Chris Wilder’s surprise Sheffield United gamble must pay off now v Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder's decision to make changes against Bristol City didn't work ahead of the Steel City derby.

Sheffield United are set to face rivals Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday in what is a huge Steel City derby for both clubs.

With Danny Rohl’s side currently five points away from the play-offs, the Owls know that defeat could realistically end their chances of a shot at promotion to the Premier League.

Meanwhile, with Burnley playing on Saturday, the Blades may start the day outside the automatic promotion places.

When you add in the nature of the rivalry, and the fallout from the previous meeting earlier in the season, it’s certain to be a spicy encounter at Hillsborough.

Sheffield United lose momentum ahead of Steel City derby

It can be easy to get carried away with the emotion of the game, but Chris Wilder must look at things coldly.

The only priority for the Blades is promotion, and if they lose on Sunday, but win their remaining eight games to reach the Premier League, the reality is that it’s job done.

Ultimately, it’s all about going up, and beating Sheffield Wednesday is worth three points, just like any other Championship fixture.

With that in mind, it was surprising to see Wilder make changes for the game against Bristol City in the week, which Sheffield United drew 1-1.

Anel Ahmedhodzic, Vini Souza and Gustavo Hamer were either not involved or on the bench, and it should be said that Wilder told reporters at Tuesday’s press conference that they were all absent for fitness reasons.

On the influential Souza, he said: “We are waiting on Vini - waiting on another scan on that. Fingers crossed he will be OK for the weekend.”

The boss also claimed Hamer was not able to complete a full game.

Wilder said: “We had 30 minutes in mind (for Hamer) absolute max for a midweek fixture, and I’ve seen other instances of team selections, but that was us making that decision. Anything over 30 minutes on the back of playing on Saturday would have put him in a risky situation.”

He then refused the idea that Ahmedhodzic didn’t play because he was on nine bookings, with the Bristol City game the final one before you need 15 bookings for a suspension.

Wilder explained: "I said in my interview with Sky I wasn’t protecting anything for Sunday with Anel. Anel had an issue, Gus had an issue, Vini had an issue.”

So, you have to take the manager at face value, but it’s hard to imagine all three players would’ve been on the bench if the Sheffield Wednesday game was played in the week.

Sheffield United must improve to win the derby

Whether the changes were enforced or not, the reality is that Sheffield United have lost a bit of momentum going into the derby.

Prior to the midweek fixtures, the Blades had battled to back-to-back victories, and with Leeds dropping points in successive games, they had gone level with their Yorkshire rivals.

Of course, one game doesn’t change everything, but it felt like Wilder’s men, and Burnley, have let Leeds off the hook somewhat.

Perhaps the biggest concern was the performance against Bristol City. The Robins went to Bramall Lane and had more of the ball, had the higher xG and outshot the hosts by 23 to 13.

Despite that, had a penalty decision gone Sheffield United’s way in stoppage time, they could’ve picked up all three points, so it’s worth praising the spirit of the group for how they kept going, but it was a below-par display on the whole.

With the team selection, and the performance, there was a sense that all eyes were on the Sheffield derby.

Now that it’s the next fixture, it really is the only thing that matters for Sheffield United, and Wilder’s group do have the quality to make it a double over their bitter rivals.

Promotion won’t be decided on Sunday, but it’s a crucial game, and if Sheffield United claim the three points, the Blades will go bouncing into the international break.