Championship Play-Off Final LIVE commentary: Kick-off time, location, team news and how to follow Sheffield United v Sunderland
The Championship Play-Off Final is one of the biggest games in English football, and Sheffield United will battle Sunderland in it this weekend.
Dan Ballard's goal in the last minute of extra time saw the Black Cats beat Coventry 3-2 on aggregate to set up a clash with the Blades.
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24 hours earlier, Chris Wilder's side had breezed past Bristol City in their semi-final, winning both legs 3-0 to claim a spot at Wembley.
They missed out on automatic promotion after Leeds United and Burnley confirmed their spots in the top two.
But now they're on the brink of the Premier League as they target an immediate return to the top-flight after relegation in 2023/24.
Sunderland, meanwhile, have not graced the top division of English football since the 2016/17 season, which ended a 10-year stay in the elite.
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When is the Championship Play-off Final?
The 2024/25 Championship Play-Off Final will take place on Saturday, May 24, at Wembley Stadium.
Kick-off time is scheduled for 3pm.
talkSPORT and talkSPORT.com will have live coverage of the final.
Adrian Durham will be your presenter, with commentary from Sam Matterface, former Sunderland striker Darren Bent and ex-Blackpool boss Ian Holloway.
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To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
It will also be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
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Championship Play-Off fixtures
Play-Off Semi-Finals
Monday, May 12
- Sheffield United 3-0 Bristol City [6-0]
Tuesday, May 13
- Sunderland 1-1 Coventry AET [3-2]
Play-Off Final
- Saturday, May 24 - Sheffield United vs Sunderland
Championship Play-Off Final 2024/25: Team news
The Blades hope to have Jesurun Rak-Sakyi fit to start at Wembley.
The Crystal Palace loanee returned from injury during the second leg of the play-off semi-final against Bristol City from the bench.
Femi Serki is also expected to be in contention to start at right-back.
Meanwhile, Sunderland have Romain Mundle back and might even have Aji Alese available as well.
But Ian Poveda is expected to miss out.
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Championship Play-Off Final: What has been said?
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris is determined for his side to get to the Premier League.
He said: "Our players never give up. They are really connected — it’s a really special group with great character.
“Even when we’re not great with the ball, we’re still hard to beat because of our togetherness and spirit. That character helps us stay in games.”
“Sheffield United will now be another very tough game,” he continued.
“Coventry were really good in both legs, and Sheffield will be just as strong.
"We’ll be prepared for the fixture, and we’ll fight until the end.
“Our focus is now fully on the final.
“It’s really clear — this is the main objective of the season.
"We have to take the final step. It will be tough, but we must put the work in now to make sure we’re ready.”
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Elsewhere, speaking after Sheffield United booked their place in the Championship Play-Off Final, Wilder said: “I don’t feel there’s any negativity because of our previous campaigns.
“There's a freshness about it. A real belief that we can make history and put to bed all that, other things have gone on previously.
“I think I’ve witnessed the majority of it as well. It isn’t easy to go straight back up. It’s not straightforward. And we pushed and pushed all season.
“We got 92 points...for two teams to get to 100 points is an insane season. Then we’ve had to have the challenges of the narrative of being the team that’s got so close. But how do they deal with it?
“The narrative as well of Sheffield United’s play-off history and stuff like that, so we’ve had to make sure that we were right.
“We had to be good tonight, we had everything to lose. The first goal was always going to be a big goal.
“We have had to play well and do a lot of things right over the two games to get to the final.”
Championship Play-Off Final: talkSPORT BET Odds
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