'Smashing everybody' - Leeds United tipped to beat Sheffield United and Burnley to title by rival manager

Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland all kept pace with Leeds United on Wednesday night as they all won their latest Championship games following the Whites 4-0 rout of Watford on Tuesday night.

Daniel Farke’s side threw the gauntlet down to their promotion rivals with a fine win at Vicarage Road but all three of their closest challengers for promotion claimed three points.

At the Stadium of Light, goals from Enzo Le Fee and Wilson Isidor gave Sunderland a 2-0 win and shoved Luton Town a step closer to back-to-back relegations. Burnley achieved a slice of Football League history by becoming the first second-tier side to register 10 consecutive clean sheets after a 2-0 win over Hull.

Chelsea loanee Bashir Humphreys fired them ahead after just three minutes and Zian Flemming added the second for Scott Parker’s promotion chasers. Sheffield United kept Burnley behind them and closed to within two points of leaders Leeds with a 3-1 win over Middlesbrough.

The Blades went ahead when Jesurun Rak-Sakyi profited from a mix-up between Boro goalkeeper Mark Travers and defender Ryan Giles to finish into an empty net. Boro levelled just before half-time through Delano Burgzorg’s penalty after some shirt pulling in the area. But in the 75th minute substitute Ben Brereton Diaz was sent clean through and lifted the ball over Travers, before Anel Ahmedhodzic’s header three minutes from time secured the points.

Leeds United tipped for title by Wilder

Speaking after his Blades side beat Boro 3-1, Chris Wilder gave his verdict on the race for promotion: “People look at tables and when somebody drops a couple of points and someone wins a game or whatever. We have just got to keep our heads down and keep doing what we are doing and if we do that, we are going to be in the mix. If we don’t, we will find ourselves out of it. We want to be involved in it right the way through to the end and if we keep producing those types of performances, then we are going to give ourselves a good chance.

“Leeds are the talked-about team and rightly so. They’re a fabulous group of players and are well-coached, smashing everybody here, there and everywhere. They’re everybody’s tip to win it. From my point of view, I’d say the same. But we want to make it interesting and hopefully we will do in terms of collecting the points and producing those performances.”

Parker pride in Burnley clean sheets

Following Burnley’s 10th successive clean sheet, ex-Fulham boss Scott Parker expressed his pride in the defensive nous of his side.

The former Tottenham and West Ham midfielder said: “It is remarkable and it is pretty special. It is something we are immensely proud of and it is not just the backline, it is the whole team. But we hold it with massive pride because it is pretty astonishing what we are doing right now currently as a group on the defensive phase.

“This is CJ (Egan-Riley)’s first full season, (Lucas) Pires came over from Spain and Bash (Humphreys) had a half a season at Swansea and to think what they are currently doing and the levels they are going to is remarkable. We looked every bit of a top team. I think it is fair to say that it is some of the best football we have seen and I have been seeing it in training and in our performances.”

In other news, Blackburn Rovers have reportedly drawn up a six-man shortlist as they eye their next head coach