How it could end where it all began

Sheffield United are rock bottom of the Premier League table and are 18 points adrift of 17th placed Newcastle United. A draw or defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers, married with results elsewhere would confirm the Blades relegation from the Premier League.

With Sheffield United suffering one of the worse seasons in several years, relegation is all but a foregone conclusion with SkyBet Championship football looking more likely game by game. The Blades dismal campaign began with a 2-0 defeat at Bramall Lane, on 14th September, to this weekend’s opposition, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and whilst relegation isn’t inflicted on one game of football, that defeat to Wolves began the catalyst of a season to forget that saw the Blades win their first Premier League encounter of the season after 18 games (1-0 win over Newcastle), as well as see much-loved manager Chris Wilder depart the club, leaving Under-23s coach Paul Heckingbottom to take first-team duties for the remainder of the season.

The match at Molineux between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United had initially set to kick-off at 3:00 PM, but this has now changed to 8:15 PM to prevent clashing with the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip.

However, should Newcastle United beat West Ham United (kick-off; 12.30 PM on 17th April), then anything less than a Blades victory would see United’s relegation worries firmly etched in stone.

Relegation could also be confirmed if Brighton gained a victory in their fixture with Everton last night, or when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 20th April. IF the Blades were to (hypothetically) win their remaining league matches, it could drag the likes of Newcastle, Brighton, or Burnley into the relegation mix.

Though the Championship table is topsy-turvy as far as the South Yorkshire clubs are concerned. Barnsley is currently in the hunt for promotion via the play-offs whilst both Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday occupy the bottom three relegation clubs (along with Wycombe). Potentially, this could mean that there would be no local derby next season for the Blades.

Hull City look likely to gain automatic promotion from SkyBet League One, and the Tigers could be United’s closest local derby next season. For the record. There has never been a Football League season that has seen both the Steel City clubs (in any division) relegated in the same season.