Championship play-off 2024: Will Leeds, Southampton, West Brom or Norwich prevail to reach the Premier League? | Football news

The Championship play-off semi-finals begin on Sunday, but who among Leeds, Southampton, West Brom and Norwich will prevail and reach the Premier League?

Championship play-off semi-final first leg: How to watch and watch on Sunday

On TV: live Sky Sports Football and The main event from 11 o’clock.

Online: Sky customers can also watch on Sky Go or the Sky Sports app from 11am.

How to watch: You’ll be able to follow our live blog from 11am on our website and app, where we’ll have free in-game clips of all the goals and key moments, as well as free highlights shortly after full-time.

program

First leg – Sunday, May 12

Norwich vs Leeds (12pm)

West Brom vs Southampton (2.15pm)

The second leg

Leeds vs Norwich (8pm) – Thursday 16 May

Southampton vs West Brom (8pm) – Friday 17 May

Final

Wembley (3pm) – Sunday 26 May

Who will win the play-offs?

How the season ended

Norwich vs Leeds: Two star attacks but who will prevail?

Sky Sports EFL Editor Simeon Gholam:

A manager familiar with the play-offs, versus a manager familiar with promotion. David Wagner took Huddersfield to the Premier League in 2017 against the odds and will be hoping to do the same with Norwich City. While two-time Championship winner Daniel Farke is in the play-off mixer for the first time with Leeds United.

It’s been a strange season for Norwich. They were poor for the most part, but had some very strong spots. They also had an Ipswich-shaped cloud hanging over them as their fierce East Anglian rivals blew away all comers to secure back-to-back promotions.

Sunday, May 12, 11:00 a.m

It starts at 12:00

Sixth-placed teams rarely do well in the Championship play-offs, but Norwich are a real threat. In Gabriel Sara they have arguably the best midfielder in the league and in Josh Sargent possibly the best striker. The American international has 16 goals in just 26 appearances this season. Had he been fit for the other 20 games, the Canaries would probably have been much closer to the top two.

There is also Jonathan Rowe, who has just turned 21 and is one of the most exciting young winners in the country, who is himself regaining full form after a few months out. And also Borja Sainz, who started a game until December but came into his element in the second half of the season on the left wing. Sargent flanked by Rowe and Sainz, with Sara right behind, is enough to create secondary problems.

Leeds limped into the play-offs in the end, but have their own weapons to push for promotion. Crysencio Summerville was the player of the season in the league, scoring 19 times and with nine assists.

Striker Georginio Rutter, while perhaps lacking in goal, proved to be a wizard creating chances from open play with 15 assists. On the other flank, Wilfried Gnonto enjoyed a very fruitful second half of the season after settling back into the club. It’s easy to forget he’s an Italian international and still only 20 years old.

West Brom vs Southampton: The tactician vs the pass master

Sky Sports EFL Editor Simeon Gholam:

Here are two sides that had a long it’s time to think about the play-offs. West Brom finished fifth for 29 of the final 30 gameweeks of the season, briefly dropping to sixth in gameweek 45. Southampton, meanwhile, were 5th, 4th or 3rd in the table for all, except for two weeks of play in mid-October.

Carlos Corberan has playoff experience — though not the all-out successful kind. He was part of Marcelo Bielsa’s coaching set-up at Leeds United – who went out against Derby in 2019 at the semi-final stage – before taking Huddersfield to Wembley in 2022, losing in the final to Nottingham Forest.

Sunday, May 12, 2:00 p.m

It starts at 14:15

But there are still few managers you’d want running your club for a few one-off games more than one of the league’s master tacticians. He also has real quality at his disposal with the likes of Mikey Johnston and Grady Diangana in attacking positions. Perhaps the only thing they lack is a natural marker. Brandon Thomas-Asante is the top scorer of the championship with only 11 goals.

In the red corner is Southampton. Russell Martin has a very specific philosophy and you fear for anyone trying to get the Saints ball off that giant carpet at Wembley, should they reach the final.

It also bodes well for Southampton that they have beaten West Brom twice already this season. And in Adam Armstrong they have a forward with 21 goals and 13 assists to his name.

Who’s fit?

But it is forming really does it matter

Statistics suggest that form has largely gone out the window for the play-offs since 2004/05…

Season in statistics

Highlights from the last day

EFL play-off records

Leeds they appeared in the EFL play-offs five times and failed to gain promotion on either occasion.

• 1986/87 – lost in the Second Division (now Championship) final over two legs to Charlton Athletic. This was before the final was played as a one-off at Wembley.
• 2005/06 – lost 3-0 to Watford in the Championship final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
• 2007/08 – lost League 1 final to Doncaster at Wembley.
• 2008/09 – lost in League 1 semi-finals to Millwall.
• 2018/19 – lost in the Championship semi-finals to Derby County.

Southampton they have only made one EFL play-off appearance so far, losing to Derby County in the 2006/07 Championship semi-final.

West Brom they have made four EFL play-off appearances, winning just once in the third tier. They have never won in the Championship play-offs.

• 1992/93 – WON the Second Division (now League One) play-offs, beating Port Vale in the final at Wembley.
• 2000/01 – lost in Division 1 (now Championship) semi-finals to Bolton.
• 2006/07 – lost in the Championship final to Deby County at Wembley.
• 2018/19 – lost in the championship semi-finals to Aston Villa.

Norwich they have two EFL play-off appearances, both in the second tier, winning promotion once.

• 2001/02 – lost in the Division 1 (now Championship) final to Birmingham City at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
• 2014/15 – WON the Championship play-offs, beating Middlesbrough in the final at Wembley.

Who wins in the championship play-off?

In the 19 Championship play-off campaigns since 2004/05, the third-placed team has by far the most wins. The team that finishes sixth has the fewest. Blackpool in 2010 were the last team to take the final place in the play-offs and achieve promotion.

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