Is the Championship play-off final on TV? How to watch Luton vs Coventry
Coventry City and Luton Town are one game away from the Premier League as they meet in the Championship play-off final.
Each side has fought back from times of strife to leave themselves on the verge of promotion after edging out Sunderland and Middlesbrough respectively in the semi-finals.
Coventry were last in the English top flight in 2001, and have endured an eventul season that included another forced relocation due to stadium conflicts at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Their opponents, meanwhile, are hoping to earn their first elevation to the Premier League, having been relegated out of the top tier in the season before it rebranded in 1992 – dropping down to non-league before rising again.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When is the Championship play-off final?
Coventry vs Luton is due to kick off at 4.45pm BST on Saturday 27 May at Wembley Stadium in London.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage from 4pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via the Sky Go app.
Team news
Gustavo Hamer has trained with the Coventry squad this week and appears likely to be fit after his decisive semi-final role. Tyler Walker remains absent with an undisclosed injury, but Casey Palmer has made an ahead-of-schedule return to training after initially being ruled out for the remainder of the season. His recovery from a hamstring issue could still force him out of the game.
Luton would appear to be in good health and could well name an unchanged side from the semi-final second leg.
Predicted line-ups
Coventry City XI: Wilson; McNally, McFadzean, Doyle; Norton-Cuffy, Allen, Kelly, Hamer, Bidwell; Sheaf; Gyokeres.
Luton Town XI: Horvarth; Osho, Lockyer, Bell; Drameh, Clark, Nakamba, Mpanzu, Doughty; Morris, Adebayo.
Odds
Coventry win 2/1
Luton win 7/5
Prediction
A tight play-off final could be decided in extra time. Coventry 1-2 Luton a.e.t.
How much will the winners get for being promoted to the Premier League?
Ahead of the 2020 Championship play-off final, Deloitte reported that the victorious club could earn anywhere between £135m and £265m, depending on whether or not they could avoid immediate relegation from the Premier League.
What TV money will the winning club receive in the Premier League?
Official figures for the 2020-21 season showed that broadcast revenue incredibly totalled more than £2.5bn and was distributed among the 20 clubs in the Premier League.
Of that, each club was guaranteed at least £31.4m in equal share payments, £47.5m in international TV money and £5.9m in central commercial payments: a baseline of roughly £84.8m per team, regardless of position. In fact, Norwich City, who finished bottom of the league in that campaign, were handed just over £101.5m.
By comparison, Championships clubs only receive around £8m in TV rights income for a season spent in the second tier.
What other payments are there?
On top of this, clubs are given merit payments based on where they finish in the Premier League. For the 2022/23 campaign, the sliding scale will see the champions receive roughly £44m and the bottom-placed team around £2.2m. The team finishing 17th, and just avoiding relegation, is set to receive around £8.8m, as well as staying in the top tier to cash in again next term.
