Sheffield United

It's a strange situation the international break.

The injured players who weren't available to be called up have got no one to bounce off, it's a lonely place. When you're injured it's a lonely place anyway, but in the season you can catch players in the changing room or in the gym, but it's even worse when no one else is around. There's no one to bounce off, you realise you're injured, you realise you can't contribute and it's just a strange place.

For players who are fit but left behind, when it's only half a session and you can't get all the numbers in, you're just waiting for players to return. For teams like Liverpool and Manchester City where nearly all the team is gone there will be a week off in the building before players start coming back in dribs-and-drabs in the the few days before to build-up to the weekend games, so it's strange.

What's difficult is when you have a team like a Nottingham Forest who signed a load of new players on deadline day and then they're off and away, you can't have the two weeks you want to build up and capitalise on it. So while you want them to have international experience, you also want them around to work with them and improve.

For some players who aren't on international duty or injured, you're just looking forward to having three or four days off to go and get some sunshine, so there's many ways to go and do an international break.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Every club has a dozen games under their belt in the Premier League.

But what’s the one thing you wish you could change about Sheffield United's season?

Was it a poor signing? Disharmony in the boardroom? A player sale that should never have been? Or maybe just some patchy form here and there?

Let us know here

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sport football statistician Chris Collinson has been taking a deep look at xG (expected goals) data for this season.

Sheffield United have an xG of 8.1 goals so far this term. That means - excluding penalties - they were expected to score around eight goals from the quality of chances they have had.

That is the worst mark in the Premier League, which points to them struggling to open up the opposition. Altogether they have scored 10 goals, including two penalties.

And, fittingly for a side near the bottom their xG against - so goals they were expected to concede based on chance quality for the opposition - is also the worst in the league on 25.

The numbers show Paul Heckingbottom has problems to solve at both ends of the pitch.

So should he take more risks or tighten things up?

Ben Meakin, BladesPod, external

Delighted as I am to see United go unbeaten in back-to-back games – to say nothing of lifting ourselves off the foot of the Premier League – I still feel like we’re reaching a tipping point with our midfield pairing of Oli Norwood and Vinicius Souza.

United have been very rigid about playing three central midfielders in recent years – with a lot of success. However, losing Tommy Doyle and Sander Berge from last year’s team has left us with a significant downgrade in the middle. Norwood – who I have a lot of respect for, and will rightly go down as a modern Blades legend when he eventually leaves – deservedly lost his place to Doyle at the end of last season and few would have anticipated him being a nailed-on starter in the Premier League.

It’s Norwood’s pairing with Souza that gives me the most concern, though. While Norwood is an excellent passer, he has no dribbling ability, isn’t athletic and isn’t a goal threat. Norwood has started 10 games this season and is yet to complete a single progressive carry with the ball. , externalSouza on the other hand is an athletic defensive midfielder, but is a total non-factor with the ball at his feet.

This pairing is a big reason why we have the lowest carry distance in the league this season by an absurd amount. We’re also the only side to have fewer than 100 progressive carries (the next lowest, Crystal Palace, have 165).

With Bournemouth and Burnley up next, I’d love to see Paul Heckingbottom pull the trigger and break up the uncreative Souza-Norwood axis and get a proper ball-carrier in place of one of them. Moving Gustavo Hamer – one of our better dribblers and progressive passers – into a deeper role, where he’ll see more of the ball, seems like an obvious solution.

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BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty has been taking questions from supporters on Monday.

@Mr_RibZ asked: Which three teams do you think will be relegated this season?

Phil answered: Let me refer back to my pre-season predictions and point out that (not for the first time) I may have blundered on these. My three tips were Luton Town, Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

I went for the first two because I simply was not sure they had the quality and Wolves because at the time they were in turmoil after the departure of Julen Lopetegui.

Wolves will not be going down. Gary O’Neil has demonstrated why I believed it was wrong for Bournemouth to sack him. I thought they were outstanding against Spurs and deserved the win.

I thought Burnley would stay up but now I fear for them because Vincent Kompany has not adapted (not yet at least) to playing in the Premier League. They are simply too open and too easy to score against. The danger is they will be pleasing on the eye all the way back into the Championship.

Unless Kompany changes, I really fear Burnley will go down and I still think Luton and Sheffield United will go – although I think they are showing real fight.

Former Sheffield United forward Carl Asaba told the Blades Heaven podcast that Paul Heckingbottom's side only managed a point away at Brighton because of an unfortunate injury to Vinicius Souza which forced the manager to make tactical tweaks: "It’s a positive but if I’m going to be super critical, I want us to get the wins but I don’t want the wins to be coming from an enforced substitution. That’s what happened there.

