Rob Stevens
BBC Sport at Wembley

If right-back Ahmed Elmohamady is fit, Villa boss Steve Bruce could name an entire starting XI who have played at Wembley before.

Six of those players would have experienced winning a play-off final, while the national stadium is a second home to captain John Terry through his time with Chelsea and his England career.

Villa are the older team too, with the average age of their team over three years senior to Fulham’s from their respective semi-final second legs.

Meanwhile, the Fulham squad has a dearth of Wembley appearances - with only midfielder Kevin McDonald previously tasting a play-off final atmosphere.

The Scot was an unused sub when Burnley won the 2009 Championship play-off final.

Boss Slavisa Jokanovic could make one change to the side which won the second leg of their semi-final tie against Derby County.

The Serb may pick Floyd Ayite ahead of Aboubakar Kamara on the right of his front three, with on-loan Chelsea forward Lucas Piazon also an option.

Aston Villa fan Phil

Image source, Phil Maiden

"We’ve arrived at Wembley and it seems everyone is getting here early.

"Aston Villa fans have been here recently, of course, for the 2015 FA Cup final. That wasn’t such a successful day but today we’re hoping our team will play like we did in the semi against Liverpool.

"It’s also worth noting it’s 36 years to the day that we won the European Cup. Here’s hoping for another reason to celebrate."

Throughout the afternoon we're following Fulham fan Ben and Aston Villa supporter Phil, who are at Wembley cheering on their respective teams.

Image source, PA

For the fans who haven't made their way to the ground yet, here's a sneak peek of how Wembley Way is looking on this fine Saturday afternoon.

Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport at Wembley

The gaggle of people having a quick look at the Wembley pitch are today's officials, led by referee Anthony Taylor. Let's hope that's the last time we mention them, and we're not discussing a debatable decision that has tilted this final one way or the other.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

The final day of the Championship season on 6 May saw Cardiff clinch automatic promotion, as third-placed Fulham lost at Birmingham.

That result also saw Birmingham ensure their survival, and they were joined by Bolton, who stayed up courtesy of a dramatic late fightback against Nottingham Forest, while Barnsley and Burton went down with already-relegated Sunderland.

The play-off semi-finals saw Derby and Middlesbrough take on Fulham and fourth-placed Villa respectively, and we'll recap those tense ties by 16:00 BST.

Aston Villa: 4th; Fulham: 3rd

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham's 1-1 draw with Brentford on 14 April confirmed the inevitable as Wolves won promotion.

By the end of the month they'd reached 99 points from 45 games and clinched the title.

Fulham made it 23 games unbeaten but Cardiff ended the month second, one point ahead of the Whites with one to play.

Mick McCarthy announced he'd be departing Ipswich at the end of the season and then left the club 12 days later.

Sunderland felt the bitter taste of a second successive relegation and cut ties with boss Chris Coleman.

And Burton gave themselves hope of a great escape as they recorded a 2-0 win over Bolton to boost their hopes of survival and set up a five-way shoot-out for two relegation spots on the final day.

Aston Vila: 4th; Fulham: 3rd

Keep your tweets coming please, with any opinions you've got - Villa and Fulham fans or not - we'd love to hear from you.

Andy Pearsall: Not sure why everyone thinks Villa are such a defensive team, I can only assume people making these comments only watched the play-off semis and none of the preceding 46 games. Villa will outplay and beat Fulham today

David Howell: Rooting for Fulham. Always a shame to see a clear third-place side not go up, and doubly so when there are question marks about one of the two teams ahead of them

And it sounds like we're keeping Wolves fans happy today... as David Greaves says: As a Wolves fan, I’m loving your review of the season

Fulham fan Ben

Image source, Ben Jarman

"We're now outside the Torch in Wembley and an open top bus has just driven past packed with supporters.

"Wembley Way is also decked out in white as the Fulham fans make their way in from south west London."

Throughout the afternoon we're following Fulham fan Ben and Aston Villa supporter Phil, who are at Wembley cheering on their respective teams.

Wolves closed in on promotion, ending the month 13 points ahead of third-placed Fulham with six games remaining.

Meanwhile, Millwall were mounting a late surge for the play-offs, with the Lions lying one point off the top six following a 13-game unbeaten run.

Bolton were five points above the drop zone as March turned into April, with Sunderland 23rd and five points from safety.

In sacking news, Birmingham made their second change of the season as Steve Cotterill's miserable spell was brought to an end and Garry Monk was brought in, while Reading, last season's beaten play-off finalists, hired Paul Clement to replace Jaap Stam.

Aston Villa: 4th; Fulham: 3rd

With two hours to go until play gets under way at Wembley, fans from both sides are beginning to arrive at the national stadium, with the giant Championship trophy already proving predictably popular...

Image source, Rex Features

Image source, Rex Features

Image source, Rex Features

Image source, Gett

There wasn't a great deal of movement in the Championship in February.

Leaders Wolves endured a mini-wobble, drawing twice before losing 2-0 at a resurgent Fulham.

All that meant their lead at the top was cut to a mere six points.

