Sheffield United and Sunderland will make play-off history at Wembley Stadium

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The day is finally here: the Championship play-off final.

Sheffield United and Sunderland are the two teams vying for promotion to the promised land of the Premier League.

For years, the Championship play-off final has been dubbed as the most expensive game in football, with over £240m on the line.

Chris Wilder’s play-off record means that the Blades are the favourites but a young Sunderland team managed by Regis Le Bris will fancy their chances after Dan Ballard’s 120th minute winner against Coventry City has them fired up.

90,000 fans are expected to be in attendance at Wembley, where the game will kick off a minute later at 3:01pm to raise awareness for the ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign.

There will also be travel disruptions for Sheffield United fans due to engineering works but that shouldn’t dampen the atmosphere on a historic day.

• READ MORE: EFL experts combine for Championship play-off final score predictions, plus League One and League Two verdicts

Sheffield United and Sunderland separated by large points tally

Throughout the season it’s been the Blades that have been ahead of Sunderland. At the end of the season, the Black Cats finished fourth and 14 points behind Sheffield United.

As per the BBC, the 14-point gap is the largest between two sides to appear in a Football League play-off final since the current format was introduced.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	46	29	13	4	95	30	65	100
2	BurnleyBurnley	46	28	16	2	69	16	53	100
3	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	46	28	8	10	63	36	27	90
4	SunderlandSunderland	46	21	13	12	58	44	14	76

It goes without saying that the form guide can be forgotten about when it comes to this one-off game.

For example, Sheffield United have never been promoted via the play-offs but before beating Coventry, Sunderland’s end-of-season form was diabolical.

Is the play-offs the best way to get promoted?

Sure, winning the league is brilliant, but the euphoria of the day out of winning at Wembley Stadium to secure that final promotion spot is something special.

Leeds United and Burnley both hit 100 points in their league campaign and were promoted at a canter, but the feeling of reaching the Premier League the hard way feels somewhat more satisfying.

Back in 2023, former Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray admitted it was the “best way” to get promoted.

He said: It’s better than winning the league”.

“I’ve [won a league title] as a manager, but the day you win promotion at Wembley is amazing. It’s like winning a cup final and promotion all in one.”