Sheffield United aim to secure an unwanted place in Premier League

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Sheffield United have managed to avoid one unwanted Premier League record, but Chris Wilder’s side is on course for another as relegation back to the Championship looms.

The bottom club’s humiliating 6-0 home thrashing by Arsenal on Monday left them level on 13 points with Burnley, who also look near certainties for the drop.

Both have surpassed the 11 points Derby County managed in 2007–08 to become the worst team in Premier League history.

But Sheffield United’s porous defence means they are on course to surpass the 100 goals conceded by Swindon Town in 1993–94.

The Yorkshire club have conceded 72 goals at an average of 2.67 per match, the worst ever defensive record after 27 Premier League games.

It is the second-most goals leaked after 27 games in any of England’s top four divisions, only surpassed by the 73 Doncaster Rovers gave away in the fourth tier in 1997-98.

Should that trend average continue, and there is little evidence to suggest it will not, Wilder’s team is on course to become the first Premier League team to concede more than 100 goals.

Swindon’s total came from a 42-game season, while Ipswich Town conceded 93 in a 42-match campaign. The highest number of goals shipped in a 38-game season is Derby’s 89.

Swathes of Sheffield United fans left as Arsenal went 3-0 ahead inside 15 minutes, and they will be fearing more thrashings with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle United still to play.

Sheffield United travel to Bournemouth on Saturday.