Norwich City, Leeds United and Sheffield United were analyzed | Football News

Norwich, Leeds and Sheffield United have escaped at the top of the championship standings – but who will win the crown?

The three clubs have won their match midweek, but the Canaries are in the most impressive race: they regained first place with their fourth consecutive victory in a 3-2 win against Hull on Wednesday night.

Norwich has a two-point advantage over Leeds, while the same gap divides Marcelo Bielsa's team and the Blades – who are seven points ahead of West Brom, who has four places.

We review the form, statistics, list of meetings and commitments of each club to determine their chances of getting an automatic promotion.

Goals scored and conceded

Norwich won only one of its first six league games, but a 1-0 win against Middlesbrough in mid-September caused a remarkable reversal in form: winning 12 of the following 17 games and having lost only once in this period.

Like Leeds, the Norfolk team has also suffered a dip after the holiday calendar, but has recently regained its emphatic form of October and November – winning seven of its last eight games in a row. championship.

Leeds was leading the standings until a 2-0 defeat against Hull at Elland Road in December was followed by successive defeats against Nottingham Forest, Stoke and rivals Norwich.

But since then, the men of Bielsa have restored solidity to the back, giving up just four goals in seven games and keeping their third consecutive shutout in the 3-0 win in Reading on Tuesday.

Sheffield United started their campaign with consecutive defeats against Swansea and Middlesbrough, but has been relatively consistent since – bar blips in late October and December.

Chris Wilder's team has reached its peak at the right time: winning six of its last eight games, giving up no goals since the 3-3 draw at Aston Villa in early February and undefeated since mid-January.

Expected Objectives (xG)

The data on the expected objectives reflect the spectacular transformation of the Canaries into shape. Daniel Farke's players created a much sharper net after their 2-1 victory over morale against Villa in October.

The data suggest that Leeds' tough start to the New Year season was mainly due to having conceded more chances against his opponents, but has restored a comfortable superiority in his last three games.

According to xG, Sheffield United would lead the standings, recording only lower numbers in seven league games this season, less than their rivals.

Attack

Norwich is the most clinical of the three clubs in front of goal with 75 goals and a conversion rate of 19.4% – with 10 of those off the beaten track.

The Canaries missed six of seven shots on goal after two shots on goal: Jordan Rhodes missed twice and Mario Vrancic, Marco Stiepermann, Teemu Pukki and Kenny McLean also failed.

The interactive distribution tab below also shows how Norwich is much more likely to attack through the central channels than by broad positions – currently shooting 357 open centers in open match.

Leeds recorded a 63% possession average in the top of the league, mainly thanks to another league high of 518 badists per game.

Sheffield United has recorded less ball possession and fewer pbades with only 52% and 444 per game, but has the highest proportion of advanced throws and is a significant air threat with 17 goals scored so far.

Defense

Despite being the most prolific in front of goals, the Canaries were also the least waterproof with 47 goals scored – about 13 more than Sheffield United and nine more than Leeds.

The interactive chart below suggests that Norwich claims less physical dominance than his rivals during the match, while a more complex style of play resulted in 522 mistakes.

Leeds recorded more tackles, duels and aerials than its two promotion rivals – conceding 459 fouls and receiving three red cards in the championship so far, two of which came from second fouls to book.

Meanwhile, Sheffield United scored 34 goals, the lowest number in the league – heightened by the impressive number of shutouts in six games that helped broaden League 16's bleached goals against Middlesbrough.

Training and consistency

Regarding consistency in training, Norwich was slightly more stubborn than Leeds – starting with a 4-2-3-1 in 34 of his 37 games to date.

Bielsa has preferred a 4-1-4-1 in 31 league games this season, while experimenting three times at the back four times.

Unlike the first two, Sheffield United's impressive defensive record was strengthened by Wilder's preference to use central defenders, mainly a 3-4-1-2.

Regarding the changes in alignment, Norwich and Leeds are much less likely to adjust their starting lineup, while the Canaries bring more and more changes – bringing only two changes in nine games.

Conversely, Sheffield United has frequently shifted its peloton and has made more changes in each of its last nine games, a total of 25 changes during this period.

Norwich striker Pukki played more minutes than any outfield player for the Canaries this weekend, while side defenders Jamal Lewis and Max Aarons were also the mainstays of Farke's formation.

Alioski has excelled in many roles for Leeds during this campaign and has scored more minutes than any other player on the Bielsa team this season, ahead of midfield duo Klich and Kalvin Phillips.

In addition to Wilder's preference to play against three central defensemen, the strength of his team was strengthened by his regularity: Den Henderson accumulated the most minutes, followed by defenders Enda Stevens and John Egan.

In-depth strength and dependencies

In terms of depth and dependency, Norwich relied heavily on Teemu Pukki's 24 goals, which total 24 goals – one-third of the Canary Islands total – while Emiliano Buendia remains the leading creative force.

Leeds goals were more evenly spread, with Kemar Roofe leading the standings ahead of 14, ahead of Pablo Hernandez (10) and Mateusz Klich (eight), while Alioski was a key force of attack on the left flank.

Billy Sharp's comeback for Sheffield United was crucial for the Blades. Midfielder David McGoldrick will soon be on the club's scorers list with Oliver Norwood controlling the distribution from midfield.

Calendar coming soon

As shown in the chart below, Norwich has a good run with just three first-half opponents playing in the remaining nine matches, with an especially easy run up to mid-April, with the exception from a trip to Riverside.

Leeds has potentially the most difficult list of games, softened with home games against semifinal opponents Millwall and Wigan, before heading to Ipswich, the final game.

The most difficult period for Sheffield United is now: the send-off to Leeds on Saturday, before welcoming Bristol City and traveling to Preston and Birmingham.

Conclusion

On paper, Sheffield United has the best preparation, while Leeds, second, has the most difficult program, which suggests that Bielsa is under pressure to avoid a gap in the face of a superior opposition.

The three clubs are in shape, but Norwich has been beaten in recent weeks to earn a place at the top of the league, but the Canaries will need key players, Pukki and Buendia, to stay in shape during the finals.

Statistics suggest that the automatic promotion is lost only by Norwich, as the battle waits between Leeds and Sheffield United to claim the automatic spot and let the loser get into the challenge.

And this contest lasts more than 90 minutes Saturday, when Sheffield United, organizer of Leeds, will be live from Sky Sports Football starting at noon.

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