What the best combined Sheffield United and Sunderland XI would look like - Tyrese Campbell dropped | OneFootball

Sheffield United or Sunderland will step up into the Premier League next season

The Championship play-off final is one of the more highly anticipated dates of the entire footballing season.

This Saturday, Sheffield United and Sunderland will battle for a place in the Premier League, and a reward of an extra £220 million in extra income.

Ironically, both sides' record in the play-offs makes for tough viewing - out of the combined 17 play-off campaigns across both sides, there has been just one final success, coming in 2022 when Sunderland downed Wycombe in the League One play-offs.

One side will achieve rare Wembley success while stretching the other's dire post-season streak. Having spent the majority of the season battling for the automatic promotion places, it's tough to pick a winner.

There's clear quality in both squads, so picking a combined XI is difficult. Nevertheless, here's who Football League World believe is the strongest combined starting line-up ahead of a mammoth play-off final clash.

GK: Michael Cooper

Due to Burnley's record-breaking defensive campaign and Leeds United also keeping 25 clean sheets across the season, what Michael Cooper has done in between the sticks has somewhat gone under the radar.

The Blades conceded just six more goals than the title-winning Whites this season, due in part to the former Plymouth shot-stopper having a great debut campaign in South Yorkshire, preventing 5.7 goals and having the second-best save percentage in the entire league, per Fotmob.

Whilst Anthony Patterson has had, by all accounts, a good season in the Sunderland goal, this one's pretty easy to pick.

RB: Trai Hume

The right-back position has been made slightly easier due to Chris Wilder experimenting with a few different players there, with the likes of Alfie Gilchrist, Harry Clarke and Femi Seriki playing there across the season.

It seems that Hamza Choudhury has made that position his own towards the end of the campaign, but Trai Hume has been one of the standout performers in his position all season.

The reliable 23-year-old has missed just two league games across the past two seasons and is improving year upon year at the Stadium of Light.

He's won the most tackles in his position in the league this season, but can also make an impact going forward, chipping in with nine goal contributions across the year.

CB: Anel Ahmedhodzic

The first centre-back position was simple enough to judge. Anel Ahmedhodzic was one of the premier centre halves two seasons ago in the Championship, and now he's arguably one of the best in the division outside the top two.

With European experience at Malmö and top-flight games under his belt at Bordeaux and at Bramall Lane, he's one of the few in the league who, at 26, won't be wanting to play second-tier football past the conclusion of this season.

For that reason, Sheffield United should be desperate to win this Saturday, and the Bosnian will be a key factor in doing so.

CB: Jack Robinson

Recency bias would suggest that Dan Ballard should be among this best XI, given he was arguably the player of the entire semi-finals. However, having started just 12 games across the season, putting him in the best eleven is a bit of a stretch. Remember, questions were asked about why it wasn't Chris Mepham and Luke O'Nien at the back before a ball was kicked!

Instead, I've gone with Sheffield United's captain, Jack Robinson. Injuries to Ahmedhodzic earlier in the season and Harry Souttar in December have allowed him to be one of the first-choice centre halves, and he's taken that chance well.

A Championship veteran, with over 250 games at the level, as well as experience in the Premier League too, his leadership is what edges him ahead of his competition in this combined XI.

LB: Harrison Burrows

Transitioning from a top-level League One left-back to a top-level Championship left-back in a single season can be difficult, but, similarly to Leif Davis last season, Harrison Burrows has made it look easy.

On the face of things, his attacking stats have taken a hit now that the level is higher, but ultimately, he's underperformed his expected assists by four. This shows that he still creates a bucket load of chances and makes a huge impact going forward.

One of the better chance creators in the entire league, paired with a more than admirable season in defence, there's a reason why the former Posh full-back was selected for the Team of the Season, and there's a reason why he's selected for this combined XI.

RM: Patrick Roberts

A lot of what Sheffield United and Sunderland like to do in attack comes from their left side, so to call the right midfield position a weaker spot would be a fair assessment. However, calling Patrick Roberts a weak player is most definitely not.

He's one of the grittier players in the league, winning tackles and duels on the right side more often than many others in the division, while contributing in attack in a similar vein to Sunderland's play-off run two seasons ago after suffering a down year in 2023/24.

With only six cameo bench appearances to his name in the Premier League, he'll be hoping he can have a proper crack at the top-flight with Sunderland next season.

CM: Vini Souza

Given that both sides played in a 4-4-2 formation in the semi-finals, I've gone for a similar formation for this combined eleven. Ultimately, this meant that the centre-midfield options see a lot of worthy players missing out, but two stars do shine above the rest.

The Blades' name in the middle of the park is Vini Souza, and many claim that there isn't anyone in the Championship better defensively in the middle of the park than the 25-year-old Brazilian.

He was one of the few shining lights in a dire 2023/24 Premier League campaign, and he's shown why he's still Premier League quality this season in the second tier.

Souza missed the New Year's Day defeat at the Stadium of Light, and Sheffield United fans will be hoping that his inclusion this coming Saturday will stop the Black Cats from picking up the win again at Wembley.

CM: Jobe Bellingham

The Young Player of the Season represents Sunderland in this midfield duo, as there's no doubt that the 19-year-old is already one of the best all-round players in the entire division.

The talented Englishman ranked in the top 5% for shots and duels won on the ground and in the air in the Championship this season, showing his positive impact in both boxes.

Top-flight football is in the near future for Bellingham, with Borussia Dortmund pushing to sign him "immediately," following in the footsteps of his brother Jude.

Sunderland will be hoping that they can offer the Premier League in 2025/26, delaying that inevitability of playing in top European competitions for at least a season, but they've got to win at Wembley for that to even be a possibility.

LM: Gustavo Hamer

This is arguably the position with the most talent. Enzo Le Fee showed his class in the play-off semi-finals with a couple of assists across both legs, but across the season, there quite literally has been none better than Gustavo Hamer, at least according to those who voted for the Player of the Season.

And the stats back up the Player of the Season accolade. The 27-year-old ranks in the top 10% of Championship left-wingers in goals, assists, chances created, successful passes and touches.

Most of what has been positive going forward at Bramall Lane this season has gone through the Dutchman. He also contributed to 11 of the Blades' 35 Premier League goals last term too, so he definitely has what it takes to play in the top-flight next season, whether that's at Sheffield United or elsewhere.

ST: Eliezer Mayenda

Having just turned 20 years old, many perceive Eliezer Mayenda to be a bit of a raw talent, playing at 100 miles per hour every time he steps on the football pitch, and they may be correct, but the fearlessness that Mayenda shows is enough for him to warrant a place in this team.

The sheer pace and willingness to run at defenders have been on show all season. His 50 completed dribbles are the most of any striker in the division, winning 30 fouls along the way, too.