Blades vs Burnley: Lots of similarities but potential for a clash of styles

Pre-match report: Blades vs Burnley, 2 Nov 2019

This is all set to be an interesting match, where the teams’ numbers come out similar in some respects but styles clash somewhat

The Blades go into this on 13 points, Burnley with 12. Sheffield United are +1 goal difference, Burnley -1.

Digging deeper, Burnley lead on chance creation with an expected goals rating of 14.1, while United are on 11.9.

team Burnley Sheffield Utd
P 10 10
F 14 9
A 15 8
xG 14.1 11.9
xGA 12.2 12.0
shots 114 97
onTarget 0.395 0.464
shotsAgst 145 116
passesPG 355 424
passSuccPG 0.656 0.724
ppdaPG 8.41 10.11
deepCPG 16.9 24.0
touchesInBoxPG 18.5 18.5
avgLinePG 48.6 48.3
opp3rd 0.254 0.291
directnessPG 0.602 0.547

In terms of quality and volume of chances allowed the two teams fare similarly, with less than one separating their expected goals against (xGA). Burnley, however, have allowed 145 shots against to United’s 116.

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Burnley are probably THE archtypal Premier League counter-attacking team and two stats show that clearly.

The Clarets’ deep completions (touches in the final 20m of the pitch) per game are at 16.9 (11th in PL) while the Blades are at 24 (2nd in PL).

Burnley are the msot direct team in the Prem. Their directness (pass distance forward / total pass distance) measures about 60% to United’s 55% (4th in the league). And it’s probably worth noting that for the Blades, direct play is not necessarily part of plan A, while for Burnley it is.

You can see the distance of passes into the final third in the passmaps for Burnley’s games away at Villa and Brighton (both draws).

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Burnley invariably play a 4-4-2. They will be very happy to defend and let us pass the ball around and try for the counter. As a team that likes to press high up the pitch when possible, the Blades will be wary of this.

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Up front for Burnley, Ashley Barnes and Chris Woods are established threats, as can be seen in the player xG chart.

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Blades should be confident at a leaky West Ham

Pre-match report: West Ham vs Blades, 26 Oct 2019

West Ham go into saturday’s game on the back of 2 defeats (Everton away, Palace at home), a draw (Bournemouth away), a win at home against Man U and a 0-0 away at Villa.

At home they have only got 6 points from 4 games. Meanwhile, the Blades have got the same from their last 4 away games.

Looking at xG and xGA for chances created and allowed, the Hammers are ahead of Sheffield United with xG of 12.3 and 11 goals scored (United are 10.5 and 8 in this).

But it’s in chances allowed that West Ham slip up a bit. They’ve got an xGA (expected goals against) of 14.9 with 13 real world goals conceded.

Top goalscorer (with 4) is Sebastien Haller, who’s a real six-yard box predator. He ranks highest in terms of xG in the PL in my model.

In terms of formations at home they have started with a 4-1-4-1.

There’s no doubt the Hammers are a threat in front of goal. But their weaknesses when it comes to keeping the ball out of the net should give Blades cause for optimism.

Looking at recent matches, their game against Palace saw little threat making its way into the final 20m. Against Man U the Hammers had a lot more joy down the right in terms of delivery into the danger zones.

That might be because Man U focussed more on their threats up the left, which include Cresswell, Rice and Anderson.

team Sheffield Utd West Ham Utd
P 9 9
F 8 11
A 7 13
xG 10.5 12.3
xGA 10.5 14.9
shots 87 102
onTarget 0.483 0.314
shotsAgst 104 119
passesPG 427 473
passSuccPG 0.724 0.771
ppdaPG 9.98 9.18
deepCPG 25.0 12.8
touchesInBoxPG 18.4 22.0
avgLinePG 48.7 48.5
opp3rd 0.297 0.253
directnessPG 0.547 0.506

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One-nil to the . . . Super Blades!

Blades (1) vs Arsenal (0), 21 Oct 2019

For those old enough to remember, it used to be Arsenal that were famous for 1-0 wins. Here Sheffield United hit Arsenal early (with Lys Mousset scoring on 30′) and then set the catenaccio. The Blades made 176 passes in the first 30 minutes of the match and did not equal that figure again before the final whistle, making only 155 more passes during the game. Arsenal had the bulk of possession after the first 30 but could not find a way through, making 521 passes in the 67 minutes after United scored but to little effect.

