£170m - The game worth more than the Champions League final

The Sky Bet Championship may not be considered the most glamorous league in the world, but Saturday's play-off final between Aston Villa and Fulham will mark the latest installment in a fixture that has gained the moniker: "the richest game in football".

A place in next season's Premier League is the prize for the winners, along with the financial rewards that joining English football's elite would bring.

According to experts, promotion is worth around £170m across the next three seasons, which rises to over £280m should the team avoid relegation in their first season in the Premier League.

That figure of £170m is made up of £95m from central TV rights distributions, along with a further £75m in parachute payments spread over two seasons.

"Whilst in football terms the UEFA Champions League final is the bigger game, the financial rewards on offer in Kiev are dwarfed by those at stake in north London," said Deloitte's head of sports business Dan Jones.

"The difference between winning and losing for Liverpool this weekend, is a mere £4m in distributions from UEFA and they are already assured of appearing in next year's competition."

The financial prize for Fulham or Aston Villa, as well as Wolves and Cardiff, becomes at least £280m if they survive the first season in the Premier League," added Sam Boor, Deloitte's sports business group consultant.

"This figure could rise further once the Premier League concludes the sale of all live broadcast rights.

The impact of victory would be even higher for Villa, with the club known to be right up against it's Financial Fair Play limit and facing losing a host of vital players should they extend their stay in the second tier.