are looking up not down as this season unfolds.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said his side are their own worst enemy after they were beaten 1-0 by Hull City.

"It's incredibly disappointing," he told BBC Radio Sheffield. "We are beating ourselves at the moment. We have to take something out of this.

"We allowed them to get their noses in front and although we got into good positions, we were were not able to find that final bit.

"That's the game-changer. It was loose and rushed and there was no sign of the obvious ability these players have got to change the course of the game. We got into some great positions.

"They sat in and tried to hit us on the counter but we were never in danger. We just couldn't find that final bit."

Image source, Opta

Chris Wilder's quest to haul Sheffield United off the bottom of the Championship takes the Blades east to Hull City on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 BST).

Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat to Southampton was a seventh in eight league games for United, who are still only three points adrift of fourth-bottom Oxford United, albeit with a goal difference of -12, by far the worst in the division, though the only side to have conceded more than their 15 is Saturday's hosts, with 16.

Wilder will face a familiar face at the MKM Stadium as Oli McBurnie - who spent five seasons at Bramall Lane - is leading the line for the Tigers and is in the best form of his career.

The 29-year-old Scot bagged a second-half brace at home to Preston on Tuesday as City followed-up their impressive 3-1 win over Southampton in their previous home match.

• Hull City have won just one of their past eight league games against Sheffield United (D1 L6), failing to score in six, though the Tigers did win the last meeting 3-0 in January earlier this year.

• Sheffield United have won each of their past four away league games against Hull City, scoring 2+ goals in each of those victories.

• Hull City have only kept one clean sheet in their past 25 home league games, while that came in March against a Plymouth side who went on to be relegated from the Championship (2-0 win).

• Sheffield United have lost seven of their eight Championship matches this season (W1). It took them until their 40th match of the previous league campaign to suffer their seventh defeat.

• Ahead of facing his former side, Oli McBurnie has netted in four consecutive Championship appearances (five goals); his longest ever scoring run in the top four tiers of English football.