On Saturday 13th May, Sunderland will have a unique opportunity to accelerate their rebuild as they take part in the Championship play-offs. The Black Cats, who only ended four seasons in League One with play-off victory last season, have the potential to gain around £90m in top-flight promotion, which could be a huge financial boost and a return after six seasons away.
Despite this, manager Tony Mowbray has cautioned against expecting too much from the play-offs, citing the youthful make-up of the squad as a positive but also noting that re-signing loanees such as Manchester United’s Amad Diallo and Paris Saint Germain’s Edouard Michut would not be a given.
The dip from Premier League to Championship, and then into League One, meant a huge turnover of players, drastic cost-cutting off the field and re-imagining of ambitions and goals for Sunderland. It also meant reduced income, once parachute payments finished, while multiple changes of ownership highlighted just how much of an investment it was to run a club of Sunderland’s size.
Their opponents in the knock-out stage are Luton, who have been a hugely consistent feature of the Championship in the past two seasons. The Hatters have picked up 155 points from a possible 276, with 42 wins from 96 matches over the past two regular season campaigns. They come into the knock-out stage of the competition unbeaten in 14 games, having not lost since going down 1-0 at home to champions Burnley in February.
Sunderland themselves have come up on the rails to reach the top six, unbeaten in nine games, including a 1-1 draw with their play-off opponents. Injuries could be the Black Cats’ Achilles heel, with Dan Ballard, Danny Batth, Aji Alese and possibly Dennis Cirkin and Lynden Gooch among the defensive absentees.
The game will be broadcast on BBC Radio Newcastle, BBC 3CR and live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app.