Who will win promotion to the Premier League?

Reading and Swansea City come face to face in the Championship play-off final later today.

Both clubs have worked to get to the final and their season comes down to just one game. One set of fans will end the day elated and one deflated.

Money

Whoever gets promoted later today will know that they will receive an incredible amount of money from sponsorship and television revenue with £90million believed to be up for grabs.

The Premier League is the promised land for most Championship players, clubs and fans and these two clubs find themselves just 90 minutes away from the English top flight.

Experience

Reading have been in the Premier League in recent times but Swansea City haven’t been in the English top flight since the eighties. A lot of those players who played for Reading in the Premier League are now gone and Reading have a new young side.

Style

I have spoken about Swansea’s attractive style of play in previous articles. They are my favourite Championship team. Swan’s boss Brendan Rodgers has a very clear philosophy on how football should be played.

He has made no secret of his love of Barcelona and the way they play. Earlier in his career he spent time in the Catalan capital studying Barca’s training methods and style. He has very much tried to model his side on Pep Guardiola’s side. All his players seem comfortable on the ball and like to pass the ball.

Reading boss Brian McDermott also likes his side to play passing football. However I believe his side mix it up slightly more than Swansea.

Late

Reading left it quite late to get into the play-offs. The Royals had a good end to the season after looking inconsistent for most of the campaign. I’m sure most Reading fans wouldn’t have expected to be in the Championship play-off midway through the season.

Consistent

In contrast Swansea have spent most of the season at the top end of the Championship table. For a long time the Welsh side looked like they could secure automatic promotion. However a slight dip in form towards the end of the season saw the club slip out of the automatic promotion spots.

Stars

Much of today’s contest could depend on the teams top men. Reading’s top scorer Shane Long has been outstanding this season and if he is on song is hard to stop. The Irish international seems to pose a constant threat to opposition defences.

Swansea have a player who poses a similar problem. England under-21 international Scott Sinclair has been in blistering form this season. The former-Chelsea youngster has scored 24 goals playing as a winger and has shown exceptional skills at times this season.

The 22 year-old has been linked with a move away from the Liberty Stadium this summer but he has vowed to stay with Swansea whatever happens against Reading. Sinclair has proved what he can do this season and I’m sure if the Swan’s do get promoted then he will be a success in the Premier League.

Excitement

There have been some classic Championship play-off finals in recent years. Last season’s play-off was certainly exciting with Blackpool beating Cardiff 3-2. For the neutrals the Championship play-offs are a fascinating watch.

Who will go up is hard to predict. Reading are a good side with a lot of forward momentum. They won’t give this chance up easily and will be hard to beat. Swansea on the other hand are a stylish side who have looked impressive for most of the season.

If I was going to stick my neck out though I would say that Swansea may just edge the contest in a very tight encounter. Their experience may just tip the balance of the game in their favour.

Whoever wins the game though will fully deserve their place in the Premier League next season, as both are good teams with very promising British bosses.

Who will win the Championship play-off final?