Sunderland v Coventry City: Play-off schedule, ticket details, injury news, how to watch and VAR situation

Sunderland will face Coventry City in the play-off semi finals after a dramatic final afternoon of action in the Championship.

Bristol City's failure to beat Preston North End at home on the final day opened up the door for Coventry City to climb the table, with Frank Lampard's side running out 2-0 winners against Middlesbrough.

A brace from Ross McCrorie saw the Robins fight back to earn a draw against Preston, which in the end was enough to see them hold onto sixth place and set up their semi final with Sheffield United.

Middlesbrough, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers all missed out. Sunderland head into the away leg after five straight defeats following their loss to QPR on final day. Here’s everything you nn

Schedule

The first leg will take place on Friday May 9th at the Ricoh Arena, with an 8pm kick off. The second leg will then take place at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday May 18th, with an 8pm kick off. The winner across two legs will then play in the final at Wembley at Saturday, 24th May. Kick off for that game is still be confirmed.

Both legs of the semi finals will be shown live on Sky Sports, while live radio commentary will be provided by BBC Radio Newcastle. The Sunderland Echo will be at both games and will have comprehensive coverage from across both legs and in the build up to both matches.

Ticket details

Sunderland have been handed an allocation of 2,815 tickets for the first leg of their play-off semi final at Coventry City.

Tickets have already gone on sale to supporters with 60+ Black Cats points, priced at £30 for adults. Tickets will go on sale subject to availability for fans with 40+ Black Cats points at 4pm tomorrow, and will remain on sale until 4pm Monday (May 5th). Any tickets still available at that stage will go on sale to fans with 20+ Black Cats points until 4pm Tuesday (May 6th).

A statement from Sunderland AFC said: "This is an all-paper tickets fixture and age verification measures will be in place. Anyone aged 14 and under must be accompanied by an adult."

Tickets for the home leg are currently on sale to season-card holders, with their seats reserved until 5pm on Tuesday May 6th. At that stage all seats will be released for general sale, with a new pricing structure introduced.

As with season tickets, the price of tickets in this initial phase is tiered depending on location within the ground. Adult tickets range from £29 to £34, with the usual concessions then in place. Supporters have been advised that after purchase, their ticket for the second leg will be added to their existing season card whether it be digital or physical. Tickets can be purchased either online or via the ticket office which is open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Injury news

Sunderland are expecting Romaine Mundle and Aji Alese to be back in the squad for the play-off games, with the two players set to resume full training on Sunday. Niall Huggins is also back in full training, though Sunderland will be cautious with his return given the length of his spell on the sidelines. Ian Poveda could be available at some stage over the course of the play-offs but has not yet resumed full training. Jayden Danns and Ahmed Abdullahi will both miss out.

First-choice goalkeeper Oliver Dovin will be missing for Coventry City after recently suffering an ACL injury, while forward Victor Torp will miss out due to ankle ligament damage. Coventry are at this stage hopeful that Ephron Mason-Clark will be able to return after missing recent games with a foot issue.

The VAR situation explained

VAR will not be used during the EFL Championship play-off semi-finals. Since the semi-finals are played at the home grounds of the participating teams, many of which do not have the required technology, VAR is unavailable for these fixtures.

Although the EFL have yet to confirm, the Echo understands that VAR is likely to be in use for the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium. The EFL confirm the use of VAR on a season-by-season basis. However, last season, VAR was implemented in all three play-off finals—Championship, League One, and League Two—at Wembley. This has been standard practice since the 2021-22 season, making it likely again this time around.

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