Can Sheffield United join this season's hoodoo breakers?

Play-off finals are always nervy affairs but Sheffield United fans could be excused for going into Saturday's Championship showdown against Sunderland with an extra amount of apprehension.

The Blades' record in the play-offs makes for sorry reading. In nine previous attempts, they have not been successful once and have failed to score in all four finals they have reached.

Their record at Wembley, where they have not won since 1925, also leaves a lot to be desired.

However, there are more than a couple of reasons for United fans to believe this is the year they finally break those hoodoos, as they look to secure an immediate return to the Premier League.

If you're a football fan, there's a good chance you've noticed 2025 has been the year of clubs laying ghosts to rest.

Newcastle United won the Carabao Cup in March to celebrate their first domestic trophy success in 70 years.

Not to be outdone, Crystal Palace won the FA Cup final last weekend to lift major silverware for the first time in their history.

Perhaps inspired by the Magpies and Eagles, Tottenham ended their 41-year wait for a European trophy with victory in the Europa League on Wednesday.

It's not just England where long waits for glory have been ended either.

Bologna won the Coppa Italia after 51 years and in the Netherlands, Go Ahead Eagles won the KNVB Cup for the first time in their 122-year history.

In Germany, Bayern Munich winning the Bundesliga might not have been remotely unusual but it saw England's record goalscorer Harry Kane win a trophy for the first time in his career at the age of 31.

Sheffield United fans might not want nor need reminding that, as it stands, they have the outright worst record in the play-offs.

Nine attempts, nine failures.

However, they can be buoyed by the fact that the two other teams who had records of zero from nine now both boast one from 10.

Preston ended their play-off misery at the 10th attempt with a 4-0 hammering of Swindon Town in the League One play-off final in 2015 and now Premier League mainstays Brentford also made it 10th time lucky when they beat Swansea in the Championship play-off final in 2021.

The Blades will hope to pass the unwanted title of worst play-off record to Lincoln City, who have failed to win promotion from seven attempts.

Unsurprisingly, experienced United boss Chris Wilder is not getting caught up in what has gone before.

"Everybody locally, and possibly nationally, talks about our play-off record but not one ounce of that has gone into my thinking or the players' thinking," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"They are ultra positive and focused and are looking forward to the challenge of going to Wembley and hopefully getting that win we're all after."

He added: "I know people want to talk about the negativity of the play-offs but I haven't felt that."

OK, so Sheffield United might have a wretched record in the play-offs and indeed at Wembley but there's one man key to their hopes who doesn't.

Boss Wilder has never managed in the EFL play-offs before but he has won post-season promotion into the top four tiers.

He led Oxford back to League Two in 2010 with a 3-1 win over York City at the national stadium.

The 57-year-old has not fared too badly in this season's play-off campaign either - the Blades' 6-0 aggregate victory over Bristol City is the biggest winning margin in a play-off semi-final in the second tier to date.

"Wembley is no place to lose, as everybody talks about," Wilder said.

"Lots of people talk about it being the best way to go up and I've been consistent that I'd rather have done it automatically but we've been given an opportunity and we've taken it so far and we have another one on Saturday afternoon."

The 14 points that separated United from Sunderland in the Championship table means this play-off final is the first to be contested by teams who finished more than 12 points apart in the regular season.

The bad news for Sheffield United is that, on that other occasion, Burnley made light of amassing a dozen fewer points than Stockport to win promotion to the second tier in 1994.

However, in the history of the play-offs that is one of only two times (from eight) where a team has finished 10 or more points behind the team they played in the final and then come out on top.

In the two games between the sides so far this season it's one apiece, with both sides winning their home match.

"In any big game the team that handles the occasion and plays the game is going to come out on top," Wilder added.

"I don't know what kind of game to expect from them. If they sit in then we will have to break them down.

"They're a young side with plenty of energy and personality and have threats all over the pitch. They wouldn't have got the points they've got if they weren't a good side.

"It's the same with us, we wouldn't have got 92 points if we hadn't done a lot of things right."