The match dubbed the ‘Richest Match in Football’ has come around against as the Sky Bet Championship 2024-25 play-off final takes place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon when Sheffield United take on Sunderland.
Sheffield United will be looking to seal an immediate return to the top flight after being relegated last season while Sunderland will be aiming to complete their journey back to the Premier League after a period in the wilderness. This final is beautifully set up.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football channels with the build-up at Wembley beginning at 2pm ahead of the kick off which is at 3.01pm, a minute later than usual as part of the ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign run by Sky Bet.
Sheffield United
When the season started there was an expectation on Sheffield United to get promoted and while they would have wanted to do it automatically, if they can win this final then they would have achieved their aim in the best possible fashion. They cruised into this final courtesy of a pair of 3-0 wins in their semi-final and were able to give players who needed minutes some action towards the end of the semi-final which should bode well for them.
Sheffield United were well in touch with the top two for most of the season but there is a feeling about them that against the better teams or in the big matches they have needed to find a bit more than they have delivered. They do have an excellent keeper and in Gustavo Hamer they have a playmaker who has been here before and lost and will want to avoid that happening again. You just wonder if the Blades are battle-hardened enough after that semi-final cruise.
Sunderland
The first port of call for Sunderland this season was to be better than they were last term. They achieved that pretty early on when they flew out of the traps and throughout the first quarter of the season they were the best team in the division. As injuries struck and a young side became a little inconsistent they were unable to maintain an automatic promotion charge and in the end finished a distance behind Sheffield United in the final league table in the end.
We shouldn’t use that against them though because the last seven or eight matches they were just playing out time waiting for the play-offs to arrive. When they did, they showed their tactical flexibility in beating Coventry City with the epic scenes when Dan Ballard scored in the last minute of extra time in a pulsating semi-final. Sunderland played very much on the break in that clash but they have shown they can handle the ball too and that bodes well for them.
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Team News
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has a few selection headaches ahead of this final. Tyrese Campbell was on the bench for the second leg of the semi-final while Calum O’Hare came off the bench to score in both legs and both will be eyeing up starts.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris brought Romaine Mundle off the bench after his return from injury in the second leg of their win over Coventry and he will be in line for a starting spot here. Chris Rigg is another who is waiting to come into the side.
Betting
I think the odds for this final are the wrong way round. I suspect they have been priced up because of how far Sheffield United were ahead of Sunderland at the end of the regular season but Sunderland basically gave up the matches since the last international break knowing their fate would be a play-off spot this season. Both teams won their home match against the other in the regular part of the season but for me Sunderland are the better team.
I’ve seen both of these sides with my own eyes both at Kenilworth Road and at their home ground and Sunderland just look the better team to me. I’ve had big concerns about the Sheffield United defence in the second half of the season since Harry Souttar got injured but I don’t have the same concerns about the Sunderland one. The other issue I have with Sheffield United is they have never quite nailed down the right-back role this term and if Enzo le Fee operates from the left like he has been for most of the season that would be a real problem area for the Blades. Then you have to throw in the Sheffield United play-off record. While each entity is its own battle, there isn’t anyone of a Sheffield United nature at Wembley on Saturday who will not be aware that the Blades have played four play-off finals and lost the lot. Sunderland can soak up pressure and play on the break and they can dominate the ball. I’m not sure Sheffield United are as flexible and in what will undoubtedly be a tight game as this match always is, I’ll go with the team I believe are the best of the two and take Sunderland to win it but it would be foolish to not take the draw out of play given that only one of the last nine have been won by more than a goal.
Tips
Back Sunderland to beat Sheffield United (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.30 with Boylesports
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