Sunderland will almost certainly be one of the four teams involved in the Championship play-offs at the end of the 2024/25 season.
The Black Cats were in a strong position to finish in the automatic promotion places a few weeks ago but defeats to Leeds United and Hull City have effectively ended their chances.
It’s now shaping up to be an awkward last 12 games of the campaign as Regis Le Bris’ side have little to play for.
It would take an absolute disaster for Sunderland to miss out on the play-offs with a 12-point cushion to seventh-place Coventry City.
So, all eyes are already on May, when the Wearside club will be just three games away from returning to the Premier League after eight years away.
When could Sunderland play in Championship play-offs?
The EFL have confirmed that the first legs of the Championship play-off semi-finals will take place on Thursday 8 May and Friday 9 May.
These are five/six days after the final day of the 46-game season, with all 24 teams in action at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday 3 May.
| Dates of Semi-final First Legs | Kick-off | Fixture |
| Thursday 8 May 2025 | 20:00 | Semi-final A 1st Leg (6th v 3rd) |
| Friday 9 May 2025 | 20:00 | Semi-final B 1st Leg (5th v 4th) |
The play-off semi-final second legs will go ahead on Monday 12 May and Tuesday 13 May. Each team will have four days between the two legs.
| Dates of Semi-final Second Legs | Kick-off | Fixture |
| Monday 12 May 2025 | 20:00 | Semi-final A 2nd Leg (3rd v 6th) |
| Tuesday 13 May 2025 | 20:00 | Semi-final B 2nd Leg (4th v 5th) |
Should Sunderland come through that, they face the other semi-final winner at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 24 May.
Approximately 46,000 Black Cats fans attended the League One play-off final in 2021 and there would be even more interest in this fixture.
| Date of Final | Kick-off | Fixture |
| Saturday 24 May 2025 | TBC | Final (semi-final A winner vs semi-final B winner) |
Sunderland’s potential Championship play-off opponents
There are so many teams still in the play-off race with 12 games to go that it’s impossible to predict who Sunderland will play in the semi-final.
What does seem highly likely is that Le Bris’ men will finish fourth – as Sheffield United and Burnley battle it out for second place – which would put them up against fifth.
As it stands, Sunderland would travel to The Hawthorns to play Tony Mowbray’s West Bromwich Albion in the first leg of the semi-final.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LeedsLeeds | 34 | 22 | 9 | 3 | 71 | 21 | 50 | 75 |
| 2 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 48 | 26 | 22 | 70 |
| 3 |  BurnleyBurnley | 34 | 18 | 14 | 2 | 43 | 9 | 34 | 68 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 50 | 31 | 19 | 62 |
| 5 |  West BromWest Brom | 34 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 44 | 31 | 13 | 51 |
| 6 |  BlackburnBlackburn | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 34 | 5 | 51 |
| 7 |  CoventryCoventry | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 42 | 4 | 50 |
| 8 |  Bristol CityBristol City | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 43 | 38 | 5 | 49 |
Other potential opponents include Blackburn Rovers and Frank Lampard’s in-form Coventry side, while Bristol City could still make a rare play-off appearance.