When Sheffield United return from the international break they will have a vital chance of taking top spot in the Championship.

The Blades are currently in second place, tied on 19 points with league leaders Sunderland. Despite starting the season minus two points, the Blades can jump into first place with a draw or better in their upcoming game against Leeds United on October 18. This game could be a crucial moment on the road to promotion.

We are now three months into the season and the Blades are the only remaining unbeaten team from the Championship, League One and League Two.

Sheffield United are absolutely solid at the back

In stark contrast to last season, where United conceded 104 goals to stay in the Premier League, the Blades have only conceded three goals in the Championship and have yet to concede a single goal since Michael Cooper, Harry Souttar and… conceded Anel Ahmedhodzic started together.

The two central defenders blocked and cleared pretty much everything that came their way. And when they didn't make contact with the ball, it was the man between the posts, Cooper, who was either taking the cross, hitting the ball clear or coming up with some excellent saves.

A key weakness was observed among Sheffield United's defenders last season in the Premier League: they struggled in aerial duels; They averaged an aerial win rate of 46% per game. Now nine games into the championship, they are the second-best team in the division in terms of aerial win percentage (55%).

Not only are the Blades third-best in the league at 8.5 shots per game, the shots they face produce just 0.08 xG per shot taken, which is the joint best. Almost half of the shots United face come from set pieces.

Chris Wilder's men are currently on a run of six clean sheets in a row and can equal a historic record if they keep Leeds out next Friday. The record for most consecutive goals conceded in the Championship is nine. The title was achieved by Reading in the 2005/06 season, where they lifted the trophy that season. United finished second under Neil Warnock.

Is United's attack sharp enough?

Before the 2-0 win against Luton Town, United created an average of 1.6 big chances per game and missed 1.4 of them. The positive, of course, is that there is a lot of room for improvement and the goals are slowly but surely arriving.

The Blades average the fourth-most total shots per game in the Championship (13.8) and the sixth-most shots on goal per game (4.4).

In nine games, United have scored 12 goals while producing 11.1 expected goals. On the other hand, they have actually conceded three goals, with the number of expected goals conceded at 6.4. The numbers suggest that overall they are performing as expected in front of goal, but some excellent long-range shots have made up for some of the great chances that were wasted. Defensively, however, they are slightly above average.

The quality of chances the Blades are scoring from is xG of 0.09 per shot – putting them third from bottom alongside the likes of Burnley, Coventry City and Sheffield Wednesday. As the numbers show, we need to start finding “easier” options and actually use them; Too often we have seen attacks fail because of a few extra passes or touches rather than pulling the trigger.

At the start of the season I was particularly impressed by United's set pieces. For the first time in ages, the Blades have not one, but two true dead ball specialists (Harrison Burrows and Gustavo Hamer).

In addition to the excellent outside and inside shots, we also have some outstanding players in our sights: Ahmedhodzic, Souttar, Kieffer Moore and even Vinicius Souza. So far, United are averaging 0.32 xG per game from set pieces, putting them in the top six of the Championship. If the Blades maintain this number, expect their goal tally from set pieces alone to skyrocket.

I've gone on record calling this attack “star-studded” and I truly believe this is one of the most versatile attacks in the Championship in recent memory. We have the ability to play directly into the players, behind or along the channels for runners. We can also turn ball losses into a quick game (which I think is our biggest strength at the moment), but we can also play patiently in the final third.

I find it really interesting that according to Opta, the Blades rank third in touches in and around the opposition penalty area per game and third in quick attack shots (1.11 per game). Additionally, they rank third in quick-fire goals with 0.33 per game. In this case, the stats match those of the eye test, and having offensive variety is a great thing for a football team because it can hurt you in more ways than one.

Is Sheffield United in a real position in the table?

After starting with a two-point deduction, Chris Wilder has taken the Blades to 19 points in nine games, enough to currently sit second in the league. Well, according to all the “expected” stats, the Blades should actually have 16 points, putting them in 5th place, which isn't much of a gap at all compared to Watford, whose actual position is 6th. The expected position is that 19th – which suggests that they are doing significantly better in certain areas.

On the other hand, you see someone like Coventry City who are actually in 20th place, but based on expected overall results they should be in 8th place.