A great defensive performance against a team packed with quality. One can imagine that Chris Wilder and Alan Knill cracked open a Peroni and grinned about everything having gone to plan.

team Arsenal Sheffield Utd
xG 0.9 1.2
shots 9 8
onTarget 0.44 0.62
passes 675 331
passSucc 0.84 0.70
deepC 27 24
avgLine 49 49
directness 0.38 0.61
ppda 8 12
shots6 1 1
shotsPen 4 4
shotsOutside 4 3
touches 821 491

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Arsenal preview: Gunners in top three but showing some frailties

Preview: Sheffield United vs Arsenal, 21 Oct 2019 at Bramall Lane, 745pm

Arsenal have given the impression of starting the season misfiring a bit. They are third in the league though, one point above Leicester but some distance behind Man City and Liverpool.

Compared to Sheffield United they come out on top in a lot of numbers you want more of – goals for, shots, passes, pass success, touches in box.

But they also compare unfavourably to United in some areas. Arsenal’s expected goals (xG) is only marginally better than the Blades, while expected goals against (xGA) and shots against is significantly less good.

When it comes to individual player’s goal threat, Aubameyang is head and shoulders above the rest of the Gunners’ team. United, despite a relatively low overall xG, at least spread the chances around a fair few players, with McBurnie, Robinson and McGoldrick leading the pack.

Scroll down to see passmaps and defensive action maps for Arsenal’s away games at Manchester United and Watford.

Their game at Watford might be the nearest template for what to expect at Bramall Lane. They hit Arsenal with a lot of possession high up the pitch, with 31 shots to the Gunners’ 7 in a game that ended 2-2. Arsenal’s defensive actions show them being pressed back much more than they were at Old Trafford.

Arsenal tend to play a 4-2-3-1 from kickoff, with adjustment to 4-3-3 later in the game when losing on a couple of occasions.

team Arsenal Sheffield Utd
P 8 8
F 13 7
A 11 7
xG 10.7 9.4
xGA 11.8 9.6
shots 108 79
onTarget 0.37 0.47
shotsAgst 136 95
passesPG 524 439
passSuccPG 0.81 0.73
ppdaPG 10.7 9.7
deepCPG 19 25
touchesInBoxPG 28 18
avgLinePG 47 49
opp3rd 0.27 0.29
directnessPG 0.45 0.54

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2 points lost or a point gained at Watford?

Blades (0) vs Watford (0), 5 Oct 2019
This was the first time Sheffield United dominated another side in the Prem this season in terms of possession. But, the Blades failed to make the most of it, marginally outshooting Watford but poorer in quality. And, there was a lack of anything in the six yard box. Maybe it was a game for Billy to have started?

team Watford Sheffield Utd
xG 1.20 0.83
shots 8 9
passes 395 609
passSucc 0.681 0.801
deepC 17 24
avgLine 47.2 48.9
directness 0.596 0.450
ppda 13.38 5.63
shots6 1 NA
shotsPen 4 5
shotsOutside 3 4
touches 538 759

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Blades midfield supply lines

A quick-and-dirty look at Blades’ midfielders passes into the last 20m or so of the pitch. Some differences are visible, with Lundstram and Norwood putting in much longer balls, Fleck’s passes being shorter.

Probably too early to say much about Freeman, other than his pass map might well be very close to Fleck’s and so cause a selection issue.

This comes in the context of discussions about Blades’ chance creation and goal-scoring. See recent blog post.

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Defending well, but Blades need shots

With seven games gone, the media narrative on the Blades season – when pundits have actually done any research – has been all about overlapping centre-backs.

That’s fair enough, and although it’s definitely a thing we do, it’s not all we do. And in fact, just like the latter part of last season, in this first season back in the Premier League we have seen quite some tactical variation from Sheffield United.

In this article – which comes after having played a good spread of PL teams – we can start to see the Blades’ strengths and weaknesses, and ponder about whether a new tactical direction is needed or likely.

Solid at the back
Sheffield United haven’t lost by more than one goal since conceding three to Middlesbrough in August 2018. OK, so most of those games were in the Championship, but this season we’ve already played the champions of Europe and Chelsea and managed to not lose that run.

xGAtableAfter four games we were third best in terms of xGA (expected goals against), which measures the quantity and quality of shots faced. Since then we’ve slipped to 8th, but are keeping some decent company.

We are also 8th in terms of shots faced (87), with several teams having given up more than 100 (Newcastle, Spurs, Bournemouth, Villa and Arsenal).

