A look ahead to Sunday's Vertu Trophy final against Birmingham City at Wembley Stadium (3pm).
Peterborough United are back at Wembley Stadium, 12 months on from last year's superb success over Wycombe Wanderers, on Sunday afternoon for the final of the Vertu Trophy with Birmingham City this year's opponents for Darren Ferguson's men.
Posh reached the final after a memorable penalty shoot-out success over Wrexham at the STōK Racecourse with goalkeeper Jed Steer proving to be the hero, saving twice to deny the Red Dragons the opportunity for a Hollywood final against the Blues.
Birmingham beat Bradford City in their semi-final and will have over 40,000 supporters at Wembley for the final on Sunday. The two sides met in Sky Bet League One action on Tuesday night with the Blues running out 2-1 winners at the Weston Homes Stadium.
TEAM NEWS
Posh are without the services of Tayo Edun, Sam Hughes and Carl Johnston as all three are cup-tied after playing for Charlton Athletic, Stockport County and Fleetwood Town earlier in this competition.
Rio Adebisi is injured, but goalkeeper Jed Steer is expected to return to the squad after missing the league clash between the two sides due to a slight knock.
Birmingham are expected to make plenty of changes to the side that were in action on Tuesday night with Jay Stansfield, Tomoki Iwata and Paik Seung-Ho set to start.
The Blues are without the services of Lyndon Dykes and Scott Wright due to long-term injuries.
MANAGER QUOTE
"It is great to be back at Wembley Stadium 12 months on from last year's success against Wycombe Wanderers and it is brilliant for the fans to get to experience another final. I felt that we competed well against Birmingham on Tuesday night and we will have to do the basics well, but I believe we can cause them problems if we reach the standards that I know that we can," Ferguson said.
ONE TO WATCH
Jay Stansfield
Son of former Yeovil Town, Hereford United and Exeter City footballer Adam Stansfield, he began his footballing career in the academy of Exeter City. In August 2019, Stansfield signed for Championship side Fulham for an undisclosed fee. On 4th January 2020, Stansfield made his debut for Fulham in an FA Cup third round match against Aston Villa, coming on in the 82nd minute for Josh Onomah.
On 2nd September 2022, Stansfield returned to his boyhood club, Exeter City, on a season-long loan. A run of four goals and two assists saw Stansfield win the EFL Young Player of the Month award for October 2022. Stansfield signed for Championship club Birmingham City on 24th August 2023 on loan for the 2023–24 season. On 30 August 2024, Stansfield signed permanently at Birmingham City for a reported £15 million (rising to £20 million with incentives), a record deal for a club in EFL League One.
TICKET NEWS
Posh will be backed by approaching 20,000 supporters at Wembley Stadium. Wembley have informed us that no tickets will be available on the day. Entry to Wembley Stadium is strictly by ticket only.
When you are ready to enter the stadium follow signage for your designated colour zone for the quickest entry and have your ticket ready at the turnstile with either the barcode or QR code visible for scanning.
POSH+
Posh supporters overseas can tune into the game with commentary provided by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire LIVE on Posh+. Match passes are on sale now for just £10 or you can subscribe from just £190 for a seasonal pass or £25 for a monthly pass. Buy here.
Subscribers benefit from unique content all year round that can't be found anywhere else but Posh+, the digital home of Peterborough United.
Why not protect yourself online too with our Posh+ sponsors Nord VPN, Posh fans get 74% off a two-year plan plus more. Click here for more information.
FAN GUIDE
Ahead of the final, we have created a supporter guide with every bit of information you could possibly need ahead of the final. Click here to view.
COMPETITION RULES
If the tie is level after 90 minutes, the game will go to extra time and penalties to determine the winner.
KIT COLOURS
We will be wearing our home kit for this fixture. You can now get 35% off all home replica kit both in store and online, but only limited sizes are available.
MATCH OFFICIAL
Benjamin Speedie is the match referee and he will be supported by assistants Grant Taylor and Jonathan Bickerdike with Martin Coy the fourth official.
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