Sheffield United moved up to second in the Championship as they beat 10-man Wolves, while Birmingham City ended an eight-match winless streak.

The Blades were in good spirits after their thrilling Steel City derby win over Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday and they carried that momentum back to Bramhall Lane with a 2-0 victory against Wolves.

Nuno Espirito Santo was handed just his second defeat in English football – and his first away from home – after Conor Coady was sent off in the 15th minute as Leon Clarke again netted a brace for United in a win that moved Chris Wilder's men into the automatic promotion places.

Wolves had the opportunity to equalise between Clarke's strikes, but Ruben Neves – the club's big off-season signing from Porto – missed a penalty and the Blades soon doubled their lead.

Wednesday, looking to recover from defeat against their rivals, were undone again as Birmingham finally tasted victory after a long wait in all competitions.

Birmingham's last win had come against Bristol City on August 12, but having drawn against Derby County in the first match following Harry Redknapp's sacking – Isaac Vassell's goal 14 minutes from time secured maximum points.

While the Blues remain in the Championship's bottom three, they climbed up a place to leave struggling Sunderland 23rd in the standings.