Sunderland will face Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder believes Sunderland can be ‘proud of their efforts’ after reaching the Championship play-off final - but remains unsure how the intensity of Wembley may impact on the Black Cats youngsters.

Sunderland have routinely fielded some of the youngest starting elevens in the Championship this season with Regis Le Bris handing consistent opportunities to the likes of teenage midfielders Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham, 20-year-old forward Eliezer Mayenda and highly-rated full-back duo Dennis Cirkin and Trai Hume throughout the campaign. His reward has come in the form of an outstanding season that allowed the Black Cats to surpass all expectations and secure a play-off semi-final meeting with Coventry City. Despite being viewed as outsiders to progress into the final, Le Bris’ side inflicted a 3-2 aggregate defeat on the Sky Blues and are now fully focused on Saturday’s showdown with the Blades.

Although the experience provided by the likes of captain Luke O’Nien, defender Chris Mepham and winger Patrick Roberts is likely to be key, Black Cats supporters will hope their brightest prospects are able to shine on the biggest stage English football has to offer and take their club back into the Premier League for the first time since 2017.

Sunderland have fielded 11 of the 20 youngest starting line-ups in the Championship this season and it seems likely Le Bris will place trust in the likes of Rigg and Bellingham under the Wembley arch this weekend. Blades boss Wilder praised the efforts the Black Cats have put in to take themselves within 90 minutes of potentially taking their place in the Premier League - but is unsure what impact the pressure of walking out at the home of football will have on youngsters on both sides.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Wilder said: “It works both ways, you don’t know, unless you’ve got a crystal ball. Who knows how it rocks up? It’s a new occasion for them, we have got a certain amount of experience we can fall back on. Some of our players have played in big games. Callum (O’Hare) has played in semi-finals of the FA Cup, Gus (Gustavo Hamer) has played in play-off games. They’ve all played in big games, even locally. That’s quite a big game for the young players, the likes of Sydie Peck, (Michael) Cooper and Harrison Burrows, who have not played in those types of games, they’ve all witnessed it and felt it.

“It’s about what happens on the day, who deals with everything that gets thrown into what is a huge football match. They’ve got some talented players, they’ve got some young players - but they’ve got some experience as well. They’ve got Mepham, they’ve got Ballard, they’ve got some other guys. The captain is an experienced player, the captain has been around the block, he’s a good player. Alan Browne is involved with them as well. It can work both ways. We’ve got a pretty young side as well with that sprinkling of experience so both teams are balanced. They are the youngest of the two teams and possibly the youngest in the Championship and they’ve done remarkably well to get themselves in the position. They can be proud of their efforts.”

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