OPPO VIEW: PLAY-OFF FINAL

With promotion on the line, we spoke to chief football writer at the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, to discuss Sheffield United's season and how he thinks the play-off final might play out.

After suffering Premier League relegation and then taking a two-point deduction before a ball had been kicked, would Sheffield United fans have been happy with a third-placed finish? Or was automatics always the aim?

I think most of them would be realistic enough to know this has been a good season. Of course when you have parachute payments you are looking to bounce back straight away, but by definition there are always more parachute clubs than automatic places and for someone to finish second with 100 points as Burnley have - something that has never happened before in the Football League - shows the ferocious pace Sheffield United and Sunderland have had to keep up with. But when you finish third, you always want to get the play-off win you think you deserve. If only it were that simple.

Tyrese Campbell seems to be the main number nine, how has he been this season?

He had a difficult summer trying to get his fitness up to speed after being released by Stoke City when the death of his father, Kevin, was played out in public.

It took him until October to get firing but his ability to run the channels and his eye for goal have made him a key player, as you say. Plus, scoring at Hillsborough ensured that whatever else happens in his Blades career, he will always be in the good books.

That said, Kieffer Moore has taken up the baton of leading striker that he was carrying at the start before Campbell sharpened up and the Welshman had hernia surgery. He is a target man whose presence mean the Blades play in a different, more direct, way than when Campbell is up top on his own.

Other than those strikers, who have been the Blades' best players this season?

Gustavo Hamer can play a bit! A number 10 in nature, he tends to nominally play on the left but still drifts into those holes and causes problems. He is a tough player to clamp down, and he is the one the Black Cats will have to be most wary of.

If they play with a 10, though, it will be his good friend Callum O'Hare in that position, linking up with him to cause bother. O'Hare scored from the bench in both legs of the semi-final.

Vinicius Souza was out of his depth in the Premier League last season but whether it is dropping down a level or just needing a season to acclimatise, the Brazilian has been excellent in midfield alongside Sydie Peck.

Michael Cooper is a top goalkeeper who has been well protected defensively.

Are there any weak points which Regis Le Bris could look to target?

Hamza Choudhury is a central midfielder playing at right-back and Harrison Burrows a very attacking left-back who does not get as much protection as he might like from Hamer (why would you shackle him?) so if Sunderland can use their strengths out wide, that could be interesting.

Which Sunderland player worries you the most?

Personally, Wilson Isidor because I saw him more in the early part of the season when he was running hot, but Enzo Le Fee and Patrick Roberts are probably the really big dangers.

In a one-off game, how do you think Chris Wilder compares to RLB?

I think it will be much more about the players than the managers but we'll find out on Saturday!

In the case of promotion, is Wilder the man to take Sheff Utd forward?

Is anyone? Let's be honest, it is a big old gap up to the Premier League these days, but they have more chance with Wilder than most. He gets the club and he knows what the fans demand - not too dissimilar from what Sunderland fans expect from their players.

The general consensus seems to be that Sunderland are going into this one as underdogs. Do you agree, and how do you see the game playing out?

Yes I do, because of the final league positions, the way Sunderland finished the regular season and the differing comfort levels of both clubs' semi-finals. The Black Cats are underdogs - slight underdogs - just like Crystal Palace were at Wembley a week earlier... so it means nothing.

Out of these two sides, who do you reckon has the best chance of survival in the Premier League?

I think the mid-season signing of Le Fee and Tom Cannon (which hasn't really come off for Sheffield United) suggest both boards will be prepared to give it a decent go if they go up but both will need to recruit heavily.

Sheffield United have been under new ownership since Christmas so expect them to be more competitive than last time they were in the division. Sunderland maybe have more youngsters with higher ceilings, the Blades more Premier League nous. I wouldn't especially fancy either's chances, I'm sad to say, and that's a problem English football needs to sort out.

As the game goes on, and potentially goes into extra time, match fitness will come into play. How to the Blades generally do late on in games?

I mentioned O'Hare earlier, and Sheffield United have been getting plenty from their bench lately. They will have game-changers on it, but also old-stagers like Rob Holding and Tom Davies if they need to close things down. If it comes down to who has the best subs, that will suit Sheffield United.

Sunderland have been famously rubbish at penalties this season (see Roberts at Bramall Lane). However, Kieffer Moore also had one saved at the SoL! What's your penalty record like, should the game come down to it?

They've lost their last six shoot-outs, last winning one in 2016, but there are a million and one historical reasons why Sheffield United will lose if you are a slave to the history books - these play-offs are about putting all that to bed. Harrison Burrows has taken over from Moore as the first-choice penalty-taker now.

Finally, what's your score prediction for the game and who will get the goals?

I dont think it's going to be one of those crazy goalfest Championship play-off finals we got used to a few years back but don't see so much of now. I'll go Sheffield United 2-1 after extra time with Moore and Ben Brereton Diaz scoring but in all honesty, I don't know what to expect beyond a tight game.