"Vinny [Souza] was staying on, but because he got his injury the formation changed, the substitution was made and we went on and got the point. Unless Vinny came off, that was going to persist until they got a second or third.

"But we got a point, it’s another point, we’re keeping a bit of momentum going and hopefully now during the international break we can get some injuries back. Hopefully McBurnie will come back because he really will transform the attacking and the defending.

"The manager now will be getting a pat on the back for getting a point away from home but I felt unless we had that injury, we were staring down the barrel of another defeat because he wasn’t changing the problems we could see from the start."

Listen to Blades Heaven on BBC Sounds

We asked for your views on Sunday's game between Brighton and Sheffield United.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Alan: Roberto de Zerbi keeps making so many changes to the line up, blaming the amount of games that we are playing. How can we get consistency and results with all these changes? Look at Aston Villa’s results and compare how many team alterations they make.

Deck: Typical Brighton performance. All very clever and intricate but very little end product. Far too much faffing about at the back and losing the ball. They are incredibly frustrating to watch as nothing ever changes. I am pleased I’m away for a couple of matches.

Reuben: We should have scored at least four or five in the first half. Very disappointing that we drew to bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United.

Peter: We do need to be able to finish teams off. If Simon Adingra had taken his chances in the first half, we’d have been home and hosed but, by giving a goal away (and a very harsh red card) we were all of a sudden, chasing the game again.

Sheffield United fans

Eric: Well done, dug in and got a result. All seemed to be playing for each other. Good all-round performance.

Phil: The four points are merely papering over the cracks. The performances have been limp, negative and pathetic. Tactics are nothing more than stick everyone behind the ball and that's it. If we get the ball, then there's no tactics or guidance from the touchline. If we're going down, at least go down with fight and pride. Heckingbottom needs to go.

Stephen: Good point but should not leave it to the second half to start playing with any conviction. Shows promise for the season when Oli McBurnie, John Egan and Anel Ahmedhodzic come back from injury.

Neil: We just don't seen to learn. Last week we played badly in the first half against Wolves then in the second half we played like Sheffield Utd should play like. Against Brighton we did the same again. When Ozzy came on, that gave us a spark and we played like Bladesmen.

Mark Chapman introduces highlights and analysis of Sunday's five Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer here.

And Match of the Day brings you a round-up of Saturday's five games here.

Listen to Sunday's commentaries here:

Liverpool 3-0 Brentford

Chelsea 4-4 Manchester City

• Brighton haven’t won any of their last six games in the Premier League (D4 L2) – this is now their longest winless run in the competition under Roberto De Zerbi, overtaking a five-game run without a victory in October 2022 (D2 L3).

• After beating Wolves and drawing today, Sheffield United have avoided defeat in back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since July 2020 under Chris Wilder (a run of four – W3 D1).

• Three of Sheffield United's 10 goals in the Premier League this season have been own goals scored by the opposition (Jordan Pickford, Antonee Robinson and Adam Webster), with no side benefitting from more own goals so far this term (3).

• This was Brighton’s 240th Premier League match today, and only the second time they’ve both scored an own goal (Adam Webster) and had a player sent off (Mahmoud Dahoud) in the same game.

• Brighton’s Mahmoud Dahoud was sent off in a match in Europe’s big-five leagues for just the second time in his career, on what was his 170th such appearance (previously v Borussia Mönchengladbach in September 2021).

Michael Beardmore, BBC Sport

No one of a Sheffield United persuasion is under any illusions about the difficulty of the Blades' task of maintaining their Premier League status.

But if they are to achieve that mission, it won't be enough simply to pick up points against their fellow strugglers - you need surprise results elsewhere too.

Bournemouth's win over Newcastle and Luton's draw with Liverpool were recent cases in point.

And while the Blades' point at Brighton might not steal as many headlines as those aforementioned two results, it was nevertheless impressive.

They could have been blown away by the Seagulls' storming start but Paul Heckingbottom's side are clearly warming to their top-flight task.

Four points from six is a huge boost before what cannot be dressed up as anything other than a massive fortnight after the international break - Bournemouth's visit to Bramall Lane followed by a trip to Burnley.

Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom: “Listen we’ve got to be satisfied with a point, having gone behind against a good team. Although we're disappointed with the goal, I thought they passed the ball well and caused us problems.

“We wanted a bit more quality with the ball because when we won the ball back we were either in too much of a rush or lacked composure.

