Sheffield United

Here are the key facts and figures following Sunday’s game between Sheffield United and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

• Sheffield United won just three games and achieved just 16 points in the Premier League this term (D7 L28), with only Derby County in 2007-08 winning fewer matches (1) and recording fewer points (11) in a single season in the competition's history.

• Tottenham recorded their 20th league win of the season under Ange Postecoglou, with Andre Villas-Boas the only manager to pick up more Premier League victories in their first season in charge of Spurs (21 in 2012-13).

• Sheffield United conceded 57 Premier League goals at Bramall Lane this season, the most ever home goals conceded by a team in a single top-flight campaign. Meanwhile, their final goal difference of -69 is the joint-worst by a side in a Premier League campaign (level with Derby County in 2007-08).

• Dejan Kulusevski scored his seventh and eighth Premier League goals of the season, netting more than he managed in his first two league campaigns with Tottenham combined (48 appearances – 5 goals in 2021-22 and 2 goals in 2022-23).

• Son Heung-Min recorded his 10th assist of the season and this is the third time he has done so in a single Premier League campaign, with Christian Eriksen (four times) the only other Tottenham player to do so in more than two campaigns.

Tottenham Hotspur ended their inconsistent season on a high by thumping the Premier League's bottom club Sheffield United to clinch a Europa League place.

Ange Postecoglou's side were touted as title contenders early in his reign, but they have fallen away to finish fifth in the Australian's first season in charge.

The visitors were shaky early on as Ben Brereton Diaz fired over for the Blades in the opening two minutes and struck the post with an effort on the stretch.

But Spurs scored the opener with their first attack of the game as Son Heung-min picked out Dejan Kulusevski's run into the box and the midfielder drilled a cool finish into the far corner.

The Sweden international should have added to his tally shortly after but was denied by Wes Foderingham's sharp save low down, while centre-back Cristian Romero struck a post.

Pedro Porro smashed in a scorching first-time finish to double Spurs' lead in the second half, before Kulusevski managed to slide home his second of the game to condemn Sheffield United to their 28th defeat of an abysmal campaign.

What did you make of the game?

Blades fans, let us know your post-match thoughts, external

Tottenham fans - are you happy to secure Europa League football?, external

Follow reaction and read the match report

All 20 teams are in action on the final day of the 2023-24 Premier League season, with the title winners, European spots and one relegation place still to be confirmed.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend’s final games of the season, he takes on Gladiators star Legend.

Sutton's prediction: 0-2

We have seen an angry Ange Postecoglou this week, and I totally get why. I really liked what he said before the Manchester City game about how he wants the club to win something, rather than just have bragging rights. If I'm a Spurs fan, that's what I want to hear.

He was bang on. He is trying to build a winning culture at Tottenham and clearly the mentality at the club does not align with his.

On the flip side, I do also understand the pettiness of the Tottenham fans who do not want Arsenal to win the title.

But it sounds like Postecoglou's anger is not just at some of the Spurs supporters who wanted their side to lose to City on Tuesday, but at some people inside the club too.

I admired Postecoglou when he was at Celtic, for the way he turned the club around as well as the football he played.

I still think he has over-achieved in his first season at Spurs because they lost Harry Kane just before it started, and the football has been excellent, but they have fallen away recently.

I am sure Postecoglou would accept it has been a disappointing end to the campaign, with five defeats in the past six games, even if they have had some difficult fixtures in that run, but all of this underlines that there are other issues at the club. I don't know what happens next - they either believe in him, or they don't.

He will be desperate to finish the season on a high, as will Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder, whose side are already relegated, are bottom of the table with only three wins all season, and on a six-game losing streak. Even if the Blades do respond, I am still backing Spurs.

Legend's prediction: 0-0

I am absolutely disgusted by Tottenham fans. They deserve an absolute stinker here and I hope they get absolutely pummelled, then Ange comes out on the pitch with a microphone and announces his resignation there and then because he is sick of managing a club whose fans literally want them to lose. That's what I hope happens, and it would be the just outcome too.

Read all of Sutton's predictions for the final day of the season here

Image source, Getty Images

If you haven't done so already, you have until 10:00 BST on Wednesday, 22 May to cast your vote for Sheffield United's player of the season from our shortlist.

The candidates have been chosen by Blades fan writer Ben Meakin from Blades Pod, external.

Find out the reasons behind his selections and make your choice here

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Chris Wilder has been speaking to the media before Sheffield United host Tottenham to finish their Premier League season on Sunday (16:00 BST kick-off).

Here are the key lines from his new conference:

• Wilder said they had "difficult decisions to make" over not renewing players' contracts but added it was "really important that us as a football club got it right" and to allow people "the opportunity to show appreciation for the five players".

