Sheffield United

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Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says his players did not quite reach the levels needed in their 2-1 home defeat by new Championship leaders Middlesbrough.

After five successive league wins at Bramall Lane, promotion contenders Boro proved too much to handle for the Blades, who ended with 10 men after substitute Joe Rothwell was sent off on his debut.

"I've spoken to the players and told them there's a third of the season to go and Middlesbrough are the best team we've played by a long way," said Wilder.

"It's deserved that they go to the top of the division as I thought it was a statement win for them.

"We just needed a little bit more from our players. We were six-and-a-half and sevens and when you're playing a team at the top of the league with the momentum they've got and the results they've had, you've got to be right up there, seven-and-a-halves and eights.

"I don't think we really got to those heights even though to the neutral the game could have swung either way."

Middlesbrough could rise to the top of the table should they defeat hosts Sheffield United on Monday (20:01 GMT).

Coventry's goalless draw to Oxford on Saturday afternoon means that Boro can retake their place at the apex with a victory, having previously been kept off the top spot by goal difference.

But the Blades are undefeated across their past three games (W2 D1) and are proving to be difficult to beat on home soil in recent times.

• Sheffield United have won seven of their last nine home league games against Middlesbrough, losing the others in April 2011 and February 2023.

• Middlesbrough have won three of their last four league games against Sheffield United (L1), and are looking to complete the double over them for the first time since 2010-11.

• Sheffield United have won each of their last four home league games, netting three goals in each match. They last won five in a row at Bramall Lane while scoring 3+ goals each time between April/August 1971.

• Middlesbrough have won each of their last five league games, last having a longer run in September/October 2023 under Michael Carrick (6).

• Sheffield United's Andre Brooks has scored in each of his last three league games. He'd only scored in four of his first 66 league appearances for the Blades.

Andre Brooks hopes to continue his rich vein of form when the resurgent Blades host title-chasing Middlesbrough on Monday night.

After Oxford United took an early lead at Bramall Lane on Tuesday, Brooks completed the turnaround, putting Blades 2-1 up midway through the second half before Chiedozie Ogbene sealed a 3-1 win late-on.

It was a third goal in as many games for 22-year-old Brooks, who scored only one goal in his first 23 Championship appearances this season.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield: "We didn't start the game as well as we wanted to but we stuck to it and got the three points so we're happy.

"Last season I probably would have snatched at that chance and now I am showing I can finish and add goals to my game so it's always good.

"That's three-in-three, hopefully I can carry on this momentum and take it into the next game.

"The boys say to me I'm a good player and I believe I am. Sometimes games just don't go my way but I am showing it now on the pitch so hopefully I can carry it on."

Sheffield United have four straight wins at home in the league, scoring three goals in each of them, and though they lie 15th, are only eight points adrift of the play-off places.

"The manager is always on to us saying we have got brilliant attacking and we have to show it every week and that's what we're doing now," Brooks said.

"We 100% can't afford too many slip-ups if we're going to make a real go at it. The gaffer said midweek games are always the toughest.

"The Middlesbrough game will take care of itself. The manager knows what he's doing, the board know what they're doing, hopefully we can stick together as a team and get the three points."

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield he was pleased with how his Blades overcame the loss of striker Patrick Bamford to defeat Oxford United 3-1:

"He took a knock in training which was unfortunate. It was unlucky that he did that, but we train as we play - which is competitive - and the knock put him out for tonight's game.

"We lost Pat yesterday - he might be [out for] a couple or three weeks - which was a big blow to us because we can go a little bit more direct, which we'd like to have done.

"There wasn't much room out there but the boys never got frustrated. The maturity of the display and the patience was really pleasing.

"I thought it was a pretty comfortable evening apart from the first 15-20 minutes.

"Everyone could see their approach - killing the game at every opportunity - which is OK because they are at a different level to our football club, which is not being disrespectful. It's a good club we were playing against, and they are fighting for their lives.

"These midweek games are awkward games and you have to get a good performance and result in there which we did. That's a huge result for us.

"The Middlesbrough game, the Coventry game, the Ipswich game, the Birmingham game, the Stoke game take care of themselves. These are the ones you have to nail.

"We kept doing the right things and I was delighted with the contribution of everyone, including the punters."

Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield reporter

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As soon as my colleague Andy Giddings broke the news that Kalvin Phillips would be joining Sheffield United, the reaction was unanimous. This was a good move for both parties.

Phillips, a key player during England's Euro 2020 run, and a mega-money signing for Manchester City shortly after, has had a tough time in his career recently.

I remember interviewing him when I worked for Look North, just after he'd helped Leeds United win promotion back to the Premier League. There was a big beaming smile on the face of the man dubbed 'the Yorkshire Pirlo'. It felt like the world was at his feet.

Unflattering comments from Pep Guardiola and failed loans at West Ham and Ipswich have seen his career stall.

He needs a fresh start. Somewhere he can get things going again. He's 30 now but there's no reason why he can't rekindle some of the old magic.

This is a classic Chris Wilder signing. He's adept at bringing players in who need a lift. He's done it so many times, helping players find their best form.

No doubt Phillips will have had a chat with former Leeds team-mate Patrick Bamford. Since moving to Bramall Lane on a free transfer, Bamford is a player rejuvenated. You can see how much he's enjoying life under Wilder. Why can't the same happen for Phillips?

This might be the move, and the manager, he needs at this stage in his career.

As for United – if they can get Phillips somewhere close to his best form, what a signing that could be in the Championship. You wouldn't bet against it.