“I thought it was a really good second half. We stayed in the game, got stronger and stronger, started solving the problems they were posing and half-time was really important for us.

“I felt we had good momentum - Brighton’s most dangerous moments second half were on the counter even before the sending-off which was a good reflection of how aggressive we were.

“It would have been lovely to get the three points but we can’t be greedy. It’s something to build on, we’ve had a bit of bad luck and we could have been more on points but we have to be grateful for four from the last two games."

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United midfielder Oliver Norwood: "Brighton are a very good team so it's a good point away from home - any point in the Premier League is a good point.

"They are competing in Europe so for us to come here and get a point is good - I know they went down to 10 men but even 11 v 11 we were starting to get a grip on the game.

"It was important to get the goal quickly after they went down to 10 and we pushed after that but it wasn't to be. It was important to make the extra man count and we threw bodies forward but couldn’t find that winner.

"We have to be content as it's a difficult place to come, so it’s a great point and now we have a couple of weeks’ break and hopefully get a couple of bodies back as we've got well documented injuries.

"It’s been tough but we keep fighting for our lives and that’s all we can do."

Sheffield United moved off the foot of the Premier League table by coming from behind to claim a point at 10-man Brighton.

The Seagulls led for much of the game through Simon Adringa's wonderful early opener but were left to rue a failure to convert their dominance into further goals.

Brighton remain eighth while the Blades move above Burnley, and off bottom spot for the first time since their 8-0 thumping by Newcastle on 24 September, but are still four points from safety.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from home?

Brighton fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Blades fans?

Follow all the reaction here

Image source, BBC

There are five games being played out in the Premier League on Sunday and we'll bring you every moment.

Follow all the action and reaction here

Live match commentaries:

• Liverpool v Brentford - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Chelsea v Manchester City - BBC Radio 5 Live

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

This week, he takes on two Manchester City fans - frontman and guitarist Tom Ogden and drummer Joe Donovan from indie band Blossoms - and a Chelsea supporter - Madness frontman Suggs.

Sutton's prediction: 3-0

Brighton's issue this season is the demands of European football on their squad - they beat Ajax in Amsterdam on Thursday night, so it will affect them again here.

Sheffield United will be buzzing after getting their first win of the season, against Wolves last week. Their gameplan here will be to sit in and try to frustrate the Seagulls, but I don't think they will keep Roberto de Zerbi's side quiet.

I wasn't sure whether to give the Blades a goal, because of Brighton's defensive record - they did not keep a clean sheet in any of their first 11 games of the season, so maybe this is the day they manage it.

Tom's prediction: 3-0

Joe's prediction: 2-0

Suggs' prediction: 1-0

Read the rest of their predictions here

Former Sheffield United forward Carl Asaba joined BBC Radio Sheffield's Blades Heaven podcast to discuss whether the club should be giving their key and experienced players new long-term contracts.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom has been been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game at Brighton.

Here are the key lines from the Blades boss:

• On his team's reaction after the win against Wolves, Heckingbottom said: "You get confidence from results. We have had some cruel moments, but we need moments to go for us, like last week, so that we can try and build."

• He added that the team are "looking forward" to the Brighton game and that "the intention is to have the same organisation and shape".

• Reacting to Brighton's form, he said: "They are a good side, they are competing in Europe, it will be a tough game."

• Talking about Brighton's model he added: "The owner has to take a lot of credit on and off the pitch, it takes a long time and costs fortunes. They deserve to be where they are, they have made some very good decisions with recruitment."

• Referencing Sheffield United's shape and personnel, he added: "We will have to change things for Brighton."

• On the injury to Rhian Brewster he said: "Rhian has had a scan, it wasn't the original injury, we will be without him this weekend. It's probably to be expected, but we know how tough he is as a lad, he will be fine."

• With further injury question marks to players in the squad he added that "Ollie McBurnie and Anel will potentially be ready" but that he wouldn't be taking any risks, adding: "If there is any doubt even for 15 or 20 mins we won't risk it."

• He confirmed contract talks with McBurnie and Wes Foderingham and said when it comes to both youthful and experienced players at the club "we need to secure these contracts so that we can plan long term".

• James McAtee played in a different role last week and he has been encouraged by Heckingbottom adding : "It was as good as he has been. The challenge is for him to be like that all the time."

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• Brighton have both scored and conceded in their opening 11 Premier League games this season. Liverpool were the last side to do that in their opening 12 top-flight matches of a campaign - in 1966- 67.

