Sheffield Utd v Sunderland: Prediction, tips and bet builder

Promotion to the Premier League this season is expected to come with a windfall of up to £220m, making the stakes for this already crucial fixture even higher.

Sheffield United powered to the final after thumping Bristol City 6-0 in the semi-finals. While manager Chris Wilder was frustrated by missing out on automatic promotion, the dominant semi-final win will undoubtedly fill him full of confidence ahead of Saturday’s encounter.

The big issue for the Blades is their woeful play-off history, having failed to win the mini-tournament in nine previous attempts.

United did finish 14 points ahead of Sunderland during the regular season, ending their campaign in third place. The Blades will be boosted by the knowledge that third-placed team has won the Championship play-offs 45% of the time.

Sunderland, just like their opponents, are no strangers to play-off heartbreak. The Black Cats have won just one play-off campaign, which came during their League One escape three years ago. Their six attempts prior all ended with tears.

Regis Le Bris and his men booked their place in Wembley thanks to Dan Ballard’s extra time winner against Frank Lampard’s Coventry City side.

Sunderland clearly lived up to their ‘til the end’ mantra which was plastered on advertising boards during the match.

The Black Cats were assured a play-off spot a long time ago, which allowed them to take their foot off the gas in the final few games of the regular season.

The club went on a five-match losing run, leaving many to doubt their semi-final chances against Coventry. Instead, Sunderland appear to have rediscovered their killer instinct. 

Le Bris will also take heart from the fact his men got the better of United in their last head-to-head encounter. The Black Cats won the game 1-0 back in January, ending their run of three straight defeats against Wilder’s men.

Here we pick out some of our best tips for this juicy Premier League meeting, and if you put it into a Betway bet builder you’ll get odds of around 7/1.

Sheffield Utd v Sunderland

Sheffield United to win – 7/5

Both teams to score – 11/10

5+ match shots on target – 1/8

Kieffer Moore to have 1+ shots on target – 8/15

Good luck and please gamble responsibly.

Having won 90 points this season and come so close to automatic promotion, United will feel somewhat crushed if they don’t secure an immediate return to the Premier League.

Their performance against Bristol proved just how strong they are coming into this final fixture.

We’re putting our chips on the south Yorkshire side to get the job done and earn their third Premier League promotion in seven years.

Both teams scored in three of their last four head-to-head meetings, and we’re backing that trend to continue.

Five shots on target is our third bet builder addition. This has also landed in all four previous meetings.

Lastly, we’re backing United’s Kieffer Moore to have one or more shots on target. The Welshman scored last time out against Bristol in the semi-final and we’re backing the 32-year-old to have a big impact on Saturday.

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How do we create our tips?

Planet Sport has a rich history of providing quality, engaging and creative user-friendly content across a wide range of sports.

The Planet Sport team has more than twenty years’ experience working in the sports industry and use their knowledge, experience and statistical analysis to bring you the very best tips possible.

We specialise in clear, informative, data-driven tips, predictions and guides that will steer you in the right direction, whether you are a part-time bettor or consider yourself a bit of a pro.

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