The first leg of the Championship playoff semi-finals sees Sunderland and Luton Town clash at the Stadium of Light this Saturday evening with the Black Cats finishing their season in sixth and three places behind the Hatters.
Sunderland eased to a 3-0 win at Deepdale on Monday thanks to another excellent goal from their star man, Amad Diallo. The Manchester United loanee will play out his final game at the Stadium of Light this weekend, as he is expected to return to Old Trafford after a fantastic season in the Championship.
Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke added goals that day against Preston North End which throw Sunderland into the playoffs on goals difference, despite Blackburn Rovers winning their game. The Black Cats won 18 games across the season in the end, losing 13 and drawing the other 15.
The difference, however, was how they scored 68 goals and let in 55, which pushed them ahead of Blackburn nit kept them behind Coventry City by one point.
As for Luton, they drew their final game 0-0 with Hull City last time out but they were already guaranteed to finish third with a five-point gap on Middlesbrough before the final set of fixtures.
The Hatters scored 57 times across the season and let in just 39 goals - only Burnley had a better defensive record. At the same time, only Burnley lost fewer games than them in the Championship with the club winning 12 games and losing eight.
These two last met back in March at the Stadium of Light in a game that saw Alfie Doughty score the game's first goal. Diallo equalised with a late penalty to end the match 1-1. The reverse fixture also ended 1-1 after a goal from Carlton Morris in the second half came in before Elliot John Embleton scored in the second 45.
