Championship playoff second leg preview

After two 0-0s in the opening legs last weekend, both Leeds and Norwich and West Brom and Southampton will clash again in their respective bids to reach this month’s coveted playoff final at Wembley.

We preview the two fixtures below.

Leeds v Norwich – Thursday 20:00

After playing out a cagey goalless draw in the first leg, Leeds boss Daniel Farke will be optimistic of reaching this month’s final at Wembley despite Sunday’s result extending their winless run to three matches. Having said that, while avoiding defeat should boost confidence coming into this second leg, there may remain a sense of trepidation after five failed attempts for Leeds to gain promotion via the playoffs.

Farke knows what it takes to get a side to the Premier League, although his two promotion-winning campaigns as Norwich boss saw them go up as champions. Whilst this tie is Farke’s first playoff experience, he may take solace in the fact that nine of the 19 third-placed teams were promoted since the EFL’s 2004 rebrand, with Leeds 8/13 to win on the night and heavy 3/10 favourites to progress to the final.

Norwich boss David Wagner is no stranger to the playoffs, having led Huddersfield to an unlikely promotion via this route back in 2017. Navigating this tough field of semi-finalists will arguably be a more impressive achievement however, and the Canaries will be hoping that Leeds’ home advantage has been overstated in the build-up to this return leg.

Norwich travel here on the back of an away defeat and have lost their most recent two trips to Elland Road, although they haven’t lost back-to-back Championship away games this year. They are 9/2 to win in 90 minutes and provide an almighty upset, while their odds to qualify for Wembley’s showdown are a leaner 12/5.

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Southampton v West Brom – Friday 20:00

It’s likewise winner takes all in Friday’s second leg at St Mary’s after Southampton and West Brom played out another goalless draw in the first leg in the Midlands last weekend. That stalemate extended Southampton’s record against the Baggies to just one defeat in nine across all competitions, and given that they’ve lost just two of their last 27 home games against Albion, it’s seemingly advantage to Friday’s hosts, who are the firm 2/5 favourites to qualify on the night and 4/5 to win in 90 minutes.

Despite the positive of a clean sheet in the first leg, visitors West Brom will be rueing their inability to take a lead to the south coast given their poor record on the road. Only the three relegated sides won fewer Championship away games in 2024 than the Baggies’ two, with Carlos Corberán’s side failing to win any of their last four away from home in the regular campaign.

Including the first leg, Albion have now won just two of their last nine outings, though only once in that run did they lose when finding the back of the net. That goes to show how important getting on the scoresheet is for the Baggies – who are 10/3 to win the game and 7/4 to progress to Wembley –  but it’s something they’ve historically struggled with in these parts, failing to score in five of their last seven away games at St Mary’s.