• He added on Chris Basham, George Baldock, Oliver Norwood, Wes Foderingham and Max Lowe: "[They have been] outstanding servants, but the club has to move on. We will all reflect in an important way the positive contribution to the club."

• On having a deadline for players who have been offered contracts: "Every one will have individual circumstances wrapped around it. John Egan coming back to full fitness - we want to reward him and want to keep him, but we have to make sure, from a physical point of view, he is OK. There is no sentiment, we have to make sure we are getting value for money too."

• He continued: "I'll respect some of these players will have opportunities to speak to other clubs. I wont be ridiculously harsh on them, but there will be a cut off time on them. I will be firm on that and if we lose players we lose players. Players have to be all in next year and that is what I will demand from them."

• Wilder said getting the most out of players is "what we will always try to do", adding: "Get a pint out of a half pint, squeeze it, overachieve - as we have done massively."

• On the difficulty of replacing the departing players: "People say you haven't sold a player for £10m, £15m or £20m, but there is a different contribution. It is contribution of games, appearances, achievements as well. What we got out of them, is 10-fold what we paid for them."

• On the Blades' ambitions for the final game: "We have to be incredibly competitive. We are up against a team going for something, but we still have a lot to play for. No white flag regardless of league positions. We have a lot play for, either individually or as a team - players playing for futures and other clubs will be watching our players. We have an obligation to the league and also, most importantly, an obligation to our supporters."

Follow all Friday's Premier League news conference updates

Sheffield United are planning a move for Nottingham Forest defender Joe Worrall, 27. (Team Talk), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column

Wolves are in the news this week for their pursuit of a vote on the scrapping of VAR.

Their wishes drew further scrutiny on Wednesday when Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon found himself in the middle of a contentious call before offering a strong view on the technology after his side went down at Manchester United.

"Modified" is the word when we are talking about VAR going to a vote.

We are still getting to grips with it, but we have seen some good come from it. There have been some instances of indifferent decisions because calls are getting too many looks at them from so many angles.

They still do not know what is a good tackle and what is not. I think they need help from some former players, who have been in that situation and understand what the differences are in those challenges.

We keep talking about different angles and that is not going to go away because with VAR or without it, on certain challenges we would still disagree. You could have two current players in a room and they still would not agree.

It is Wolves' opinion on VAR and if they feel it is not working for them, then you can understand why they are saying to have a go without it again.

Molineux boss Gary O'Neil has been very frustrated, but he has also been balanced and tried to stay quiet. Now he does not want to stay quiet because he feels it does not benefit them and decisions are not going their way.

Overall, we have seen good things from VAR, even if it does bring with it a delay and a wait.

It would be a shame now for it to all go away when we have all the technology in place.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Here are the key facts and figures before Sunday's game between Sheffield United and Tottenham in the Premier League.

• Sheffield United have lost their past three league games against Tottenham, as many as they had in their previous 13 against them (W5 D5).

• Tottenham won 3-1 in their most recent away league game against Sheffield United and they last won consecutive visits to Bramall Lane in December 1975.

• Sheffield United have won their final league game in each of the past three seasons. They most recently did so in more consecutive campaigns between 1969-70 and 1973-74 (five), with the fourth game in that run coming against Tottenham.

• Tottenham have lost their final league game in only one of the past 13 seasons, with that loss coming at already-relegated Newcastle in 2015-16.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Basham, George Baldock, Oliver Norwood, Wes Foderingham and Max Lowe will leave Sheffield United at the end of the season when their contracts expire.

Versatile defender Basham will leave Bramall Lane after spending 10 years with the Blades, initially joining while United were a League One club. He has not played since sustaining a serious injury in the defeat at Fulham in October.

Right-back Baldock and midfielder Norwood have spent seven and six seasons respectively with United, while goalkeeper Foderingham and left-back Lowe joined in 2020.

The club said it wanted to release the news about the five players before Sunday's final game of the season against Tottenham "to enable them to receive acclaim from Unitedites for their contributions".

All five were members of the squad that won promotion from the Championship last season, but the Blades will slip back into the second tier next term after just one year in the top flight.

A club statement added: "Further news with regards to the futures of other current squad members will follow in due course."

Ben Meakin
Fan writer

We asked our Sheffield United fan contributor for their four player of the season choices and you can now vote for your top one.

Image source, Getty Images

Ben Brereton Diaz

The fact that a player who has only been here since January makes the shortlist says a lot about our season. But hats off to Brereton Diaz, who has scored six goals in his first 13 Premier League games for us, and worked his socks off despite only being on loan to a lost-cause club.

