Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City might face a mountain of a task at Bramall Lane this evening, but football is a sport where anything can - and has - happened and head coach Liam Manning has stressed his side are still very much up for the fight ahead of them.

Liverpool's 2005 Champions League victory where they went 3-0 down but beat AC Milan on penalties and Sheffield Wednesday overturning a 4-0 deficit to beat Peterborough in the League One play-offs two years ago have both been raised during training.

"We're definitely not down and out, that has to be the mindset of everybody," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"Naturally you tend to look at comebacks and the history of comebacks and we've gone back through loads. We spoke the other night about the League One play-off a few years ago, even the Champions League final - 2005 the Milan-Liverpool one.

"We were chatting with a few of the lads about that which was quite funny because there's quite a few who were born just after 2000 - not born or still in nappies when that game happened.

"That's the beauty of it, if you throw in the towel that speaks volumes about you as a person and a professional.

"From day one coming here I've had to fight to get into the position I'm in, having had numerous set-backs, not making it as a player etc. For me, I'll be fighting to the final whistle and I expect the same of the lads."

Image source, Rex Features

Sheffield United skipper Jack Robinson says the Blades "cannot drop off" in the second leg, despite their healthy advantage.

Goals from Harrison Burrows, Andre Brooks and Callum O'Hare put Chris Wilder's side in the driving seat but Robinson, who won promotion to the Premier League with the Blades two years ago, is taking nothing for granted.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield: "It's more than we could have asked for, 3-0 is an unbelievable result. You don't get many games in the play-offs where you can take a comfortable lead into the second leg.

"A 3-0 lead, it's more comfortable but we still have to perform. We cannot drop off now but we will try to keep a clean sheet and go on to win it.

"Anything can happen in the play-offs, we have seen that over the years so it is on us now.

"A play-off game is totally different to a league game and we knew that. The atmosphere was rocking but we produced our best which was more than good enough."

Image source, Opta

Chris Wilder has rotated in attack for the second leg, making two changes from the Blades XI which won at Ashton Gate.

Andre Brooks has been rewarded for his goal off the bench in the first leg with a start tonight, with Tom Cannon also included from the start, with Rhian Brewster and Tyrese Campbell dropping to the bench.

Liam Manning has made four changes to the Robins XI, two of them enforced.

Rob Dickie is suspended after City’s appeal against his red card on Thursday was rejected while Joe Williams sustained ankle ligament damage before being forced off after 40 minutes with the score still 0-0.

Anis Mehmeti and Yu Hirakawa drop to the bench with Manning recalling fit-again Cam Pring, George Earthy and Haydon Roberts while after being an unused sub alongside Pring on Thursday, Scott Twine starts as he manages an issue which will require surgery in the off-season.

Image source, Opta

Image source, Rex Features

Within the next 27 hours or so, we will know which two teams will be contesting the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Saturday, 24 May.

Sheffield United seemingly have one foot there after their convincing win in the first leg in Bristol last Thursday and will seek to seal the deal this evening.

Tomorrow night Coventry head to Sunderland in the other semi-final, trailing 2-1 after Friday's first leg.

So who will be playing Premier League football in August? While anything can happen in the play-offs, the data can give us some clues as to how things might pan out.

Here are five golden rules which, since 2004-05, every single play-off winner has satisfied.

Anon: Sheffield United are NOT Mansfield...

Miles in Bristol: Dear Bristol. A well ed club of over-achieving players who will give their all at Sheffield but I fear have only two chances of a successful result: slim and none. Always next year. Great season, guys.

Do get in touch via the usual channels this evening and let us know your thoughts on the game... can City pull off a miracle or will Chris WIlder be able to rotate his options with an eye on Wembley?

• After winning the first leg of this play-off tie 3-0 at Ashton Gate, Sheffield United are now unbeaten across their past eight games across all competitions against Bristol City (W6 D2). In that time, the Blades have kept five clean sheets in total.

• Bristol City have failed to win any of their past four away games across all competitions against Sheffield United, though three of their past four victories overall against the Blades have come at Bramall Lane.

• Sheffield United have lost each of their past two home EFL play-off fixtures (2-1 vs Nottingham Forest in 2022 & 2-1 vs Swindon Town in 2015), after going unbeaten across their first seven matches at Bramall Lane beforehand (W5 D2).

• In the history of the EFL play-offs, just 10 of 60 teams have progressed from the semi-final stage after losing their first leg on home soil, though no side has ever come back from a three-goal margin of defeat at home in the first leg to reach the final.

• Throughout the regular season in the Championship, Sheffield United kept 12 clean sheets across their 23 home league games, with only the top two sides Leeds (14) and Burnley (15) managing more.

