Sheffield United vs Sunderland: Championship play-off final date, kick-off time, TV, live stream, team news, prediction, h2h, odds
Sunderland will meet Sheffield United in this season's Championship play-off final, with a place in the Premier League up for grabs at Wembley.
The so-called richest game in football will see Regis Le Bris' Black Cats aim to secure a first season back in the promised land since 2017, with Dan Ballard's dramatic stoppage-time header in the final seconds of extra time having secured a 1-1 second-leg draw with Coventry and 3-2 win on aggregate in their pulsating semi-final tie to spark pandemonium and a pitch invasion at the Stadium of Light.
Ephron Mason-Clark's solitary goal had looked set to force penalties on Wearside, with Haji Wright spurning a huge chance to send Frank Lampard's Sky Blues back to the final for the second time in three seasons. Sunderland led 2-1 from the first leg after Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda struck either side of Jack Rudoni's effort.
Sunderland have been down to League One since they were last in the Premier League, winning the third-tier play-offs in 2022.
They will be up against Sheffield United, who are bidding to return to the top-flight at the first time of asking having been relegated last season with only 16 points to their name as they finished rock bottom again and then missed out to champions Leeds and second-place finishers Burnley in the automatic promotion chase.
It was the second time in four seasons that the Blades had slipped out of the Premier League with a whimper, though they remain a real force to be reckoned with in the second tier under Chris Wilder.
However, Sheffield United fans will be only too aware that they possess the worst play-off record of any team in the EFL, having never been promoted that way from any division in nine attempts and lost four finals along the way - the last one in League One in 2012.
They will be full of confidence though after ruthlessly dispatching Bristol City 3-0 both home and away in the semi-finals.
Sheffield United vs Sunderland in the Championship play-off final will take place on Saturday May 24, 2025.
The match will be hosted at Wembley Stadium in London, with an exact kick-off time yet to be confirmed. Last season, the game began at 3pm BST as Southampton beat Leeds 1-0.
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport's live blog.
Both Wilder and Le Bris will assess their squads after the two-legged play-off semi-finals, with an 11-day break now until they go to Wembley.
Sheffield United have been without the likes of Ollie Arblaster and Harry Souttar due to injury, though Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Ben Brereton Diaz and Femi Seriki are all now fit again, with Wilder confirming the latter pair could have made the squad for the second leg against Bristol City as he faces some tough selection decisions.
Tom Cannon and Andre Brooks replaced Rhian Brewster and Tyrese Campbell for that game at Bramall Lane, while Callum O'Hare will be pushing to start after scoring in both semi-final legs as a substitute.
Winger Romaine Mundle was back in the Sunderland squad against Coventry on Tuesday in a huge boost after injury, coming off the bench as Le Bris named an unchanged team.
Aji Alese will hope to be fit for the final, while Chris Rigg and Chris Mepham are among the players to have dropped out of the starting XI for the play-offs.
Both teams will be soaring with confidence after their respective semi-final wins, Sunderland with the last-gasp euphoria of their late, late triumph over Coventry and Sheffield United with the sheer ruthlessness with which they dismissed Bristol City 6-0 on aggregate.
It is no mean feat considering that Sunderland went into the play-offs in atrocious form, winless in six and losers of five in a row, while the Blades had to deal with the disappointment of falling a distant 10 points behind the top two in the end having been top of the table themselves just weeks prior before falling away alarmingly.
Neither team has a good record in the play-offs, but Sunderland do at least have a Wembley win to their name in recent years and no one has experienced more defeats in the end-of-season lottery than Sheffield United.
However, they look very strong under Wilder and should have enough this time to get over the line and secure another season of top-flight football.
Sheffield United to win, 2-1.
Sunderland have won only two of their last seven matches against Sheffield United, though that includes a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light back on New Year's Day.
The Blades came out on top 1-0 at Bramall Lane in November.
Sheffield United wins: 54
Sunderland wins: 67
Draws: 26
Sheffield United to win: TBC
Sunderland to win: TBC
Draw in 90 mins: TBC
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