Sheffield Utd vs Sunderland: Who Wins the 2025 Championship Playoff Final?
While Sheffield United cruised past Bristol City into the Championship Playoff final with a thumping 6:0 win over two legs, Sunderland's road to Wembley was much more dramatic. It took a 123rd-minute header by Dan Ballard for the Black Cats to book their place at Wembley next Saturday, for what is colloquially known as the richest game in all football.
With the playoff semis done and dusted and less than 10 days until the season's crescendo, we have plenty of time to take a sweeping look at the Championship season behind us, as well as look ahead at the May 24th blockbuster. Stay tuned.
Spark Notes on the 2025 EFL Championship Season
The winner at Webley will be the third and final team to get promoted into the 2025 Premier League. Leeds United and Burnley have already secured their spots for next year's top-flight English football. Pretty handy at the end, as both teams amassed 100 points during the regular campaign.
There was jubilation both at Turf Moor and Elland Road, but Daniel Farke's side had a bit more reason to go all party mode following Manor Solomon's injury-time winner that clinched Leeds the title on goal difference.
On the other side of the spectrum, Luton Town suffered its second relegation in two years after a heart-wrenching 5-3 loss to West Brom on the final day. Plymouth Argyle and Cardiff City are the other two sides that will go down, albeit less dramatically in the end.
Road to Wembley
The table standings consigned four teams to battle it out for one Premier League spot through the playoffs. The teams included Sheffield United, Sunderland, Coventry City, and Bristol City, who barely scraped in with a single point over Blackburn Rovers and atrocious form in the run-in.
Sheffield United
The Blades could not have imagined a more dramatic series of turnarounds in the past 12 months. Their 2023-2024 top-flight campaign was one of the worst we've seen recently, but they bounced back and led the Championship with seven games to go. However, just when Chris Wilder's side thought they had all ducks in order, the dismal April saw them lose four consecutive games during the run-in and fall to distant third.
The playoff clash against Bristol looked easy on paper, with all the damage done in the first leg and a comfortable 3:0 away from home. However, much of it had to do with a disputed Rob Dickie red card in the first-half stoppage time. In the end, though, the home ground 3:0 repeat meant that the Blades got to the final with the biggest aggregate scoreline in the history of the Championship playoffs.
Sunderland Heroics
No less dramatic was in the Black Cats camp. The tie against Coventry was hanging in the balance after the 2:1 first-leg win on the road. The game was poised for penalties until the 123rd minute and Dan Ballard's magnificent header which, unlike Haji Wright who headed it just wide for Sky Blues during regulation stoppage time, scored and sent all 50.000 or so fans at Stadium of Light into rapture.
Those fans sure have been patient all these years. Sunderland was locked in Ligue One for four years before finally breaking into the Championship three years ago. Seeing Newcastle win their first domestic trophy in 70 years did help, too.
Even this year, nobody gave Black Cats a chance to fight for promotion, but the Régis Le Bris' side showed remarkable resilience, echoing Netflix hit series ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die.'
How Much is the Championship Playoff Final Worth?
A lot, actually. They don’t call it the richest game in football for no reason.
By the latest, rather conservative count, the winner of the Championship playoff finals will have earned at least £110m to £120m from TV rights alone and a guaranteed £240m over three years. This money includes centralised commercial fees, facility fees, merit payments, and possible parachute payments should they fail to stay up. No other game comes even close.
Sheffield Utd vs Sunderland United Predictions
Given the game's extra weight, it's been nigh impossible to predict the Championship Playoff finals. Still, nothing stops us from looking at the previous games between Sunderland and Sheffield and trying to garner a better understanding of what awaits at Wembley come Saturday.
The teams played twice this season, both times the home team won by a goal advantage. The last time they met—on January 1st—Sunderland won 2:1 despite Sheffield having two-thirds of the possession, a missed penalty, and more shots at goal.
It's no wonder then that major bookies like Playbet.io have Blades priced as favourites for promotion (1.67 to 2.20), but Sunderland's heroics regularly defy all quantification. On the footballing side, Sheffield is a better team. But there's more than football in this game. It's about grit, determination, and who wants it more on the day. My money goes to the Black Cats in this one.
Milos Antic
Sports Betting Expert
Milos is a sports betting professional whose special skill involves sitting through countless hours of football fixtures. He entered the sports betting arena in 2017 and hasn't looked back since. He is that guy who gets stopped and asked for a handy betting tip or two. As an in-house betting expert for CryptoGamba, Milos takes much pride when results go the way he called them while always finding a fitting excuse when they don't.
