Championship play-off final, Aston Villa vs Fulham - LIVE: Latest reaction from Wembley
All the latest from Wembley Stadium
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Aston Villa and Fulham meet in the richest game in English football.
Wolves and Cardiff have already earned their place back in the Premier League Promised Land and now one of Villa or Fulham will join them. The two meet at Wembley Stadum with everything on the line and a £170m+ prize for the victor.
The game kicks off at 5pm as a nice starter to the Champions League final main course a little later on this evening.
We will have all the latest updates for you right here.
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Preview
What time does it start?
The game kicks off at 5pm at Wembley Stadium
Where can I watch it?
The match is live on Sky Sports Football or Sky Sports Main Event
What are they saying?
Steve Bruce: "Expectation is huge here but that's why I went for experience. I've thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of my 19 months here. Can we now top it off by getting where we want to be?"
Slavisa Jokanovic: "We're the youngest team. We must try to dominate the situation and put them under stress. We're probably the team with more energy. Experience in life is important but it's not everything - all of us can make mistakes."
Who is going to win?
Villa 12/5
Draw 21/10
Fulham 7/5
Jack Grealish inspects the Wembley pitch
How much of this turf will he cover this afternoon? Anyone who has watched him recently will tell you it'll probably be most of it.
Team News
Aston Villa welcome back Ahmed Elmohamady who missed the second leg of the semi-final through injury; he replaces James Bree as the only change from that match.
Aston Villa: Johnstone; Elmohamady, Chester, Terry, Hutton; Snodgrass, Jedinak, Hourihane, Adomah, Grealish; Grabban
Fulham are unchanged from their heroic 2-0 win against Derby.
Fulham: Bettinelli; Fredericks, Odooi, Ream, Targett; McDonald, Johansen, Cairney; Kamara, Sessegnon, Mitrovic.
Can experience count?
Aston Villa have four players who have won the play-off final before, Mile Jedinak, James Chester, Ehmed Elmohamady and Ryan Snodgrass. That's four more than Fulham have. Not to mention that Steve Bruce has been victorious in leading teams to the Premier League via the play-offs twice.
Head to head
Aston Villa and Fulham have shared the victories when they've met this season.
John Terry and Albert Adomah scored when Villa beat Fulham 2-1 at Villa Park during the Whites' worst run of the season in October.
Slavisa Jokanovic's side regrouped and an undefeated run dragged them up the table. They beat Villa when they came to West London 2-0. Ryan Sessegnon and Floyd Ayite scored without return in February.
This one is very, very even.
Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia has been meeting fans in London. How he'd love a Villa win today!
Jack Grealish
He's had a season ticket since he was six, and now Jack Grealish has the chance to drive his beloved Aston Villa into the Premier League.
Under Steve Bruce and through sharing a training pitch with John Terry, Grealish has matured as a person and a footballer.
His ability to influence and dictate a game is something which prompted Bruce to say he was unlucky to not make the World Cup squad.
This season his ability to find pockets of space in the final third and almost always make the right decision has made his one of the division's most dangerous players.
The talent is not limited to the opposition's half, Grealish has shown he has the desire and work rate to press the opposition, as well as put a shift in deep in his own half.
If Grealish can pull off another good game, and his improved consistency suggests he could, Villa have every reason to believe they will win.
Villa at a "crossroads"
Aston Villa will have one more year of parachute payments if they fail to rejoin the country's best in the Premier League. Lose and this team will almost certainly break up; which is why Mile Jedinak is describing this game as a "crossroads."
"It is a crossroads moment, sliding doors moment. It is like that. It can go one of two ways. That's what you're dealing with," said Jedinak who scored the only goal in the two legs against Boro in the semi-final .
"We haven't spoken about it but everybody knows it. Nobody is kidding themselves, people are aware of it, they know the situation."
"I can't speak for everybody, but that (the pressure) motivates me. I use that on the field to make sure I'm doing everything I possibly can," he said. "It's a bigger stake, but that makes it even more exciting."
The trophy is out, the managers are leading their side out of the tunnel and kick off is just five minutes away. Wembley is absolutely electric!
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