Sunderland host Coventry City in the Championship play-off semi-final second leg

Sunderland are closing in on selling out their allocation of home tickets for next Tuesday’s Championship play-off semi-final second leg clash with Coventry City.

The Black Cats kick off their play-off campaign with a trip to the CBS Arena on Friday evening, before hosting Frank Lampard’s side in a return fixture at the Stadium of Light a few days later.

Tickets for the second leg have been available to season ticket holders for several days already, but were released to general sale on Wednesday morning, prompting thousands of fans to secure their seat for a potentially pivotal contest in Sunderland’s bid for a long-awaited return to the Premier League.

How many tickets have Sunderland sold for their Championship play-off semi-final vs Coventry City?

As of Thursday afternoon, Sunderland had sold 36,009 tickets for their Championship play-off semi-final second leg against Coventry City next week. That figure does not include corporate and hospitality tickets.

In total, Sunderland have made some 37,696 tickets available for the fixture, meaning that 1,687 tickets are still up for grabs, and that 95.52% of the total home allocation has already been sold.

The news of Sunderland’s total ticket sales comes after it was confirmed that they will be playing in front of a sold-out crowd at the CBS Arena on Friday night. The Black Cats have already filled their allocation for the first leg, totalling around 2,800 fans, while Coventry’s home support is also at capacity.

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What has Patrick Roberts said about Sunderland’s play-off hopes?

Speaking on Sunderland’s push for promotion over the coming days, Black Cats winger Patrick Roberts said: "I said when I first came, the objective was to get out of League One and go to the Premier League. I still stand by, we can do that and I can bring that to this club. It's all about putting all this stuff onto the pitch and getting it done. Like I said, we've done it three or four years ago. We did it out of League One which was a struggle in itself. We've got an even bigger test now. All the players are ready but it would mean the world to me. I'm looking forward to the first two games."

Reflecting on the club’s recent run of five successive league defeats heading into the play-offs, Roberts added: "Obviously, from a fan point of view and maybe an outside point of view, you just see what's going on on the weekend and you gauge off that. But there's been a good morale, we had a good break in Portugal.

"Like you said, if you've been in a similar position throughout the season and you lock something up early, like we did, maybe you can see a bit of complacency. I think the idea and the determination and the motivation to go into these playoffs has always been the same since the start of the season. It's not changed. From day one, the manager came in.

"It's great to have momentum, but you can also be playing really well, go into these play-offs, think you're playing too well, and you end up getting beat. It's a tough one. It's hard to gauge. You've just got to be ready for every situation. They're going to be big games. I've played a fair few big games in my time, so I know what it feels like.

"I know how you can get up for it. A lot of lads here maybe haven't played in these kind of games, so it'll be a first experience for them. You've got to guide them through it. You can't let the occasion get the better of you, it's still a game of football at the end of the day."

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