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Team news
Both managers make two changes from the semi-final second leg. Sheffield United bring in Rhian Brewster, so impressive in the first leg against Bristol City, and Tyrese Campbell in place of Andre Brooks and Tom Cannon.
Chris Rigg, 17, and Romaine Mundle start for Sunderland instead of Wilson Isidor and Patrick Roberts.
Sheffield United (4-4-2) Cooper; Choudhury, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Burrows; Brewster, Peck, Vinicius Souza, Hamer; Moore, Campbell.
Substitutes: A Davies, McCallum, Holding, O’Hare, Brereton Diaz,
T Davies, Cannon, Brooks, Seriki.
Sunderland (4-2-3-1) Patterson; Hume, Ballard, O’Nien, Cirkin; Neil, Bellingham; Rigg, Le Fee, Mundle; Mayenda.
Substitutes: Moore, Browne, Roberts, Isidor, Abdul Samed, Mepham, Hjelde, Watson, Jones.
Referee Chris Kavanagh.
The kick-off time of 3.01pm is a nod to the Every Minute Matters campaign, which encourages people to leave CPR and potentially save somebody’s life.
Sheffield United have yo-yoed between the Premier League and the Championship in recent years. It’s been eight years since Sunderland last played in the Premier League, the longest spell outside the top flight in their history.
Scott Murray is such a brilliant writer that he could make traffic entertaining. Here he is on the origin story of the playoffs, and it starts way before 1987.
The problem inherent in this scheme revealed itself during the 1898 Tests, and in some style. The play-off mini-league saw First Division failures Blackburn Rovers and Stoke take on the upwardly mobile Second Division pair of Burnley and Newcastle United. The first Tests panned out in such a manner that when Burnley and Stoke met in their final fixture, they knew that a draw would promote Burnley while also maintaining Stoke’s first-tier status. And there wouldn’t a single thing Blackburn or Newcastle could do about it. Goalless pact ahoy!
Preamble
Hello and welcome to one of the biggest games in the English football calendar: the Championship playoff final at Wembley. Sheffield United and Sunderland will meet to decide which team gets the Premier League Experience next season.
The good news for both teams is that somebody has to win. The two clubs have dreadful playoff records: Sheffield United have never been promoted in nine attempts, Sunderland only twice in seven – and one of those came after defeat in the 1990 final to Swindon, who were subsequently demoted because of financial irregularities.
Sheffield United start as favourites, having finished 14 points ahead of Sunderland in the regular season, but that’s rarely worth a damn in this fixture. May the best team win!
Kick off 3.01pm.
PS It’s worth over £200m to the winners. And that’s the first and last use of the pound sign today, because we’re sick to the back teeth of glory being quantified.
