Chris Wilder and Sheffield United travel to Ashton Gate on Thursday evening to face Bristol City in the Championship play-offsChris Wilder and Sheffield United travel to Ashton Gate to face Bristol City(Image: Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images)

Chris Wilder is expecting Sheffield United’s play-off semi-final clash with Bristol City to be “unbelievably difficult” ahead of the Blades’ trip to Ashton Gate, but he is adamant his side will be heading to the West Country looking to win the first leg.

United and Wilder travel to BS3 on Thursday evening for what will be City’s first outing in the Championship play-offs in 17 years. Although only three places separated the two sides in the table, the Blades picked up 22 more points than the Robins over the course of the regular season, only to still finish 10 points adrift of Burnley, Leeds United and the automatic promotion places.

The Bramall Lane club’s record in the play-offs is by no means perfect as in all nine of their previous campaigns, they have failed to win promotion. However, Wilder has had success himself in the past, leading Oxford United into League Two via Wembley in 2010. On paper, that experience could serve the Blades boss well further down the line, but currently, his focus is purely on the task at hand and he isn’t expecting the Reds to roll over.

READ MORE: Liam Manning under no illusions as he shares Anis Mehemti claim before play-offs at Bristol CityREAD MORE: Nahki Wells makes simple request of Bristol City fans before play-off clash vs Sheffield United

“I’ve had a little taste of (play-off success) in 2010 and as everybody says, the way to go up is through the play-offs and at Wembley,” the Blades boss told BBC Radio Sheffield. “But we’ve got two unbelievably difficult games before that.

“I’ve got too much respect for the game, the opposition, their manager and their club to think that because we are points ahead in the league standings and have come out of the Premier League that this is going to be straightforward. It isn’t.

“We’re going down there to try and get a win,” Wilder continued. “There’ll be no negative approach.

Sign up for our City newsletter

Bristol City are fighting to secure their place in the play-off places and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.

All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Robins, delivered straight to your inbox.

It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE

“We believe at our best that we can compete with any team in the division and our away record this season has been absolutely outstanding. We need to continue in that vein of form. We need to be consistent in our approach and that has been to go and win. We might have to suffer and be pushed back, but I think they’ll recognise that we have threats and can hurt any team.”

Although Sheffield United have only won two of their last seven Championship matches, their record away from Bramall Lane this season has been nothing short of impressive. Only Premier League-bound Burnley picked up more than the Blades’ 43 points on their travels this term, as Wilder’s side only lost six games on the road, conceding just 19 goals in the process.

After being relegated from the Premier League last year, United were always expected to be in contention for an immediate return to the top flight. While they’re ultimately going about it the hard way, they are viewed by most as the favourites heading into the play-offs.

Bristol City Live on Whatsapp

Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone

Bristol City Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.

Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.

To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.

We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.

To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.

If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Click here to join our WhatsApp community.

However, the Blades could be without two players for their trip to Ashton Gate, with Femi Seriki expected to return from injury to feature in the second leg and a decision to be made today on whether or not Ben Brereton Diaz can play a part in Thursday’s clash.

“He [Seriki] has had a scan, so no major damage,” Wilder explained in his press conference. “Potentially, he will be available for the second leg, so that’s good news. He will miss out on Thursday night as he’s got a bit of damage in that shoulder. Fingers crossed, we will get him ready for Monday.

“The only [other] one we have talked about is Ben, through an illness that he picked up. We will make a decision whether he will travel with us or not. If he doesn’t, he will definitely be involved on Monday.”

READ MORE: Liam Manning makes ‘mad’ Ross McCrorie admission with Bristol City fans seeing best of defenderREAD MORE: Liam Manning details Nigel Pearson conversation as Bristol City prepare for play-off campaign