Championship Play-Off Final - Preview, Best Bets & H2H Record
- JN Value Betting
- May 23
- 2 min read
BEST BETS:
JACK ROBINSON - TO BE CARDED - 3/1 (SKY BET) - 1PT
DANIEL BALLARD - TO BE CARDED - 11/4 (SKY BET) - 1PT
JACK ROBINSON & DANIEL BALLARD - TO BE CARDED - 11/1 (SKY BET) - 0.5PTS
The richest game in football awaits us at Wembley on Saturday afternoon where Sheffield United take on Sunderland in the Championship Play-Off Final with a place in the Premier League as the prize. Chris Wilder's Sheffield United will be looking to bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking, with them just missing out on automatic promotion. Sunderland look to make their Premier League return nine seasons after their relegation which saw them follow it with an immediate relegation to League One in the following season. Their route out of League One was found via the Play-Offs in 2022 when they defeated Wycombe underneath the Wembley arch, and they'll be hoping to utilise the same method to find their way back into the greatest league of them all. Sheffield United will be looking to right all of their play-off wrongs when they look to secure a successful play-off campaign at the tenth time of asking. The aforementioned Sunderland triumph was their only play-off win in eight attempts, meaning one of these sides will have to improve on their poor play-off records to find their way into the Premier League.
Much like the Europa League Final, this promises to be a tale of two teams who are petrified to lose, especially with what is at stake here. That has once again led me into the card markets, more specifically the player card markets. Chris Kavanagh has the duty of officiating this one, he is averaging 5.34 cards per game this season, and with the jeopardy of this game, I feel we can see him hit this average here. Jack Robinson looks set to line up on the left side of a back three for the Blades, and he'll have the job of handling this dynamic Sunderland forward line of Patrick Roberts, Eliezer Mayenda & Wilson Isidor. Robinson has been carded in all three of his appearances against Sunderland for Sheffield United, and has also picked up nine cards in 3,043 minutes this season. I was surprised to see 3/1 available for him to pick up another card against the Black Cats, and am happy to get stuck in at the prices. Another player who represents good value within this market is Sunderland's Semi-Final hero Dan Ballard. The Northern Ireland international has been carded 18 times across the last two seasons, and has also picked up a booking in both his appearances for the Mackems against Sheffield United. I'm happy to have a small play on the double for the pair to be booked. With what is on the line, I cannot see an outcome where Kavanagh keeps his cards to himself.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
LAST 5 MATCHES:
01/01/2025 - SUNDERLAND 2-1 Sheffield United (Championship)
29/11/2024 - SHEFFIELD UNITED 1-0 Sunderland (Championship)
15/03/2023 - Sunderland 1-2 SHEFFIELD UNITED (Championship)
17/08/2022 - SHEFFIELD UNITED 2-1 Sunderland (Championship)
25/09/2019 - Sheffield United 0-1 SUNDERLAND (EFL Cup)