Bristol City's promotion bid continued to fade, with just seven points picked up from a possible 27 after the Robins were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Manchester City in January.

However, if things were quiet on the pitch, it was a different picture off it. Leeds sacked Thomas Christiansen as they slid down the table and replaced him with Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom. The Tykes brought in Portuguese Jose Morais.

Aston Villa: 3rd; Fulham: 5th

Keep your messages coming today - let us know who you're cheering on and how you're keeping across the action.

Matt Elms: As a Spurs fan, I'm hoping Villa get promoted. Love to see us sign Sessegnon and if he gets promoted it'll double his transfer fee!

Beth Hinton: Tough game for certain today but I think #AVFC, external could end up winners. No animosity here coming from a wolves fan!

John-Jo: Backing Fulham all the way, purely for @RyanSessegnon, external absolute class player

Tim Lucas: Everyone seems to be writing off Villa today but I’m hoping there’s an upset on the cards. Are Fulham overconfident and is the Villa team really too old? Or just experienced?

Image source, Rex Features

Aston Villa started 2018 in style, thrashing Bristol City 5-0 at Villa Park, but Sunderland's woes continued as they lost 1-0 at home to Barnsley and then lost 4-0 at Cardiff.

Wolves suffered a first defeat in 14 games at home to Nottingham Forest, who had replaced Mark Warburton with Aitor Karanka, but would end the month 11 points clear at the top.

Fulham hammered Burton 6-0 at Craven Cottage as they moved into the play-off places.

On transfer deadline day, the Whites added striker Aleksandar Mitrovic on loan from Newcastle, and the Serbia international would go on to arguably become the best signing of the January window, with 12 goals for Fulham so far.

Aston Villa: 3rd; Fulham: 6th

Wolves continued to dominate and had a 10-point lead at the top of the table as 2017 became 2018.

Derby were second as the year finished, one point ahead of Bristol City and Cardiff.

Fulham were 12th after suffering a 1-0 defeat against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, but that reverse proved to be the starting point for a lengthy unbeaten run.

Victory for the Black Cats had momentarily lifted Chris Coleman's side out of the relegation zone, with Birmingham bottom and Burton and Bolton the other two teams in the drop zone.

December saw three teams make managerial changes - Garry Monk left Middlesbrough to be replaced by Tony Pulis, Nigel Adkins took over from Leonid Slutsky at Hull City and Carlos Carvalhal left Sheffield Wednesday on Christmas Eve to make way for Jos Luhukay.

Aston Villa: 7th, Fulham: 12th

Liverpool Ladies and England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain is at Wembley today - but she won't be between the sticks.

Instead she's got a different kind of battle on her hands...

Daz Hale
BBC WM

I'm live on Wembley Way speaking with all the fans in claret and blue.

There's a palpable sense of anticipation here. The fans are already in fine voice, there's flags, wigs and face make-up.

Six-year-old George told me it's going to be 3-0 to Villa!

Nick said he's "nervous, really nervous, it's kicking in now, as long as we score, I don't care how we get it, but we have to score."

Image source, Rex Features

Wolves had stretched their lead at the top to four points by the end of the November, while second-placed Cardiff had a three-point gap to third-placed Sheffield United.

The Blades had lost a stunning game 5-4 to Fulham, with 17-year-old Ryan Sessegnon netting his first senior hat-trick for the visitors.

Hull had endured a poor run and the Tigers had dropped to 20th, four points above the relegation zone, and the pressure was growing on Leonid Slutsky.

Sunderland, Burton and Bolton made up the bottom three, with Birmingham two points ahead of the Black Cats.

Aston Villa: 4th; Fulham: 12th

Image source, Rex Features

There was a change at the top of the table by the end of October, with Wolves taking first spot away from Cardiff for good when they won 2-0 at Norwich on Halloween.

Nuno Espirito Santo's men would not relinquish their lead after that night, as they marched to the title.

Sheffield United were in the thick of the automatic promotion race, sitting third after winning 10 of their opening 15 games.

Slavisa Jokanovic's Fulham had endured a mixed start to the campaign, with just four wins from their first 15 matches.

Meanwhile, an eventful draw with Bolton on 31 October brought an end to Simon Grayson's spell as Sunderland boss as they sacked him within minutes of the final whistle.

Aston Villa: 8th; Fulham: 15th

We'd love to hear from you today. Who are you rooting for in the most expensive match in football? Using #bbcefl on social media is the way to contribute.

Tom Wilkinson: First Villa game of the season....Villa Park has changed a bit #gloryhunter, external

Borophil: If Villa lose will keep manager and team together. Will then be top 2 next season as we did under Aitor Karanka.

Karl Rakowski: En route to Wembley in one of 32 coaches ready to hear the lions roar their way back to the Premier League

Andy Rowley
BBC Radio London at Wembley

The Fulham fans are now meandering up Wembley Way for the first time since 1975. Many of these supporters will have never been here in their club colours.

Today they'll watch Slavisa Jokanovic's vibrant, young side take on the play-off expert Steve Bruce's grizzled veterans for what many know as the most expensive game in English football. Nerves are already building.