Sheffield United v Sunderland - Championship Play-Off Final

Known as the world’s most rewarded match, Sheffield United and Sunderland will meet at Wembley to decide who will fill the 20th place in the Premier League for the 2025/26 season. Sheffield United cruised into the final with a 6-0 aggregate win but the Black Cats had to wait until the 120th minute of the second leg of their semi-final to confirm their place.

⭐ Sheffield United v Sunderland Best Bet

➡️ Under 2.5 Goals @ 1.53 on bet365

The best bet for this match is really to bet against goals.

Whilst matches between this pair have gone over 2.5 goals three times in their last five meetings, all of those were 2-1, so still highly competitive and only just over that mark. Trying to pick a winner from these teams is not an easy task, and there is little help from history in that regard as both teams shared narrow home wins this season.

However, there is a strong historical bias to support a lack of goals in the EFL Championship Play-Off Final. There has been only one play-off final in the last twelve years that has had over 2.5 goals, Aston Villa 2-1 Derby in 2019. Only two other teams have managed two goals in 90 minutes during that period, Brentford (2021) and Norwich (2015), so even though under 2.5 goals is short at 1.53 it still strikes as decent value.

For a more palatable price, under 2.5 goals could be paired up with the best value player prop, which is Sunderland’s Trai Hume to have a single shot, which boosts the price to 2.8.

👕 Sheffield United v Sunderland Predicted XI

🔍 Sheffield United v Sunderland Players to Watch

⚪ Sydie Peck

Peck has become Sheffield United’s chief shot-taker from midfield in the last few weeks. His shot per 90 rate over the season is 1.28, but over Blades’ last 10 matches, it is 2.87 shots per 90.

He hit five shots in the play-off semi-finals, though that was split four to one. He is an especially good bet if Hamza Choudhury is in the starting XI at right-back, as he also covers central midfield from that position.

➡️ Sydie Peck to have 2+ Shots @ 2.37 on bet365 ↔️

🔴 Kieffer Moore

The big Welsh international striker has really contributed heavily to his team since returning from injury just before the end of the regular season.

In his four starts since his return, he has registered 4 (most recent), 2, 5, and 5 shots, with 5 of those being on target. He is a certainty to start, with Sub On Play On potentially coming into play late on in the game.

➡️ Kieffer Moore to have 2+ Shots @ 1.53 on bet365 ↔️

⚪ Trai Hume

Hume is still being overpriced for shots. He had two shots in each of the play-off semi-final, which means he is averaging 1.43 shots per 90 over Sheffield United’s last 10 matches.

The Hume treble of a shot, two tackles and a foul landed in each of the play-off semi-finals and given his likelihood of playing the full 90 minutes and being heavily involved in the game, it should be a good bet here too.

➡️ Trai Hume: 1+ Shots, 2+ Tackles & 1+ Fouls @ 3.10 on bet365 ↔️

📂 Sheffield United v Sunderland Cheat Sheet

We've been all over the EFL play-offs, with our expert Football Betting Predictions diving into all the action. Make sure to check out our EFL Betting Tips so you don’t miss any of our coverage.

For more bet builder picks browse the Sheff United v Sunderland match stats.

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💻 Sheffield United v Sunderland Form and Tactics

The difference in the way that the teams made it into the play-off final is quite stark. There is not necessarily a benefit to Sheffield United's comfortable progression over Sunderland’s nerve-shredding last-minute of extra-time winner. It is tempting to suggest that Sheffield United may have more in the tank as a result of this, but sometimes it is actually better to have muscle memory of getting over the line in a tough match.

The way that the tactics will work out in this match should be fascinating. Both teams seem to have evolved towards a variation on 4-4-2 as the season and post-season have progressed.

This could mean big central midfield battles between the quartet of Vini Souza, Sydie Peck, Dan Neil, and Jobe Bellingham. All four have proven themselves to be quality operators at Championship level, so it is emblematic of the difficulty of separating the teams in this match.

Kieffer Moore will definitely start for Sheffield United, but who he plays alongside should tell us something about Chris Wilder's approach for the match. Starting Tom Cannon may suggest a more robust, direct game plan, but if Callum O'Hare gets the nod, then United could look to outnumber Sunderland in midfield.

Both teams will also likely play narrow on their left-hand side, with Gus Hamer for Blades and Enzo Le Fee for Sunderland more likely to want to play inside when they have the ball.

Eliezer Mayenda will be looking to stretch the Sheffield United defence, and he and Wilson Isidor are a big danger working together on the break.

🏁 Sheffield United v Sunderland Ref Watch

• Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Stats are on a per 90 basis and are taken from 2024/25 games (34 total)

• Kavanagh is one of the main Premier League referees, and someone who has international and UEFA experience

• He last officiated a Championship match in 2023/24, and only averaged 2.67 cards across the three games that he did that season

• He is averaging 4.84 yellow cards per fixture in the Premier League this season, which is quite high for the PL, he also gave 21.4 fouls per match

• Outside of the Premier League, Kavanagh tends to give more fouls in the UEFA and international matches that he takes charge of, so there is no real negative against him for potential foul giving here

Football Predictions at Andy's Bet Club

Check out the best Sheffield United v Sunderland Betting Stats ahead of kick-off.

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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.