Gustavo Hamer

The only permanent signing to be even a moderate success this season. Hamer sticks out like a sore thumb in our otherwise uncreative side. He sits in the top 10 in the league for chances created, alongside the likes of Manchester City's Phil Foden and Martin Odegaard of Arsenal.

Oli McBurnie

McBurnie has been our top striker by a distance - when he has been available. Six goals and three assists is a solid return for the league's lowest-scoring side - the problem is only 15 starts because of persistent injuries and a pair of avoidable red cards.

Jack Robinson

It seems absurd to nominate a defender as United's player of the season when we have conceded over 100 goals, but Robinson deserves recognition. Consistent, feisty and displaying leadership lacked by so many of his team-mates.

Honourable mention

Oliver Arblaster. The 20-year-old would likely be one of the first names on this shortlist if the season still had another couple of months to go, but misses out as he did not debut until March. An exciting prospect who can hold his head up high despite the wreckage around him.

Pick your 2023-24 Sheffield United player of the season from our shortlist here

Ben Meakin can be found at Blades Pod, external

Ben Meakin
Fan writer

Sheffield United unveiled a new recruitment team last week as part of further restructuring that will hopefully improve some recently-dreadful transfer business.

The departure of Paul Mitchell indicated the club was looking for a fresh approach, and they have brought in Jamie Hoyland - recently of Everton - as chief scout and Mike Allen as head of recruitment.

It would be easy to be cynical about the hires; Allen previously worked with manager Chris Wilder at United, Middlesbrough and Watford, while Hoyland is a former United player who certainly has an existing relationship with the current boss. The ties to Wilder seem to indicate that the manager himself will have a very strong say in recruitment, which rather undermines the intention of a "fresh approach".

However, I am encouraged by Allen - who had over a decade as an analyst with United until Wilder left in 2021 - taking on a new role, with the club making noises about taking a more data-driven approach. Allen was most recently head of analysis at previous clubs, and here he takes on the ostensibly bigger job of head of recruitment.

From the outside looking in, United have felt pretty old school in their recruitment in recent years, certainly compared to analytically-minded clubs like Brentford, Brighton and Luton. Appointing someone with a more modern skillset feels like a positive step towards moving the club forward ahead of a huge summer of transfer business.

Ben Meakin can be found at BladesPod, external

Gary Lineker introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.

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

And you can watch highlights of Sunday's games on Match of the Day 2 here.

Also, listen back to Saturday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full on BBC Sounds:

• West Ham United v Luton Town

• Nottingham Forest v Chelsea

Chris Wilder spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Sheffield United's defeat against Everton: "Yet again in another away game, we wrote down at the team meeting was to execute big moments, take big moments. I don't think I'm looking through rose tinted glasses, the team have took some beatings this year and are a team that clearly lacks confidence and belief. When that happens you take an extra touch or misplace a pass, and that's what happened today.

"Everton didn't dominate the game by any means, we created enough openings to get something. Listen they have made a great run of it lately, but yet again we have competed. That is standard, so I'm not going to praise that or give that a clap.

"Yet again the goal is poor, we should do better with it. Then we are chasing the game, we created enough in the second half but couldn't execute it. We are towards the finish line for the season now and it's not been good enough right the way through.

On which moments may have changed the game: "Tell you what, we're going to sit on the crossbar and try and get beaten 4-0. Of course not, of course we wanted to try and take the game to them and try and create chances. We did that. As I said it is another disappointing day.

"It's not disappointing in terms of the support we have received, at times we deserved a clap, at other times we didn't. It is humbling going over to the away fans at the end, 3,000 or so Sheffield United fans that have hope and belief for next season. I've certainly got that too.

"We are saying the same things in the changing room. Same as last week and the week before, right the way through. Big summer and a big change of attitude and culture and big decisions to make."

• Everton have won five consecutive Premier League home games without conceding for the first time since March-August 2019, and for the first time in a campaign since March-May 2013.

• Sheffield United have conceded a goal in all 19 of their Premier League away games this season. It’s the fourth time in their league history they’ve not kept an away clean sheet across a full campaign, along with 1898-99 (17 games), 1953-54 (21) and 1977-78 (21).

• Abdoulaye Doucoure’s opener was his first Premier League goal since December; despite this, no Everton player has scored more league goals than the Malian this term (7).

• In his 89th game in charge, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder suffered his 50th Premier League defeat – only Mick McCarthy (79) and Danny Wilson (87) have reached this unwanted milestone in fewer games than Wilder.

• Everton have kept a clean sheet in 85% of their Premier League wins this season (11/13), the highest share in the division. Indeed, each of their past 14 league wins at Goodison Park have been to nil (6 in 2022-23, 8 this season).