• Sheffield United got their first league win of the season last weekend against Wolves. The Blades haven't won consecutive top-flight matches since July 2020 - and that was the last time they avoided defeat in back-to-back games, with this their 53rd fixture since then.

• Brighton completed 778 passes in their 1-1 draw with Everton, the most by a team in an away Premier League game since May 2021 (871, Manchester City at Newcastle United). Since Roberto de Zerbi’s first game in charge last October, Brighton are second for successful passes (22,292), average possession (62.2%) and accuracy of passing (87.4%) in the top flight, behind Manchester City in all three categories.

• Sheffield United have lost 23 of their past 26 Premier League away games (W2 D1), including all five this season - and they were the last side to lose their first six matches on the road in the top flight (in 2020-21 under Chris Wilder.

• Oliver Norwood’s winning penalty for Sheffield United against Wolves was timed at 99 minutes and 17 seconds, the third-latest winning Premier League goal on record (since 2006-07).

Image source, Getty Images

Carl Asaba believes staying "compact" is key if his former side Sheffield United are to build on last weekend's win over Wolves when they travel to Brighton on Sunday.

"You have to nullify them," he told BBC Radio Sheffield's Blades Heaven podcast. "You don't want to give them any incentive early on. You need to fill the midfield because they're an incredible passing team - 1, 2, 3, 4 and they're in behind.

"You don't want to give them spaces - you want to be very compact. You want the midfield to drop back onto the defence to stop passing through the lines or you all go.

"I am hoping we go with one up top. If (Oli) McBurnie is back, I want him in the team because I think he's our leading light defensively and attacking as he offers a different dimension.

"I'd like (Cameron) Archer not to play up top. I'd like him to fill the midfield for the first 20 minutes, weather the storm, get our confidence and then maybe change.

"I think early on we should be as solid as possible, give them as little incentive as we can, and make them really graft for everything."

Listen to Blades Heaven on BBC Sounds

Rob Staton, BBC Radio Sheffield

Sheffield United deserved a bit of luck with the penalty against Wolves (even if their opponents are surely also due some officiating fortune with the way their season has gone). This was a critical result and performance. You could see the connection between team and supporters. The old Bramall Lane atmosphere was back, with a team rising to the occasion.

Those inclined to give the players and staff the benefit of the doubt pointed to the upcoming run of fixtures as a more realistic opportunity to get points on the board. Beating Wolves is a great start, with games against Bournemouth and Burnley around the corner.

The other teams around United in the table have not fared much better than the Blades and the group of four 'relegation mini-league' appears well established (even if there is room for another to join the party).

That Oliver Norwood penalty, smashed into the goal with conviction, could be a turning point. Despite a summer that worked against the manager's hopes to start strongly and a growing injury list, the Blades seem to be up for the fight. On to Brighton next.

It is also good for manager Paul Heckingbottom. On two occasions the national media have reported he is on the brink of losing his job. On two occasions, it has not happened.

He has got enough on his plate without having to deal with this. It is a reality of football, perhaps, but speculation that does not go anywhere surely raises a question of the source?

I still think the Blades should make a call. Back their boss like Nottingham Forest did a year ago with Steve Cooper and get a new deal done. If the manager's job is not up for debate, prove it.

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After 11 Premier League games, Sheffield United finally claimed their first victory after promotion thanks to Oliver Norwood's injury-time penalty against Wolves.

On BBC Radio Sheffield's Blades Heaven podcast, former striker Carl Asaba explained how important the fans' unconditional support has been for Paul Heckingbottom and his players: "The fans hadn't turned. We know that a massive part of the promotion, and a massive part of the Heckingbottom regime and era, is the re-connect between the players and the fans.

"No one has been happy to be losing but the fans are still turning up, and still backing the boys at all of the away matches. Some of the atmospheres at Bramall Lane have been electric. It's been brilliant to see. As long as the players go out there and give it their all, the fans will cheer them off the pitch whether they win, lose or draw.

"There have been mutterings over the last couple of games, but not just from the fans, I mean we've spoken to [George] Baldock about it. The players weren't happy with it, the senior players who know what Sheffield United are about were not happy with the manner of the defeats.

"The fact that the players had behind-closed-doors chats, with no management in the room, is just incredible. From my conversations with George [Baldock], there's about three or four players that are essential in that dressing room.

"Everyone is against us from the outside, so it's easy for fans to say 'they are rubbish' or 'Heckingbottom has got to go', but the fans have stuck by them. The fans know that the narrative is not necessarily correct.

"So I'm not surprised the fans are sticking with the players. I'm delighted with it."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds