Premier League: How Sheffield United Beat and Missed Expectations

Sheffield United have exceeded expectations this season. Their advanced analytics show how they transcended their benchmarks and where they did not.

The Blades’ manager Chris Wilder, with a rock-solid stoic expression on his face, came on to the pitch after the whistle had blown to congratulate his players. His club had just beaten perennial Premier League power Arsenal by a 1-0 scoreline.

The Bramall Lane crowd loudly saluted their club and their manager. It had not been a pretty match, but it was a much needed three points, which fitted Wilder’s well-honed plan like a house key in its lock.

Sheffield United won promotion to the Top Flight after finishing second in the Championship the year before. They were the best in the division in goal differential and tied for the top in fewest goals conceded.

Last season, Wilder swapped between a 3-4-1-2 and a 3-5-2 formation designed to control the midfield, maintain possession, create a nearly impenetrable wall in front of the goal, and to set up their build-up strategy.

Wilder’s primary build-up strategy was to overload the attacking third of the field by overlapping his center-backs with his wing-backs as they push towards the goal. This strategy was mostly successful for the Blades over the last two seasons as they were 10th in the Championship before earning Premier League promotion last season.

The question entering this campaign was whether Wilder would stick to the same tactics in the Premier League. The answer turned out to be a resounding yes with a slight change.

Instead of employing an advancing attacking midfielder as Wilder did in the majority of the matches last season, he pulled that midfielder back to solidify the defense.

The results on the pitch for Sheffield United have been excellent so far. At the Premier League pause, they were in seventh place, just two points away from a European competition qualifying spot.

Chris Wilder’s club has exceeded expectations, but not in all areas. Last week, I wrote a piece ranking the top-four clubs that exceeded expectations, and much to the surprise of many, Sheffield was not on the list.

Advanced analytics explains how and why.