There was a Leeds-theme among United's other deadline-day business. Former Whites Leo Hjelde and Joe Rothwell also joined. They needed depth in midfield and another left-sided defender. An additional forward would've been ideal but overall, a good end to the window for the Blades.

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

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Kalvin Phillips' career has stalled after joining Manchester City from Leeds United for £45m in 2022.

He has played just seven minutes of football this season, back in September in the Carabao Cup at Huddersfield, and this would be his third loan move after spells at West Ham and Ipswich.

Still only 30 years of age, Phillips was a key part of the England squad that reached the final of the 2020 European Championship, where they were beaten on penalties by Italy.

He was named England men's player of the year in 2021 but won the last of his 31 international caps three years ago.

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Today is the final chance of the season for your Championship team to do transfer business.

The window closes at 19:00 GMT, meaning teams - and fans - can avoid the usual late-night transfer scramble.

It has already been a busy window - for some teams anyway - but whether it turns out to be a day of transfer action or a pretty quiet one for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our live text coverage throughout the day here

Oxford United will try to get back to earning points when they visit Sheffield United on Tuesday (19:45 GMT) as they fight against relegation.

The U's three league match undefeated streak came to an end on the weekend after being bested by Birmingham City.

It keeps them five points away from safety, nine below their hosts.

• Sheffield United have won nine of their last 12 league meetings with Oxford United (L3), after winning six of their first 17 matches against the U's in the Football League between 1968 and 1990 (D5 L6).

• Oxford United have lost five of their last six away league games against Sheffield United, with the exception a 2-1 win at Bramall Lane in March 1999 under Malcolm Shotton.

• Sheffield United are unbeaten in each of their last seven home league games (W5 D2), winning their last three while also scoring exactly three goals. The Blades last won more consecutively at Bramall Lane, while scoring more than twice in each victory, back in August 1971 (5).

• Oxford United beat Leicester City 2-1 in their most recent Championship away game, and the U's could now win back-to-back league matches on the road for the first time since April 2024 in League One.

• Sheffield United's Chris Wilder has won seven of his 10 league games as a manager against former club Oxford United (D1 L2), only boasting a better win rate in the Football League against Dagenham and Redbridge (80% - 8/10) than the U's (70%), among those he has faced 10+ times.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder describes Millwall as 'the hardest place t win' following his side's 1-1 draw at The Den.

Millwall went into the game on a seven-match unbeaten run but were pegged back by Andre Brooks' long range strike into the bottom corner for the Blades.

Mihailo Ivanovic equalised for the hosts and neither side could manage to grab a winner in the remaining 70 minutes of the match.

"In my opinion, at this particular moment it's the hardest place to go and get a result," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"I always think you go to the big clubs and the big grounds, no disrespect, with 30 or 40,000 capacity, maybe not that many in, but today it was a full house and they're flying.

"The way we approached the game, the way we played when we had to and when we dug in, there are so many positives to come from today.

"Ultimately, we've not got the result we were after, not for the want of trying. It's great for the young players, as I talked about before, in terms of the experience in playing here."

He added: "I always enjoy it and believe, as a player and as a team, if you can get a result here, if you can get a win great, if you can get something that's a sign of strong character mentally and physically from a team point of view."

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Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has dismissed accusations that the Blades try to "bully" opponents.

Ipswich captain Dara O'Shea told the East Anglian Daily Times his side needed to do better against "teams like that, teams who want to come and bully us", external after Saturday's 3-1 defeat by the Blades.

Wilder has taken exception to the comments, saying they show a lack of respect for his side.

"The perception of that game on Saturday is that we wanted it to be a rough and tumble game, we wanted it to be a spiky game, we wanted it to be a bitty game, we wanted it not to be a game of football - absolute nonsense," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"I heard their captain come out and say 'Oh it's a direct game and we can't get sucked into that type of game' and I just thought it was absolute nonsense and a lack of respect really for us, if I'm honest, because the name of the game is to run around, win tackles, win headers, win races and play - and we did.

"They've got a lot of good players, Ipswich - really good players - and in my opinion they're going to go up but we asked the question and we'll get asked the question this weekend."

The Blades, 17th in the Championship, travel to fifth-placed Millwall on Saturday.

Sheffield United have joined Blackburn and Bristol City in the hunt for Barnsley winger Reyes Cleary, 21. (Sheffield Star, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Friday's gossip column here.

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Millwall will look to keep their quest to return to the top flight for the first time since 1990 on track when they welcome Sheffield United on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

The Lions are fifth, six points clear of seventh and six points off the top-two. Alex Neil's side have lost just once in their past seven games (W4 D2).

The Blades picked up an impressive 3-1 win over Ipswich last time out but have struggled for consistency with four wins, four defeats and a draw in their past nine games, leaving them 17th - six points clear of the drop zone and nine behind the play-offs.

• Millwall have won 1-0 in their previous two league games against Sheffield United, and could keep three consecutive clean sheets against them for the very first time.

• Sheffield United won this exact fixture in the Championship last season (1-0), and will be looking to win away to Millwall in back-to-back campaigns for the first time since 2004-05 (2-1) and 2005-06 (4-0).

• Since the start of last season, Coventry (25) are the only team who have won more Championship home matches than Millwall (21), with the Lions currently on a three-game winning streak at The Den.

• Chris Wilder has lost three of his five Championship games in charge of Sheffield United against Millwall's Alex Neil (W2); against no other manager has he lost more often with the Blades in the second tier (also three defeats to Daniel Farke and Lee Johnson).

• Alfie Doughty has made more assists than any other Millwall player in the Championship this season (5), and has only provided more in a single league campaign once in his career (8 in the 2023-24 Premier League season for Luton).