Is it just about the back three/five? Not at all. As noted last time, the reason we face relatively few shots is that we have tended to play higher up the pitch than many. More on that later though.

Doing just enough in front of goal
While we’ve allowed relatively few chances and been steely at the back, things in front of goal haven’t quite matched up.

Sheffield United’s expected goals (8.52) ranks 11th in my model and is just below a PL average of 9.5. Also, the Blades’ actual goals scored lags behind xG with seven hitting the back of the net.

xG and goals scored are also mirrored in raw shot numbers. We are third lowest in terms of total shots and the worst in the PL in terms of shots on target.

We will have a look at possible reasons for that below, but for now we can rest a little easy in the knowledge our good defensive numbers are helping.

In terms of goal difference and expected goal difference (xG – xGA) we are just about in the middle of the pack, with several teams performing worse than us.

Not getting to the danger zone?
There are a couple of stats that show how far we get up the pitch and how much we pass it when we get there.

The disparity between the two might give a clue about just how penetrative the Blades’ attacking play is, or why it isn’t.

DeepCtableFirstly, deep completions measures the amount of passes a team makes in the last 20m of the pitch.

In this Sheffield United top the table, even after playing Liverpool. Not bad, eh?

So, why isn’t that being converted into chances?

Here we can look at another stat – touches in the opponent’s penalty area – and a whole different picture emerges.

Manchester City top that table with just over 42 touches in the box per game. Sheffield United languish fourth from bottom with 17.5, surrounded by the avowedly counter-attacking like Burnley and the poorly performing (Newcastle).

The only conclusion to be drawn is that there’s a lack of penetration from wide areas. We are great at getting the ball high up the pitch and retaining it there. We are a lot less good at turning that possession into chances.

Here’s a great example, against a fairly woeful Crystal Palace team that was determined to sit in at Bramall Lane.

Last20VsPalace

This shows passes in the last 20m of the pitch and it’s obvious how many more of those there are outside the box compared to inside.

If we count all touches by Blades players in the last 20m in that game they total 110. If we narrow that to within the width of the penalty area that drops to 22.

It’s understandable, of course. Competent defensive setups are good at creating obstacles to goal. What’s more, they know how we like to play and set up accordingly, perhaps letting us play in those wide areas to some extent and then deal with any balls in, or attempt to cut off supply in those wide areas.

Against other teams that volume of possession hasn’t happened. In some cases that’s because we have played much less high up the pitch, whether through choice or otherwise.

The games against Everton, and most notably Liverpool, are good examples of this. Build-up from wide areas in the last 20m was sparse and more direct delivery was evident.

Last20VsLiverpool2

Between two attacking approaches?
Towards the end of last season in the Championship there was always a more direct option, with balls moved forward more rapidly when we were pressed back. It was an alternative to our play-high-pass-lots/get-it-in-the-6-yard-box approach that was sometimes needed.

And it looks like this season that is the way we have to play some games. We’ve certainly tried to play the Wilder way where we can, but where we haven’t we’ve resorted to longer balls, more quickly fed to the front.

BladesInOppTerritory3 copy

We can plot deep completions, touches in the box, directness and the average line held by United players in a game. From that you can see that in games where we can’t – or maybe don’t want to – keep the ball in higher areas for any length of time we have been more direct.

(Directness is measured as distance travelled forward by the ball as a proportion of total distance travelled in all passes.)

The logic of the Premier League?
It’s only been a short season so far, but it’s quite easy to conclude there are a lot of what can loosely be described as counter-attacking teams in the PL, that the division is split between those that can make progress via shorter passes and keeping the ball and those that resort to more direct approaches (maybe via counter-pressing also).

Sheffield United have come into the top flight having been something of the former. It was an approach developed in League One to counter teams that came to sit in at the Lane. The overlapping centre backs that we’re becoming known for are a motif for that kind of play. Generally – but not always – you need to be keeping the ball for long enough in high, wide areas for Jack or Bash to arrive.

It was an approach that also characterised our time in the Championship, but perhaps less so, as opposition quality increased.

Now in the PL we see less of it but it’s still there, with Jack O’Connell even getting high up the pitch on one or two occasions against Liverpool.

But, the reality is that when regularly facing such quality opposition – whether of the counter-attacking persuasion or pass-you-to-death variety – the way the Blades attack seems set to evolve.

In some games, where we can play high, we just can’t get the ball from those wide areas to goal-scoring locations often enough. In others we know chances will be infrequent and have to come from direct play.

