The Sky Blues will face Luton Town this weekend in the SkyBet Championship Play-Off final, with a place in the Premier League up for grabs.
Meet Luton Town:
The Hatters find themselves in the play-off places for the second season running, this time, going one further and making it to the final.
Luton overcame Sunderland over two legs, overturning a 2-1 deficit in the second leg, beating the Black Cats 2-0 at Kenilworth Road.
After a mixed run of results at the start of the season, Nathan Jones departed Luton for Southampton, leaving the Hatters in midtable upon Rob Edwards’ arrival.
Edwards, who had spent the first few weeks of the season at Watford, gave the Hatters a new lease of life and they began to grow stronger and stronger, eventually breaking into the top six and staying there from early January.
A decisive game towards the end of the season saw Luton beat Middlesbrough to confirm 3rd place in the Championship and their place in the top six.
Rob Edwards’ thoughts:
“We have a decent idea of them and they have a decent idea of us as well, we’ve looked at each other twice during the season and watched countless numbers of games as well so there won’t be too many surprises on the day.
“They have some more good players than just those two – who are excellent, they are top individuals.
“But they have got quality all over the pitch and really well coached by Mark (Robins) and Adi (Viveash) so they have got a real clear way of playing and that helps you over the course of a season.
“They’ve been building over a good few years and it’s served them well so of course they are more than two players, but you need outstanding individuals to make the difference and those two lads are the key ones this year.”
Mark Robins:
“It’s a romantic story, the journey both of the Clubs have been one. They were in the National League with a points deduction to deal with. It took them five years to return to the EFL and what a run it has been since.
“They have always been a year ahead of us but now we meet here on the biggest of stages. We’re both on the same pitch at the same time, it’s a phenomenal story, that’s for sure.
“I remember drawing away at Barnet. We could have gone top of League Two that day and it wasn’t a game to remember. Thankfully, we managed to get promoted after playing really well at the end of that season. We clicked into top gear at the right time.
“Since then, we’ve built on things season-on-season, despite the well-documented issues we had. The Club have kept me in post when they could have removed me during difficult periods but we’ve come out the other side by staying focussed, both the Club staff and the supporters.
“The relationship between the players and the supporters is incredible. That is what will make Saturday so special.”
Sky Blues last six:
Middlesbrough 0-1 Sky Blues
Sky Blues 0-0 Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough 1-1 Sky Blues
Sky Blues 2-0 Birmingham City
Sky Blues 2-1 Reading
Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Sky Blues
Luton Town last six:
Luton Town 2-0 Sunderland
Sunderland 2-1 Luton Town
Luton Town 0-0 Hull City
Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Luton Town
Luton Town 2-1 Middlesbrough
Reading 1-1 Luton Town
Historic head-to-head:
Sky Blues wins – 41
Draws – 19
Luton Town wins – 28
Officials:
Michael Oliver will be the man in the middle of City's Play-Off Final clash with Luton Town at Wembley Stadium.
The Premier League referee has taken charge of 45 games this season and has handed out 157 yellow cards and two reds.
There will also be VAR in operation for the final, with Andre Marriner in charge at Stockley Park and Richard West his assistant.
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt & Lee Betts
Fourth Official: Graham Scott
Reserve AR: Mark Scholes
VAR: Andre Marriner
AVAR: Richard West
Ticket Information:
The Sky Blues and Luton Town have both sold-out their allocation of 36,000 tickets ahead.