Gary Neville delivers ‘wierd’ Sunderland v Sheff Utd prediction as Roy Keane issues Premier League warning
Sunderland will face Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Saturday.
Former Manchester United star Gary Neville has admitted he would like to see Sunderland return to the Premier League this weekend – but fears Championship play-off final opponents Sheffield United may have ‘a bit too much’ for the Black Cats.
Regis Le Bris and his players are currently undertaking their final preparations for one last push towards a return to the Premier League as they get ready to face Chris Wilder’s Blades at Wembley on Saturday afternoon. The two previous meetings of the two sides offer little in the way of an indicator of how the play-off final could play out after they both claimed one win apiece in their Championship fixtures during the regular season.
It was Wilder’s men that secured the narrowest of wins at Bramall Lane in November as Tom Davies’ late goal was enough to give the Blades all three points on a night when both sides had been reduced to ten men by the time the half-time whistle had been blown. Sunderland did not have to wait long to exact revenge as Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor netted either side of a Luke O’Nien own-goal to help the Black Cats claim a 2-1 home win on New Years Day.
With all eyes now on their Wembley showdown as both sides look to set up meetings with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City next season, Neville has delivered his take on how he believes things could pan out under the famous arch.
Speaking on The Overlap podcast, the former England right-back said: “We’re probably going to go Sheffield United, even though I’d like to see Sunderland in the Premier League, but I think Sheffield United probably just have got a bit too much. Yeah, we’ll go two one Sheffield United.”
“It’s going to be hard to stay up”
Meanwhile, former Sunderland manager Roy Keane has issued a stern warning for the victor in Saturday’s Wembley clash as they prepare to return to the Premier League.
The former Republic of Ireland manager knows all about the rigours of life in the top flight after becoming a multiple Premier League title winner during his playing career at Manchester United and after leading Sunderland into English football’s elite during his first season in charge at the Stadium of Light.
Keane has warned both play-off finalists they must be ‘harder to beat’ than Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City, who were all condemned to an immediate return to the Championship after securing promotion into the Premier League just 12 months ago.
He said: “The teams that come up have to make a better effort. I know, of course, it’s going to be hard to stay up. I was there with Sunderland — of course, it’s going to be hard. I think a lot of them are overplaying. Southampton, certainly, at the start of the season, were caught out. You can be harder to beat! Be harder to beat!”
