The international break has arrived at an opportune time for Sheffield United as they look to regroup following a frustrating week which saw the Blades suffer back-to-back Championship defeats and an EFL Cup exit at the hands of Fleetwood Town.
Starting the campaign with three successive draws against Birmingham City, Swansea City and Cardiff City, the Blades commenced September in winning fashion with their first league triumph of the season against Bolton Wanderers to lift the mood at Bramall Lane.
A 3-1 defeat at home to Norwich City followed, but Chris Wilder's men bounced back to win 2-1 at Blackburn Rovers before succumbing to a 1-0 loss in their encounter with promotion-chasing Wolves.
Their difficult start sunk to a new low when a strong Blades XI was eliminated in the EFL Cup third round by League Two opponents Fleetwood, and the pressure on Wilder was cranked up a notch following their third league loss of the season away at Stoke City.
Wilder has called for a bit of perspective amid growing disillusion on the terraces, but EFL pundit Callum Fowler believes it would not be a surprise if the Sheffield United boss is the next managerial casualty in the Championship.
Asked by bet365 who he thinks might be the next manager to leave in the EFL, Fowler replied: "I think it's going to be Wilder. Sheffield United are struggling.
"I know he'll probably get the job again in a year's time, but right now he's in a bit of trouble."
Going into further detail on the Pyramid Podcast, Fowler added: "Again there's talk of whether it's time to move Wilder on, but Sheffield United can't do anything unless he's been there before.
"They'll not want a Ruben Selles again, and you sense they'll be cautious getting another name like that. They'll probably end up getting Paul Heckingbottom.
"Who else are they going to get? Their scouting system is horrendous, and I think their owners are c*** anyway. You can tell when you look at a team how terribly they're ran.
"They've got no pace at all, their forward line is terrible. When you're conceding goals like they did against Stoke City, they're not normal, but every game they just feel like they're second best.
"They've sold Gus Hamer and Callum O'Hare, their two most creative midfielders, and now they've not got any of those types of players. They're all sideways and backwards.
"Then the club are going for Jordan Ayew on a free transfer, and Wilder comes out and says he only wants domestic players because of their attitudes.
"I've said it all summer and got laughed at, but they're in a relegation battle."
Sheffield United have been cut into 10/3 to suffer relegation from the Championship, with their odds to achieve a top-eight finish drifting to 9/2.
All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
