Chris Wilder has made another comparison between his Sheffield United side and Leeds United heading into the festive period.
Wilder‘s men need just a point at Cardiff City on Saturday to guarantee first place in the Championship on Christmas Day.
The Blades have lost just two matches all season and would be further than just three points ahead but for the two-point deduction they were handed before the campaign even got underway.
However, despite Sheffield United’s fine first half of the season, Wilder has enjoyed trying to put the pressure on Leeds, a team he feels will almost certainly win promotion.
Wilder believes Leeds are ‘miles ahead‘ of his side despite sitting above them in the table, a claim Daniel Farke has since refused.
Wilder on Sheffield United and Leeds difference
Wilder has complained about Sheffield United‘s schedule in recent weeks and that is something Leeds can have sympathy for considering their own issues with it.
That said, he didn’t mention anything about it when Leeds had to host the Blades on a Friday night in October just a matter of hours after most of their team had been away on international duty.
With eight wins in 10 since back-to-back defeats at Leeds and Middlesbrough, Sheffield United have coped pretty well with the calendar, but speaking to the Sheffield Star, Wilder has pointed out a key difference between his side and the Whites.
Wilder believes that none of Leeds or any of the other promotion chasing teams have a group of players as young as what he has at his disposal, which makes it harder for him to come through the schedule.
He said: “I’ve said it before, we’ve got six players 22 and under playing at the top end of the Championship. Nobody else has got that. Nobody else. Not the team that’s below us [Leeds United] or any of the other teams below us in the top five or six.
“I’m not complaining, and we have to accept that days like [against Plymouth] might happen and especially when you lose Tyrese for a couple of games and Vini, who’s a big player for us, is out.
“Anel being out really stretched the squad. Tom Davies has not played senior football for 90 minutes for more than two years and we’re trying to get him up to the 90-minute mark, but you could see he was flagging.
“You could see Sydie [Peck, 20] was flagging. There were a few out there who stuck the lot in. It was a big experience for us and I just think that just sums up Championship football in a nutshell… and obviously made harder by the schedule that we’re having to deal with.”
Sheffield United vs Leeds average age of last starting XI
| Sheffield United | Leeds United |
| Michael Cooper – 25 | Illan Meslier – 24 |
| Alfie Gilchrist – 21 | Jayden Bogle – 24 |
| Harry Souttar – 26 | Joe Rodon – 27 |
| Jack Robinson – 31 | Pascal Struijk – 25 |
| Harrison Burrows – 22 | Sam Byram – 31 |
| Sydie Peck – 20 | Ao Tanaka – 26 |
| Tom Davies – 26 | Joe Rothwell – 29 |
| Jesurun Rak-Sakyi – 22 | Dan James – 27 |
| Callum O’Hare – 26 | Brenden Aaronson – 24 |
| Gustavo Hamer – 27 | Wilfried Gnonto – 21 |
| Ryan One – 18 | Joel Piroe – 25 |
| Average age – 24.1 | Average age – 25.7 |
The average age of both side’s most recent starting line-up does have Sheffield United as lower, but not by a great deal.
The Blades’ is also brought down considerably lower by 18-year-old Ryan One, who was starting for the first time, with their two first-choice strikers Tyrese Campbell and Kieffer Moore older.
Leeds were also without Ethan Ampadu and Junior Firpo from their strongest XI, who would both bring down the average age.
As such, it really is a pretty irrelevant point to make, particularly when Sunderland – one of the other top two chasing teams – have a lower average age of players used than anyone in the division, according to transfermarkt.
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