Perhaps we’ll see a hybrid emerge, with more direct attacks that result from pressing in the middle third, which is arguably what we did very successfully against Chelsea and Liverpool.

It’d be a new approach for Wilder and Knill, but perhaps one more suited to our new surroundings.

Pre-match stats: Blades vs Southampton

Under Ralph Hasenhüttl (German for ‘rabbit hutch’) the Saints have become known as an intense high pressing outfit. This season so far, they have mostly played three at the back in a 3-4-2-1 and 4-2-2-2, which was “The Alpine Klopp’s” trademark formation at RB Leipzig, but have also used 4-3-3 and 3-5-2.

BladesSaintsxGxGA140919

They usually aim to press ‘inside’ or ‘outside’. They’re likely to press the Blades ‘inside’, ie to try and stop us playing up the flanks.

But, CW/AK will be very aware of their traits, and may have noticed Burnley did very well against them on the first day of the season by going very direct and by-passing the press.

For tactics chin-scratchers it’s a mouth-watering clash.

The head-to-head stats so far (yes, a very small sample, I know) show two teams fairly tightly-matched. Both managing to create a similar number and quality of chances (xG) and close in the chances they allow to opponents (xGA).

headToHeadBladesSaints140919

Looking at head-to-head numbers, style is evident in a few categories. The Blades have had more passes (with greater pass success) and more passes in opponents’ final 20m (deepCPG – deep completions per game) with a higher average line (avgLinePG) and more touches in the opposition final third (opp3rd).

Those all reflect the way the Blades play – high up the pitch with lots of final third passes. All the Saints possession, passing and directness numbers point to a team that’s not that bothered about having the ball but is very keen on making you give it away and then building quickly from that. Although, interestingly, the two teams are close in terms of how much opposition passing they allow for each defensive action against them (ppdaPG).

Here’s a closer look at the two teams’ ppda ([opponent] passes per defensive action) and ppdaA (A for against). ppdaA shows the number of passes a team makes compared to defensive actions against. The chart clearly shows the Blades and Southampton diverge significantly on this front.

ppdaVsppdaASHUSOU

Finally, here’s another view of the two teams in terms of construction and attempts at conversion. The Blades register a higher volume of final third entries, final third passes, crosses and corners. That’s not necessarily better, but can be reflective of style. When it comes to shots, Southampton have had more of everything so far, except goals, with the Blades having converted one more.

It’s early days and only a small sample of games to draw conclusions from, but it’s an enticing clash of styles on the cards.

  1. Head-to-head: Construction

SHUSOUconstructionMetrics

2. Head-to-head: Conversion attempts

SHUSOUshotMetrics

Blades in the Prem: A decent start backed up by the numbers

With four games gone and a W, two Ds and an L so far, the Blades start to the Premier League season has not been a shabby one.

Sure, it’s early days and four games is a very small sample, but so far the numbers are looking good.

And, there’s every reason to believe Chris Wilder has brought the style of play that won promotion from the Championship into the PL, which we can take a look at by looking at some of the data so far.

vsChelsea

  1. We’re doing it our way. Passmap and average player positions in the second half at Chelsea.

First, let’s look at some of the underlying performance numbers. These provide comforting reading so far.

By the time of going to press, Blades had scored 5 and conceded 5 and got 5 points out of a possible 12.

But when we look at the amount and quality of chances created (expected goals or xG) and the amount and quality of chances allowed (expected goals against or xGA), Sheffield United are well-placed.

After three games, United ranked 10th with xG of 4.04, which isn’t bad. But in terms of xGA we had only clocked up 2.41, which ranked us 3rd meanest in giving away chances behind Manchester United and Everton.

xG3P

  1. Expected goals after three games.

Those numbers took a bit of a hit at Chelsea, but we can count them as ‘top 6’ opposition so it’s to be expected (and we did get a result!)

When it comes to sheer numbers of shots, we ranked fairly low, with 31 (fifth lowest) before Chelsea.

Should we be hugely concerned? Not right now. Wilder and Knill have always coached the team to get into good positions before shooting.

Combine that with the fact that chances are a little bit harder to come by in the PL compared to the Championship and the low number makes sense.

It is possible to put a positive spin on that as well, though, as it means we have a very high xG per shot, ranked second after three games.

But, numbers of shots could be one to watch – as well as where our shots are coming from – as the season progresses.

Meanwhile, the good news when it comes to shots is that we are (were until the Chelsea game) among the tightest in the division in terms of allowing them. As with xGA, when it comes to shots against, with three games gone we had allowed the third least behind Man U and Everton.

Playing the Sheff United way?

Does any of this have any connection to our style of play?

You could argue it does.

The Wilder and Knill way of playing is based around carrying the ball high up the pitch to the opposition, working it around, seeking overloads and making passes/crosses into dangerous, high xG positions in front of goal. Oh, and if a centre back can help out, that makes it a ‘signature’ Blades overlapping CB move.

Playing high up the pitch a lot means you are less likely to concede the sheer amount of chances you would if you played a low block, with two banks of four set up to absorb pressure.

That is probably where our low shots against and xGA numbers come from.

Can we back that up with numbers? Yes, and quite spectacularly.

Up until the Chelsea game, Blades topped the table in terms of deep completions. That is, passes made within 20m of the opponent’s goal line. To give you an idea of the kind of company we were keeping there, Liverpool and Tottenham were second and third.

deepC3P

  1. Deep completions per game (after three games). This counts number of passes within 20m of the opponent’s goal line.

The Blades’ tendency to take things to the opposition is also evident when we look at the number of touches taken in the opponent’s final third. Once again, Sheffield United topped the table, with Liverpool and Spurs following on.

We can also calculate how high up the pitch we’ve been playing. That’s done by averaging all the positions in which players touch the ball during the game. Before the Chelsea game, Blades were second only to Liverpool in terms of their average line, higher even than Manchester City in third place.

avgLine3P

  1. Average line per game. An average of all player touches during games.

So, so far, things are looking good and it looks like we’re playing ‘our way’.

The big question is, though, how will things change against ‘top 6’ opposition?

One way might be to look at how directly we play. When pinned back by high-pressing and athletic teams, it stands to reason we are likely to play out from that much more directly.

Fortunately, we can measure the proportion of direct play, by taking the total pass distance and finding out how much of that took the team towards the opponent’s goal.

With three games gone Blades were mid-table, ranking 8th most direct in the Prem. The least direct teams are the ones you’d expect – able to dominate possession all the way up the pitch and keep it there – and are basically a roll-call of the top 6 usual suspects.

Our directness didn’t differ much between games either (before the Chelsea game), with ratings of 53% (away at Bournemouth), 52% (Palace) and 50% (Leicester).

The first test against a top 6 contender didn’t see much change, with a 51% directness rating.

So, we’re only 4 games in and are turning out a lot better than some of the pundits have predicted.

The key thing is too, that our underlying numbers look good. That bodes well for the season. We’ll check back in to see how these things play out.

Blades in the Prem: What to expect

For Blades fans the memories of that golden few weeks from Easter to the end of the 2018-2019 season will bring smiles for a long time; the stuttering collapse at home to Millwall, then coming back to power home for the final few games, and Leeds falling apart.

The big question now is what does “the promised land” hold in store?

Stats

The only real option is to look at data for newly-promoted teams in the Premier League to see how they have fared.

It would be nice to be able to say, teams that play a certain way stand XX% of achieving a top half finish, but the data doesn’t allow that.

Also, teams change, managers, change, clubs buy well and sometimes don’t, and then there’s the relative strength of the opposition they find around them as they step up. In short, there are lots of variables.

But, using league table data going back to 2000 and more advanced shot and passing stats from 2014, we can draw some conclusions about the prospects for success of teams going from Championship to PL, and make some suggestions about style of play.

First of all, and looking at the most basic numbers, what is the first season in the PL likely to be like for a newly-promoted team?

The big picture: Survival is 50/50

The stark fact is that the likelihood of a promoted team making it to a second season in the top flight are about 50/50.

Since 2000 there have been 60 promotions from the Championship to the Premier League. Of those 57 promoted teams that have played a PL campaign, 26 have been relegated in their first season. That’s a survival rate of 55%.

And, in terms of absolute numbers we should expect less of everything we’ve been used to seeing – passes, shots, goals and time in the opponent’s final third.

The best ever performance by a team in its first PL season since 2000 saw it gain five fewer wins than the season before (West Ham in 2005-06) – that’s a staggering difference of only 0.03 fewer wins per game.

But for most promoted teams the picture is a lot bleaker, with an average of about 15 less wins than the season before. And of course, there will be more losses too.

No newly-promoted team since 2000 has lost fewer games than the previous season. The average number of extra Ls in the first promoted season is just over 9, but plenty of teams (26) have lost more than that.

Every team promoted to the PL has scored fewer goals (on average 35 less) and nearly all have let more in (you can add 16 to the A column on average).

Shots and passes: Less of those

In terms of shots and deep completions (passes within 25m of the opponent’s goal line) promoted teams chalk up less of all of them as they come up against well-established opposition.

In terms of shots, we’re talking hundreds less over the season. Promoted teams since 2014 saw numbers of shots decline between 341 (Hull 16-17, relegated) and 117 (QPR 14-15, also relegated) in their first PL season.

The number of passes a team makes around the opposition box (deep completions) invariably suffers too, and that’s of special interest to Blades fans with it being a major part of the Wilder-Knill approach.

For promoted teams since 2014 deep completions fell by between 377 (Fulham 18-19, relegated) and 127 (Burnley 16-17, finished 16th).

Quality matters: Shots and xG

xGPerGame

OK, so we get it. Playing in the Premier League inevitably means fewer chances, fewer goals, conceding more, etc.

But a look at expected goals (xG) and expected goals against (xGA) for promoted teams gives some clues about what successful (ie, not relegated) teams need to do to survive.

xG is a measure of the quality and quantity of shots created. Every promoted team since 2016 has (in per-game terms) seen a decline in xG while their xGA has increased. Neither of which should be a surprise as they face better opposition in the PL.

The key is, however, to make sure they carry as much success in creating chances over to their first season in the Prem from their promotion success as they can.

There is a clear correlation between xG and Premier League survival for the years we have data for (see chart: xG per game). If your xG declines less than the average that’s clearly a good thing, as the colour of the dots on the chart shows clearly.

PL survivors keep defending well

xGAPerGame

Meanwhile, you have to ensure your defence remains as solid as possible as you move from Championship to PL.

Maintaining decent xGA in your first Premier League campaign is as important as getting and scoring from quality chances.

The chart (xGA per game) tells that story, with those teams least able to get close to keeping Championship defensive form the most likely to go down. (Middlesbrough’s goal-scoring performance in 2016-17 was awful, in case you’re wondering.)

Villa have most to do defensively

xGvsxGApromotedTeams

What’s perhaps most interesting for those watching the promoted teams in the PL in the coming season is that Aston Villa have the biggest job on their hands in terms of defending.

Villa go into the Prem with the worst xGA (64.51 or 1.40 per game) of any team promoted from the Championship over the last four seasons, which means they don’t have much headroom to allow for the pretty much inevitable decline in defensive outcomes.

By rights, their xGA per game should get worse in the first season back in the PL –everybody’s does – but they can’t allow that to happen. Since 2015 seven promoted teams have racked up xGA worse than 1.40 in the Premier League and four of those have been relegated.

Of the three promoted in 2019, the Blades take the best defensive record into the PL. Looking at the chart (Promoted teams: xG vs xGA), the key thing is the distance between the two lines. For United that gap is, pleasingly, the widest, while Villa seem to have relied on always being able to score more than they let in.

Will we do it ‘our way’?

EFLtoPLFin3rdDeepC

When it comes to style of play, there seems to be a connection between PL survival and a team’s ability to keep playing the way they did the season before.

The chart (% of time in final third) shows average time spent in opponents’ final thirds and the amount they passed the ball while there, in promotion-winning seasons and then the PL.

All promoted teams saw a decline in both measures, but it was those that slipped downwards and to the right in the chart the most – ie, those spending less time in the final third or pass it as much in that part of the pitch – that were often relegated.

What does it all mean for United?

The distinctive Wilder-Knill approach that United have come to be known for was developed by their own admission as a way of winkling out visiting League One opponents from deep-lying defensive positions at Bramall Lane.

It is characterised by playing high up the pitch, with lots of ball circulation around the edges of the area, overloads on the flanks and centre backs that have licence to add to the mix in the final third. All of which then aims to feed balls into high xG locations in front of goal.

That approach continued into the Championship, although it is arguable we saw less of it in the second half of the season. Instead – and what took us to second spot –was a new-found tactical flexibility which saw us sit in and grind out victory or play longer and more directly when required.

We should expect that to continue into next season. The distinctive United way will still be there, but expect it to be part of a mix that sees more caution and defensive solidity available when needed.

At the same time, expect United to try to get the ball to those most dangerous areas a short distance in front of goal. Those high xG chances are key to survival.

As we’ve seen, every team that gets promoted will achieve less in offensive terms and concede more to opponents.

A clever management team will devise a tactical toolbox that can best take advantage of that. And we know that in Wilder and Knill we’ve got one of those.