Leeds United suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Sheffield United at Elland Road last Friday that saw them suffer their fifth loss in their previous seven Championship fixtures, and a result that temporarily took the Blades to the top of the standings.

The Whites and the Blades followed that up by both losing their matches against Derby County and Queens Park Rangers respectively on Tuesday night, but the duo are still in promotion contention despite the fact that Chris Wilder’s men are seven points better off than their Yorkshire rivals.

With Leeds narrowly missing out on the play-off positions last term and Sheffield United being promoted from League One, it will certainly be a surprise to some to see the latter above the former in the table.

That is exactly what has happened though and with the Whites currently on a dreadful run of form, manager Thomas Christiansen could certainly pick up some pointers from his fellow Championship boss if he wants to turn things around.

Here are three lessons Christiansen can learn from Wilder…

Formation change

It seems as though Christiansen's preferred formation is 4-2-3-1 so far this season and he doesn't often move away from it – aside from some matches in recent weeks when he has added Ronaldo Vieira into the middle of the park in more of a 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 system to give his side more presence and control there.

However, while it yielded a win against Bristol City the defeat against Sheffield United and the return to 4-2-3-1 for the latest loss against Derby suggest it isn't really working.

Over at Bramall Lane, Wilder has been using an easily adaptable 3-5-2 formation that can be strong at both ends of the pitch, and with the likes of Pontus Jansson, Liam Cooper, Matthew Pennington and Conor Shaughnessy available at centre-back it is something Christiansen should consider working on and changing to with his Leeds side – perhaps during the next international break.

Two strikers up top

While Pierre-Michel Lasogga has already proven he can be a more than useful finisher on his day – he has scored five goals in nine Championship appearances since joining the club on loan from Hamburg at the end of the summer transfer window – he has often struggled in the lone striker role in recent matches.

The 25-year-old doesn't have the mobility or stamina to play the position effectively, and the lack of attacking support he has got from the players behind him mean that he has often been isolated and the Yorkshire outfit have been largely toothless as a result.

Meanwhile, Blades boss Wilder has favoured two up top – usually Billy Sharp and Leon Clarke – and with 10 goals and three assists between them so far this term, they are certainly proving to be a useful partnership.

With Caleb Ekuban on the verge of returning and the likes of Pawel Cibicki and Jay-Roy Grot looking for first-team opportunities, perhaps now is the time to partner Lasogga with another striker.

Battling qualities

Sheffield United certainly don't have the best squad in terms of quality – with all due respect – in the Championship on paper, yet they have won 10 of their 15 league games this term.

That is mainly down to the fact that even when they come up against a side that might be better than them technically, the players battle for the full 90 minutes in most matches which is something that Wilder has instilled into his team.

He has given them confidence and told them that they will get results if they put in maximum effort, and that is perhaps something that Christiansen needs to do at Leeds.

The Whites have a strong squad despite losing the likes of Chris Wood and Rob Green over the summer, but perhaps they aren't showing those battling qualities that are sometimes needed to deliver results in what is such a notoriously difficult league.

Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.