Is Sheffield United v Sunderland on TV? Play-off Final team news, referee, VAR, favourites

All roads lead to Wembley and here’s all the detail behind Sheffield United v Sunderland in the Championship Play-Off Final at Wembley this weekend

What time does Sunderland vs Sheffield United kick-off at Wembley?

The EFL announced, albeit late, that Sheffield United’s clash with Sunderland in the Championship play-off final at Wembley will kick off at 3:01pm on Saturday, May 24.

The reason behind the ‘01’ is to draw attention to the EFL’s ‘Every minute matters’ campaign in association with British Heart Foundation.

Former Blades midfielder Vinnie Jones will be joined by Luton Town defender Tom Lockyer and the British Heart Foundation’s Senior Programme Manager Lizzie Moscardini on the Wembley pitch for what is described as an ‘unprecedented CPR demo’ that will take place in front of a crowd of over 80,000 supporters and will be shown on screens around the home of football.

Earlier this season, Blades legend Phil Jagielka ran from Bramall Lane to Hillsborough as part of a country-wide relay to raise awareness of the importance of learning CPR.

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Will VAR be in use during the Championship Play-Off Final?

The Championship play-off final will also include the use of VAR, semi-automated offside technology and in-stadia announcements, the EFL have now confirmed. The use of VAR in the play-offs is decided on a season-by-season basis, but the system was in place for all three EFL play-off finals—Championship, League One and League Two—at Wembley last season. That has been the case since the 2021-22 campaign. VAR duties will be handled by John Brooks, with Timothy Wood serving as AVAR.

There will be a notable addition to this month’s Championship play-off final between Sunderland and Sheffield United at Wembley, the use of semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) for the first time in the competition.

According to the Premier League, SAOT will not change the accuracy of offside decisions, which it says has already been 100% this season. Instead, its main advantage is speed. The system is expected to cut down the time taken for offside checks, saving an average of 31 seconds per incident.

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Who is the referee for Sheffield United v Sunderland in the Play-Off Final?

Chris Kavanagh is the man in the middle at Wembley. Kavanagh is hugely experienced but he hasn’t taken charge of any Championship games this season. From 34 matches this season he has handed out an eye-watering 166 yellow cards and six red cards. Kavanagh will be backed by assistants Lee Betts and Neil Davies. Peter Bankes is the fourth official.

Why are Sheffield United wearing red and white?

Due to an obvious colour clash with the home shirts, something had to give. The Blades earned the right to wear their home strip after finishing higher in the Championship table than the Black Cats, a standard protocol followed in EFL play-off finals. As a result, Sunderland are expected to wear their away or third kit under the Wembley arch, despite red and white stripes also being synonymous with the Black Cats as well as the Blades.

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How to watch and follow Sheffield v Sunderland on TV, radio and online

The Play-Off Final between Sunderland vs Sheffield United is live on Sky Sports, with live digital coverage on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App. If you do not have a Sky Sports subscription but want to watch the game, you can pay to stream the clash on NOWTV, with options available for £26, £14.99 and £29.99.

The Star website and social media channels will also have full coverage of the Wembley final and the build-up, with Blades reporter Danny Hall and sports editor Chris Holt both at Wembley. Fans who are on the go have the option to tune into BBC Radio Sheffield’s coverage of the game with the sport team, which will include Chris Basham on co-commentary duties.

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Sheffield United v Sunderland Team News

Regis Le Bris: “We’ll have the last session on Friday and then we’ll decide the starting XI and then who after that can be our finishers. We’ll see.”

Chris Wilder admitted in his press conference on Tuesday tht he had already picked his team.

However, both sides have a clean bill of health. United have two longer term injuries in Ollie Arblaster and Femi Seriki but aside from that, everyone else is available for the Wembley clash.

The same goes for Sunderland, with Le Bris able to call upon his full squad, though there remains a doubt over whether Patrick Roberts or Romaine Mundle are able to complete a full game.

Sheffield United v Sunderland - bookies odds

According to Sky Bet, Sheffield United are 13/10 favourites against Sunderland who are priced at 11/5 to win after 90 minutes. It’s 2/1 for the draw. If you think it might go all the way, United are 4/6 to win, while Sunderland are 11/10.

Worth a punt? You can get 17/1 on Kieffer Moore to score anytime in a 2-1 win for Sheffield United.

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