Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Chris Wilder and Sheffield United face Sunderland at Wembley in the play-off final on Saturday, which promises to be a grand occasion for all involved.
The Sheffield United boss has tasted promotion before with the club, alongside club icon Billy Sharp in years gone by. However, this is a very different Chris Wilder team to previous promotion campaigns, with not many of the old guard left for this play-off campaign.
The Blades must overcome worrying statistics and also a disappointing Sheffield United play-off record but there are some causes for optimism given Wilder has previous play-off success with other teams he has managed in his career.
Many punters, neutrals, and ex-players will be present on Saturday. That may include Harry Maguire after sending Sheffield United a good luck message. But the home of English football is sure to have Sharp and other members of former promotion campaigns there.
- READ MORE: The new rule Sunderland or Sheffield United must adhere to if they win Championship play-off final
Billy Sharp tells Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United what they must do in Saturday’s play-off final
Sam Parkin is worried about a Sheffield United hangover from the regular season, even despite them thrashing Bristol City 6-0 across two semi-finals to book their place at Wembley in the play-off final.
The third-placed Sheffield United side have an advantage over the Black Cats in a historical sense, even if Sunderland have a better head-to-head record, but EFL pundit Parkin is not the only expert worried about Sheffield United’s end of season form.
In a one-off game, it perhaps isn’t all that relevant. With the game just days away, Billy Sharp has been asked by Sky Sports how to stay calm and focused ahead of such a huge fixture without distractions ahead of a season-defining clash.
The Blades legend said: “It’s people like you giving it the build up. No, it’s going to be a great occasion. What a beautiful arena we’re in.
“It’s about staying focused and the build up in the week is, ‘can’t wait to play at Wembley, can’t wait to do this, can’t wait to do that’.
“But, when it comes down to crossing that line, it’s about staying focused, disciplined, and just trying to put together a performance as a group for 90 more minutes.
“It’s easier said than done with the atmosphere, with the fans, with decisions from the referee, with things that happen in the game.
“We all know football’s a beautiful game and it will throw up some mysterious things at the weekend.
“You can put the ribbons on now! Red and white. It’s going to be full of red and white. Two amazing clubs and, obviously, I’m wanting the red and white of Sheffield United to come through on Saturday.”
Sharp is an icon of the club and his three promotions in six years with the club — as club-captain, no less — are emblematic of that and how highly regarded he is by the red and white side of Sheffield.
Billy Sharp should inspire the current Sheffield United team, here’s why
Sharp alludes to other factors in the game and Chris Wilder will be unhappy with the EFL’s decision to have Chris Kavanagh as the referee in charge at Wembley already before kick-off has even taken place.
But he and his Blades team need to block out all of that noise until full-time. Sharp was masterful at using his experience to do so in those situations. The 39-year-old won promotion from League One in 2017 with the Blades, as well as from the Championship in both 2019 and 2023.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists | Yellow cards | Red cards |
| 377 | 129 | 42 | 51 | 1 |
Sharp was also named in the 2016/17 League One Team of the Season and the same in the 2018/19 Championship team. All of that while winning League One Player of the Year in 2016/17 and Sheffield United Player of the Year for both 2015/16 and 2016/17.
Sharp is also the highest-scoring Championship player ever. His list of accolades is what many of this team should be looking to emulate, and many could be in for various awards in years to come, too.
That is both individually for Sharp, and as a team in those years, when Wilder cultivated a team that won — and won often; they need just one more win now on Saturday.