All three promoted teams 2/1 to go down after Sunderland's play-off final win

Sunderland have returned to the Premier League after an eight-year absence, beating Sheffield United 2-1 in the Championship-play-off final.

Sunderland were behind for over an hour of the contest after Tyrese Campbell had put Sheffield United ahead with an exquisite dinked finish following an incisive Blades counter-attack.

The Black Cats restored parity with 14 minutes remaining through an emphatic strike from Elizier Mayenda, but with extra-time looming, up stepped substitute and local lad Tom Watson to snatch victory deep in stoppage time before a delirious Sunderland end.

bet365's Sports and Betting expert Steve Freeth said: "Regis Le Bris has managed to galvanise his team after tailing off towards the end of the season once their play-off spot was secured, and he’s guided Sunderland back to the Promised Land after an eight-year absence.

"Once the celebrations have died down, however, the focus will shift not only to Sunderland but also to whether all three promoted sides can remain in the Premier League, given the evidence from the last two seasons.

"We’re 2/1 about all the promoted teams making an instant return for the third season running, but the hordes of Mackems won’t be concerned about that this Bank Holiday weekend."

While Sunderland fans will have a joyous journey back up the M1, the reality of what next season in the Premier League will likely bring won't be too far away, with TEAM as short as 4/11 to go straight back down to the Championship.

At first glance, Leeds look like they'd have the best chance of survival. Now owned by the ambitious 49ers Enterprises, the Whites look set to splash the cash in the summer to make a proper fist of staying up.

But as we've seen with Ipswich, spending money doesn't automatically give you a chance at survival. Leicester spent money, but were much tighter with the purse strings than Ipswich, while Southampton made a substantial investment in their squad.

Between them, the three promoted sides won just seven games against the previous term's Premier League clubs, hardly laying a glove on the rest.

What Leeds do have in their favour is a recruitment team that looks sharper than Burnley or Sunderland's. While Joe Rodon and Jayden Bogle didn't take much unearthing, they still needing signing, while Ao Tanaka was an excellent find from Germany's second tier.

While Burnley's outstanding defensive record may give them hope they can frustrate Premier League opposition, they're not going to get as much of the ball as they've enjoyed in the Championship, and star goalkeeper James Trafford will likely leave them needing to replace what they've lost before they strengthen where needed.

As for Sunderland, they possess an exuberant squad littered with prodigious talents and they will be desperate to retain the services of the highly-sought Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg and Trai Hume.

Adding experience will be a priority for the Black Cats ahead of their long-awaited Premier League return and they will be desperate to ensure their stay in the top-flight is not a brief affair.

There's every chance one of the three breaks with tradition and avoids the drop (11/10), but it's harder to see two of them staying up (5/2), and it's a 20/1 shot that all three teams survive for only the fifth time in Premier League history.

Liam Williams

• Leeds United F.C.
• Burnley F.C.
• Sunderland A.F.C.
• Premier League
• Championship
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