Sunderland and Wednesday's rotten luck in the play-offs could finally be solved

The Black Cats and the Owls face off in the League One play-off final semi-final in search of a spot at Wembley against finalists Wycombe Wanderers.

The Stadium of Light was packed to the rafters for the first leg, with 44,742 in attendance - breaking the record for any EFL play-off semi-final.

Monday night's reverse fixture 120 miles south at Hillsborough is expected to see another impressive crowd of 33,500, with the Black Cats entering the tie 1-0 to the good.

Of course, only one former Premier League side will win the chance to face Wycombe at Wembley and try to climb back up into England's second tier where they feel more at home.

And given both club's poor performances in recent play-offs, finally breaking their play-off curses will feel like a huge moment of redemption for two sides that have so often fallen at the final hurdles.

So going into Monday night's crunch tie, here's what the two League One giants need to avoid repeating…

Sunderland

It's pretty well documented that Sunderland don't have much luck when it comes to the play-offs, mostly thanks to Netflix's 'Sunderland 'til I die'.

After enduring back to back relegations back in 2017, the north east outfit have now been in League One for four seasons, finishing in the play-off spots in three of those campaigns.

"Wembley. So cruel for Sunderland again," were the words the commentators gave to the Black Cats' last minute loss in the League One play-off final against Charlton Athletic in 2019.

The Mackems were red hot favourites to bounce back up from the third tier in the 2018/19 season, with stars Will Grigg, Max Power and Aiden McGeady in their squad.

A fifth-place finish in League One meant they faced fellow former top flight side Portsmouth in the semis, and the Wearsiders advanced into the final by beating Pompey 1-0 on aggregate.

However, it wasn't meant to be for Jack Ross' side. As the tie at Wembley headed towards extra time and penalties with the score deadlocked at 1-1, Charlton centre-back Patrick Bauer poked the ball into Sunderland's net, snatching promotion from the hands of the Mackems.

And so, Sunderland's tales of League One play-off heartbreak began.

Fast forward two years to 20/21 and, after missing out the year before, Sunderland were in play-off mix again. A fourth place finish meant they faced Lincoln City, who carried the threat of now-Nottingham Forest star Brennan Johnson.

Lee Johnson's side fell to a 2-0 defeat in the first leg, and despite coming back to make it 2-2 on aggregate in the reverse fixture, a second half goal from Lincoln meant Sunderland were subject to yet another season in League One.

Could it be three times a charm in the play-offs for the Mackems under Alex Neil?

Sheffield Wednesday

Unlike Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday's most recent promotion play-off pushes have come in the Championship prior to their relegation down to the third tier last season.

The Owls had spent a lot of time flirting with promotion to the Premier League, but always fell short and much like Sunderland, failed in both a semi-final and a final in the play-offs.

After finishing sixth in England's second tier in 2015/16, the Yorkshire outfit made it to the play-off final at Wembley against Hull City after beating Brighton and Hove Albion 3-1 in the semis.

However, despite boasting the likes of Fernando Forestieri and Barry Bannan, Wednesday missed out by the narrowest of margins, losing 1-0.

Wednesday gave promotion another shot the following season, finishing fourth in the league.

But, again, they fell painfully short of success, losing 4-3 to Huddersfield Town - who eventually won promotion to the Premier League at Wembley - on penalties in the semis.

Owls fans will relish in reversing their fortunes in play-offs should they achieve promotion at the first time of asking after they went down bottom last season.