One punter is waiting on the Blades finishing top four for a £10,000 pay-out
It’s been quite the debut Premier League season for Chris Wilder. Penned as odds-on shots before a ball was kicked this season – bookies expected Sheffield United to return straight back to the Championship.
But that hasn’t been the case for the South Yorkshire side. Now sitting pretty in fifth, just two points off the top four, it’s been a remarkable season for the Blades.
Oddschecker have taken a look at United’s odds preseason, and how they’ve changed since.
Relegation (8/13 pre-season, 750/1 now)
Pre-season, bookmakers thought Sheffield United would be relegated. Priced at 8/13, bookmakers were predicting a 62% chance that they returned straight to the Championship.
With United’s place all but assured in the Premier League for the 2020/21 season, bookies have now lengthened odds out to a whopping 750/1.
In layman’s terms, if you placed a single pound on the Blades going down now, you’d have a return of £751 if they did so.
Top Half Finish (14/1 pre-season, 2/5 now)
With the benefit of hindsight, if you offered Blades fans a top half finish at the start of the season – they’d have bitten your hand off – considering they were 14/1.
That price has completely disappeared, with Wilder’s side now a whopping 2/5 to finish in the top half of the Premier League.
In implied percentages taken from the odds, that’s an increase of a 7% chance to a 71% chance.
Sheffield United (39) have now earned 1 more point than they garnered in the whole of their last Premier League season in 2006/07.
— Oddschecker (@Oddschecker) February 9, 2020
Top Six Finish (150/1 pre-season, 11/4 now)
European football would have been but a dream at the start of the season, but that dream is very much now a reality for Sheffield United.
A whopping 150/1 to finish in the European places before a ball was kicked, the Blades are now shorter than 3/1 to finish in the top six.
That’s ahead of the likes of Everton (5/1) and Arsenal (11/2).
Top Four Finish (2000/1 pre-season, 14/1 now)
This is where it gets quite unbelievable. Before a ball was kicked this season, United were a mind-boggling 2000/1 to qualify for the 2020/21 Champions League.
Following a sensational season for Wilder’s side, the Blades are now 14/1 to topple the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United and Wolves.
Unbelievably, one plucky punter actually backed the Blades pre-season to finish in the top four, at 1,000/1 on Oddschecker, and is now waiting on a £10,010 pay-out.
In 21 Premier League matches against teams outside the top three this season, @SheffieldUnited have lost just twice
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) February 10, 2020
Southampton (September)
Newcastle (December)
The Blades are now just two points off the top four! pic.twitter.com/jEx7gtSvgr
Who Scored stats
We got in touch with our good friends at WhoScored.com, for some exclusive stats on United’s remarkable season.
They revealed that the Blades are second only to Liverpool for goals conceded (24), with shot-stopper Dean Henderson joint top for clean sheets (9).
They’ve more than competed away from Bramall Lane, with Wilder’s side only second to Liverpool again in terms of away defeats (2).
Those two defeats came at the hands of the top two, Liverpool and Manchester City.
United have been rock solid against opposition elsewhere in the league, only losing two matches to teams outside the top three all season (Southampton and Newcastle).
Oddschecker comment
Oddschecker spokesperson Callum Wilson: “With promises of marauding centre-backs and a squad of players extremely inexperienced at Premier League level, Sheffield United were backed for relegation by pretty much every expert and punter...but Chris Wilder has been reading from a different script.
"In his first season at the top level, lifelong Blade Wilder has developed a side who are solid at the back yet pleasing on the eye, and their fairytale campaign is now, perhaps, leading to Europe.”
