Sunderland can gain promotion this weekend as the worst EFL play-off team in history

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At Wembley on Saturday afternoon, Sunderland can secure promotion to the Premier League, which would be a huge achievement, and it would also be a history-making moment, too.

It seems like Sunderland had a play-off spot sealed for most of this season, and the fact the Black Cats were almost stranded in fourth place for the last few months really did them no favours at all.

Regis Le Bris just couldn’t seem to get his players going in the final weeks of the campaign at all. So, it was a surprise to many when Sunderland sneaked past Coventry City in the semi-finals at the death.

Now, as we head towards the Championship play-off final at Wembley, the Black Cats can add another blemish to Sheffield United’s play-off record and clinch a long-awaited return to the Premier League.

• READ MORE: How the 10 most recent Championship play-off winners have fared following promotion to the Premier League

Sunderland’s horrific record going into the Championship play-offs

Before the play-offs began, our team unanimously wrote Sunderland off as having little hope of going all the way. Even Opta’s supercomputer predicted they had no chance.

And, to be fair, everyone had good cause to write the Black Cats off. Sunderland were in the worst form of any play-off side going into these final three games, with five straight defeats in the run-in and just one goal across those games.

In fact, Sunderland didn’t just have the worst form this year, but of any play-off team in the history of the format.

No team has ever gone into the play-offs on the back of five successive defeats, let alone won the whole thing.

If Sunderland can defy the odds this weekend, they will have essentially torn up the form book and proven how useless it is to try and predict these kinds of games.

Form, history, none of that matters now. It’s all about spirit and belief, and the Mackems have that in abundance.

• READ MORE: Sunderland and Sheffield United fans have decided there’s one overwhelming favourite for Championship play-off final

How Regis Le Bris and Sunderland turned things around at perfect moment

In fairness to Sunderland, they were immense in those semi-final games against Coventry. Bagging the win at the CBS Arena in such dramatic fashion was impressive, and then that incredible Dan Ballard performance and late goal back at the Stadium of Light was such a special moment.

We’ve known all year that Sunderland have players who can hurt teams. The likes of Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg, and Enzo Le Fee make things happen, while Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda are a real threat up top.

With those players, and the massive following of Sunderland fans, there is always that feeling that the Black Cats can produce something at any moment.

They may have hit terrible form, but there’s no doubting that was largely due to complacency and a lack of momentum due to having already wrapped up their league placing.

Now, when it all matters and everything is on the line, Sunderland must rise to the occasion one more time and prove that form is temporary.