Sunderland promoted to the Premier League after wild comeback win in playoff final

And then there were two sides still vying for the 20th and final place in next season’s Premier League — Sheffield United vs Sunderland in the “richest game in sports,” the Championship playoff final.

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For live updates and highlights throughout Sheffield United vs Sunderland, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.

How to watch Sheffield United vs Sunderland live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 10:01 am ET, Saturday (May 24)
Venue: Wembley Stadium — London
TV/Streaming: Paramount+

Sheffield United vs Sunderland score: 1-0

Campbell 25'

Brooks so close to a second!

Dennis Cirkin makes a mess of a bouncing ball and hesitates as the last man. Substitute Andre Brooks nips in but his shot is saved well by Patterson. Nervous moment for Sunderland.

Really good chance on the counter for the Blades

Sheffield United again launch a brilliant counter but Kieffer Moore’s shot is blocked with Campbell waiting for the pass. Sunderland eventually clear and they got back really well. Just over 35 minutes to go.

Half time: Sheffield United 1-0 Sunderland

The Blades are 45 minutes away from a return straight back to the Premier League and they’ve been really good. Sunderland are yet to really get going but the good news for them is they’re only 1-0 down. Can the Black Cats get Jobe Bellingham on the ball more in the second half?

VAR review after Burrows smashes home... but no goal!

A corner is whipped in and is cleared to the edge of the box. Burrows smashes home through a crowd and the Sheffield United players and fans go wild. But hang on. Souza was running out in front of Sunderland goalkeeper Antony Patterson and was in an offside position and impacting play. VAR asks the ref to have a look at the goal and he decides that Souza was impacting Patterson. No goal. Huge roar goes up from the Sunderland fans.

Tyrese Campbell clips home! — Sheffield United 1-0 Sunderland

The Blades are ahead! They’ve looked the more dangerous and Sheffield United are ahead. After a corner for Sunderland is cleared, Sheffield United launch a counter through Hamer and picks out Tyrese Campbell perfectly and he controls so well and dinks calmly over the goalkeeper. They deserve this lead.

O’Nien has to come off with a dislocated shoulder

This is not good for Sunderland. Key center back Luke O’Nien is down as he looked to pop his shoulder out as he tried to challenge Moore when that header came in. He’s on oxygen. Chris Mepham is on in his place.

Patterson denies Moore’s header with a superb stop!

What a save. A cross is whipped in from the left and Kieffer Moore powers a header towards the bottom corner. It looks certain to go in but Anthony Patterson does brilliantly to claw the ball out. Great start from the Blades. Sunderland are really struggling.

Sheffield United lineup

Cooper; Choudhury, Ahmedhodzic, RObinson, Burrows; Brewster, Peck, Souza, Hamer; Moore, Campbell

Sunderland lineup

Patterson; Hume, Ballard, O’Nien, Cirkin; Rigg, Neil, Bellingham, Mundle; Le Fee, Mayenda

Sheffield United vs Sunderland head-to-head record

This season

The home side was victorious in each meeting during the 2024-25 Championship season, with Sheffield United winning 1-0 at Bramall Lane back in November (both sides played at least 45 minutes with 10 men) and Sunderland coming out on top 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on New Year’s Day.

All time
Sheffield United wins: 54
Sunderland wins: 67
Draws: 26

Sheffield United vs Sunderland odds to be promoted, favorites

(Betting odds provided by our partner, BetMGM) BetMGM is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on BetMGM for the first time after clicking our links.

Sheffield United (-150) | Sunderland (+120)

Sheffield United vs Sunderland preview

Wembley Stadium will be a sea of red and white stripes next Saturday, May 24 (10 am ET). Sheffield United couldn’t have had an easier time in the semifinals of the promotion playoffs as Chris Wilder’s side beat Bristol City 3-0 in both legs. Sunderland, on the other hand, needed every single second of the 210 minutes of regular and extra time to see off Frank Lampard and Haji Wright’s Coventry City. It was 2-1 to Sunderland after the first leg and Regis Le Bris’s side was 15 minutes from advancing with a 0-0 draw at home, but the Sky Blues equalized in the 76th minute to extend the tie 30 more minutes. With 121:52 on the clock, Enzo Le Fee sent a corner kick into the penalty area and Dan Ballard headed it home with the last meaningful touch of the game.

Sheffield United are attempting to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking after finish last and being relegated this time last year, for the second time in four seasons. The Blades came back up after two seasons the last time they went down. The wait has been a little longer for Sunderland, who left the Premier League back in 2017 after 10 seasons in the top flight and haven’t been back since. The Black Cats suffered back-to-back relegations (and last-place finishes) back then and spent four seasons toiling in League One, now just one game away from a return to the big time after their third season in the Championship.