• During the regular season, Bristol City won just four of their 23 away Championship games, with only five sides in the division managing fewer. Among the teams who finished in the top six, they faced the most shots (328), shots on target (106) and recorded the highest xG against tally (32.3) on their travels.
• In the first leg of this play-off tie, Sheffield United recorded 2.77 xG in total, their second-highest tally in any Championship match this season after their 3-0 win over Oxford United in November (3.56 xG).
• Gustavo Hamer created four chances for Sheffield United in the first leg, the eighth time that he’s recorded 4+ chances created in a Championship match this term. Across the second tier this season, that’s the t-most of any player alongside Luton's Alfie Doughty.

Image source, Rex Features

This is the 39th season of the EFL play-offs and if you weren't with us last Thursday, or are too young to , you may not be aware these two sides have met in the post-season before...

In the 1987-88 campaign Bristol City finished fifth in what we now call League One while Sheffield United came third-from-bottom in the second tier and under the old format that left them in the play-offs to try to avoid relegation.

The Robins grabbed a 1-0 lead thanks to an Alan Walsh goal in the first leg at Ashton Gate and went through to the final 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane as Carl Shutt's opener was cancelled-out by the Blades' Colin Morris (pictured).

That result relegated Sheffield United and sent City through to face Walsall in a two-legged final which finished 3-3 and saw the Saddlers win a penalty shoot-out for the right to stage the replay (these were very different times people!)

Walsall won the third game 4-0 and Bristol City would have to wait another two seasons to gain promotion.

As for this season, there was late drama in both league encounters as the Blades won 2-1 at Ashton Gate in November, having trailed 1-0 after 86 minutes, while Mark Sykes snatched a last-gasp equaliser for the Robins in a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane in March.

David Pottier
Bristol City fan writer

City's 3-0 home defeat in the play-off semi-final first leg has given them a Herculean task at Bramall Lane if they are to progress to the final at Wembley on 24 May.

It got me thinking about when, if ever, City have recovered such a deficit... to give City fans some hope, you need to go back to November 2002 and a League One game at Field Mill against Mansfield.

With only three minutes left to play, City found themselves trailing 4-2 and that was after they had taken a 2-1 lead after 50 minutes through a Christian Roberts goal.

Home goalkeeper Kevin Pilkington conceded a penalty, which was converted by Brian Tinnion to make it 4-3, then Leroy Lita struck to make it 4-4.

City didn't shut up shop and went looking for a winner, which came from another Roberts strike to make it 5-4 and send the travelling ers into rapture.

Image source, Rex Features

Sheffield United took a commanding lead in the first leg at Ashton Gate, after the hosts had Rob Dickie sent off right before half-time.

Harrison Burrows' penalty kick gave the Blades the lead after Dickie was shown a straight red for bringing Kieffer Moore down in the box (pictured).

Tyrese Campbell had earlier seen a goal ruled out for offside, while Joe Williams struck the bar with City's only real effort on goal before limping off with an injury.

Substitutes Andre Brooks and Callum O'Hare then both found the net within six second-half minutes for the visitors to give the Robins a mountain to climb in the second leg at Bramall Lane tonight.

You can relive the first leg (should you wish to, Robins fans) via the live text commentary and match report here.

Image source, Rex Features/Opta

Blades fans will need little reminding that they became just the third side to amass 90 points and miss out on automatic promotion, after Sunderland in 1998 and Leeds last season.

They finished 22 points ahead of Bristol City, but having sat top in early April, surely nothing else will do other than celebrating on that Wembley turf on 24 May.

Tonight

Sheffield United v Bristol City (20:00) - Blades lead 3-0 after first leg

Tomorrow

Sunderland v Coventry (20:00) - Sunderland lead 2-1 after first leg

Sat, 24 May

Championship play-off final (kick-off time TBC)

Image source, Rex Features

Good evening, lovely night for it...

We're onto day five in our 10-day EFL play-off marathon and before bed-time we'll know one of the sides who will be heading to London on 24 May to contest the Championship play-off final, yes, yes, the most valuable game in world football, and all that jazz.

Barring something truly extraordinary that side will be Sheffield United, who return to Bramall Lane with a 3-0 advantage against Bristol City after a controversial first leg at Ashton Gate four nights ago.

However this is the time of year and a stage where madness can, and sometimes does happen.

None of the six home teams won in the first legs across the EFL, only the third time that has ever happened, and the first in a decade.

Bristol City head north plotting to make that seven from seven and conjure a miraculous turnaround, and we are here for every kick of it...

Let's dive in...