The Daily Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards has been left wowed by some news that he has now heard coming out of Sunderland before their Friday game against Sheffield Wednesday.

The Lowdown: Big ticket sales

Taking to Twitter, The Athletic journalist Michael Walker has revealed that the Wearside club have already sold 35,000 tickets for their first leg of their play-off tie at home to the Owls on Friday night, and are aiming to sell more than 45,000 in total.

That would be the biggest crowd outside of the Premier League so far this season, beating the 38,000 who showed up to watch the Black Cats take on Doncaster earlier this year.

The Latest: Edwards reacts

Edwards gave his instant reaction to the news on the tickets, calling it 'remarkable'.

Considering that the Stadium of Light faithful are in the third tier of English football, and it would be the biggest crowd outside of the top flight, it would really be a monumental achievement to get that many supporters into the stadium.

The Verdict: Support needed

In truth, the Black Cats need all of the support that they can get as they look to get past a Wednesday team that finished above them in the League One table.

They both beat each other at their own homes in the league campaign, and so Alex Neil will be hoping that his side can repeat the trick on Friday, banking a healthy lead to take to Sheffield next week.

Nonetheless, these are two massive clubs in the English football pyramid, and so there should be a feisty atmosphere for a game that really doesn't belong in League One.

In other news, find out who SAFC's three worst players were against Morecambe here!