• Everton kept their 13th Premier League clean sheet of the season, second only to Arsenal (17) this term.

Everton enjoyed a successful send-off at Goodison Park this season with a Premier League victory over already-relegated Sheffield United.

The Toffees had ensured survival but triumphing in the last home game this term stretched their unbeaten run to five games, while the visitors became the first side to concede a record 101 goals in a season.

Abdoulaye Doucoure netted the winner on the half-hour mark courtesy of a close range header into an open net from Dominic Calvert-Lewin's cross.

The midfielder could have had another on the stroke of half-time but sent a looping effort wide of the post on this occasion.

In between, the Blades battled bravely and Andre Brooks cut in from the left and forced Jordan Pickford into a sharp save low down with a powerful drive, their only shot on target in the contest.

In-form Everton travel to Arsenal on the final day with the possibility of having a say in the title race, while Sheffield United end their miserable campaign at home to Tottenham.

Were you at the ground or following along from home?

Everton fans, give us your thoughts on the game.

Tell us what you made of the performance, Blades supporters.

Follow all the reaction here

There are eight Premier League games taking place today, and you can stay updated with all of them via our live page.

Keep up with all the action and reaction here.

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's matches, he takes on Kasabian frontman Serge Pizzorno.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

The pressure is all off Everton now, but this is their final home game of the season and they will want to sign off on a high note.

Sheffield United's campaign has been disastrous, from the start. They have conceded 100 league goals already, and I do not think they are stopping there.

You would not describe Everton as a free-scoring team, but the Blades have a habit of capitulating and I am going with a pretty routine win for Sean Dyche's side.

Serge's prediction: 2-0

This should be comfortable for Everton and surely Dyche is manager of the year for what he has done this season? Taking on that team has meant pressure from all angles, week-in, week-out.

Yet despite the points deduction, they are safe already and for once they can enjoy their last home game of the season rather than having to go through another one of those great escapes on the final day.

He is my manager of the year, for sure.

Read all of the predictions here

Josh Lobley
BBC Sport Researcher

Chris Wilder has been speaking to the media before Sheffield United's trip to Everton on Saturday.

Here are the main lines from his news conference:

• On expiring contracts in the summer: "There's going to be casualties in there. With what's happened this season we know there's going to be some disappointed players who won't get offered contracts. We have to take it seriously and get it as perfect as we can."

• On youngster Ollie Arblaster: "He's been himself on and off the pitch. It hasn't affected him at all. His performances have been first class at the highest level. For a player of a young age he's shown outstanding maturity in and out of possession. I'm delighted that he's with the football club for another four years."

• When asked how to beat opponents Everton: "First of all we have to finish our chances. We have to execute better positions and opportunities to get that advantage and go up in games."

• On Toffees manager Sean Dyche: "I've got a long relationship with him and an awful amount of respect for Sean. At the start of the season, their performances were miles better than their results. He's had a lot to put up with this year and has handled it how everyone would expect him to."

• On the club's recruitment strategy in the summer: "We've always looked abroad. We have been a British based team which has done us no harm over the last seven or eight years. It's been difficult for the new guys to get out there [onto the continent] but we will build up that database of players. It's something we haven't really invested in enough."

• Wilder added on recruitment: "We're not going to have an open chequebook, we're going to have to be really smart about this. We're going to have to use the loan market again."

• On interest in Gustavo Hamer: "There's certain players that maybe won't want to be part of the journey and we understand that. There's certain players that we want to keep in the building and Gus is one of them. We are in a vulnerable position because of the finances involved in the Premier League. I can't categorically say that they'll be here for the next five years because I don't think that happens."

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Everton and Sheffield United in the Premier League.

• Everton have lost five of their past seven home league games against Sheffield United (including the most recent two). The exceptions are a 4-2 win in August 1993 and a 2-0 victory in October 2006.

• Sheffield United have won more Premier League away games against Everton than they have any other opponent (three) and their four wins overall against them in the competition is their joint-most versus one side (also four against Chelsea).

• Everton have lost their final home league game in just one of the last eight campaigns. They have also won their final home game of the season for three years in a row since a 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth in 2019-20.

• The Blades have lost their final away game in each of their past four Premier League campaigns. The last time they won their final Premier League away game actually came at Everton in the 1992-93 season.

• Everton keeper Jordan Pickford has kept 12 clean sheets in the Premier League this season - his second-most in a single campaign after 2018-19 (14).

• Despite only joining the club in January, no Sheffield United player has scored more Premier League goals this season than Ben Brereton-Diaz (six). His rate of a goal every 158 minutes is the second best by any Blades player who has managed a minimum of 500 minutes in a single season after Nathan Blake in 1993-94 (one goal every 145 minutes).