EFL pundits George Elek and Ali Maxwell both believe that Sheffield United will finish in a play-off place come the end of this season.
The duo revealed in their mid-season Championship predictions on their Not the Top 20 podcast on Monday that the side currently 16th in the second tier could make a late run into the top six come May.
The Blades started the campaign dreadfully under Ruben Selles, and that even bled into the start of Chris Wilder’s third stint as manager when he returned to Bramall Lane in September. They entered the October international break with just three points in nine games.
However, Sheffield United have been one of the form teams in the second tier over the last 10 games, and both Elek and Maxwell feel that that can carry on through 2026 en route to back-to-back top-six finishes.
Ali Maxwell and George Elek issue Sheffield United play-off prediction
Many pre-season predictions had Sheffield United finishing once again there and thereabouts when it came to a promotion race, following a campaign where they picked up 92 points on the field and were beaten late in the play-off final against Sunderland.
However, after a dire start to the current campaign, many felt that the Blades would just peter out in mid-table, but not Elek or Maxwell, who, in their mid-season Championship predictions on the Not the Top 20 podcast, believe that Sheffield United can still finish in the play-offs.
“We’ve both got Blades in there,” Maxwell said. “They’re nine points off it, but they’re really good at the moment. They’re winning loads of games and doing so with a foundation of great performances and great performance data.
“In terms of chances, Sheffield United are creating twice as much as they’re giving up consistently in games, and that’s being backed up by points. This isn’t wishy-washy expected goals; these are real points — the most in the league over the last 10 games.
“The team that has the most points in the league over a 10-game period is a very serious team that should be considered very seriously for the last 20 games, and nine points isn’t insurmountable — there are so many parallels to Coventry City last season.”
Indeed, on New Year’s Day 2025, Coventry were 14th in the Championship, and 10 points off a place in the top six, but a rally in the second half of the campaign saw them finish quite comfortably in the play-offs, even if they did lose two of their final three games to sides now in League One in Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town.
Sheffield United are currently closer to the play-offs than Frank Lampard’s side were this time last season. The season before, Norwich City were five points off the top six midway through the campaign and 13th, but ended up finishing there.
This season, both Elek and Maxwell feel that Chris Wilder’s side will be the one to make a late dart into the play-offs.
There may be no stopping Sheffield United in the second half of the season
Sheffield United have been the form team in the Championship in the last couple of months or so, having picked up the most points in the division over the past 10 games.
But stretching even further back to when Wilder was re-appointed as Blades boss in late September, Sheffield United are ninth since his return.
This means that, despite the slow start with three defeats in four and a squad that was clearly built for a different manager, Chris Wilder has still had his side competitive and is only four points behind Millwall in sixth over that timeframe, which spans close to four months now.
The Blades look more settled now, and the January window allows Wilder to streamline the side even further and add appropriately to strengthen ahead of the second half of the campaign, which is a worrying sight for those above Sheffield United currently looking to crash into the top six.
Because there’s real momentum at Bramall Lane, and with only the league to focus on now, you’d expect that there won’t be much that can stop Sheffield United from continuing their form in the last 10 games into the upcoming 20.