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The Championship play-off semi-finals kick off on Sunday. The battle for promotion to the Premier League intensifies with Leeds, Southampton, West Brom, and Norwich all vying for the spot.

The Championship play-off semi-final first legs: How to watch & follow on Sunday

**On TV: Live on Sky Sports Football and Main Event from 11am.**

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

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

The schedule

First legs – Sunday May 12

Norwich vs Leeds (12pm)

West Brom vs Southampton (2.15pm)

Second legs

Leeds vs Norwich (8pm) – Thur May 16

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

Final

Wembley (3pm) – Sunday May 26

Who will win the play-offs?

How the season finished

Norwich vs Leeds: Two stellar 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 through to the Premier League in 2017 against the odds, and will hope to do the same with Norwich City. While Daniel Farke, twice a Championship champion, is into the play-off mixer for the first time with Leeds United.

It has been a strange season for Norwich. They were poor for a lot of it, but had some really strong patches. They have also had an Ipswich-shaped cloud hanging over them, as their fierce East Anglian rivals blew away all-comers to achieve back-to-back promotions.

The team in sixth place in the Championship rarely succeeds in the play-offs, but Norwich poses a real threat. Gabriel Sara and Josh Sargent are key players for Norwich, with Sargent having an impressive track record of 16 goals in 26 games this season. With him fit for more games, Norwich would likely have been even stronger.Jonathan Rowe, a young and promising player at 21, is making a comeback after being out of action for several months. Borja Sainz, who didn’t start a match until December, has flourished on the left wing in the latter part of the season. The trio of Sargent, Rowe, and Sainz, supported by Sara just behind them, forms a formidable attacking force that can trouble any team.

Leeds made it to the playoffs despite some struggles, thanks to players like Crysencio Summerville, who was named the Championship Player of the Season with 19 goals and 9 assists. Georginio Rutter showcased his talent as a playmaker with 15 assists, while Wilfried Gnonto, an Italian international at just 20 years old, had a successful second half of the season.

On the other hand, Southampton, under Russell Martin’s philosophy, has a strong possession-based style that can be daunting for opponents on the Wembley pitch. Adam Armstrong, their prolific forward with 21 goals and 13 assists, adds to their attacking threat.

In the upcoming clash between West Brom and Southampton, West Brom, guided by a tactician and possessing quality players like Mikey Johnston and Grady Diangana, lacks a natural goalscorer. They will need to rely on Brandon Thomas-Asante, their top scorer in the Championship with 11 goals. Southampton holds an advantage having already beaten West Brom twice this season.

Both teams have had time to prepare for the playoffs, with West Brom securing a consistent position in the top five and Southampton maintaining a strong presence in the top half of the table throughout the season. Carlos Corberan, with playoff experience from his time at Leeds United and Huddersfield, brings valuable knowledge to the West Brom coaching setup.

Leeds: Struggling
Southampton: Performing well
West Brom: Mixed results
Norwich: Inconsistent

Do performance trends really make a difference?

Historical data indicates that in the play-offs since 2004/05, team form leading up to the matches doesn’t always predict the outcome…

Season in numbers

Highlights of the final day

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            <img loading="lazy" src="https://e0.365dm.com/24/05/768x432/skysports-leeds-southampton_6542885.jpg?20240504144107" alt="LEEDS SOUTHAMPTON" srcset="https://e0.365dm.com/24/05/768x432/skysports-leeds-southampton_6542885.jpg?20240504144107 600w,https://e0.365dm.com/24/05/1600x900/skysports-leeds-southampton_6542885.jpg?20240504144107" aria-hidden="true" class="sdc-site-video__poster-img"/>
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          <span class="ui-media-caption__caption-text" data-role="caption-text">Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Leeds United and Southampton</span>
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            <img loading="lazy" src="https://e0.365dm.com/24/05/768x432/skysports-west-brom-preston_6543034.jpg?20240504153320" alt="West Brom, Preston" srcset="https://e0.365dm.com/24/05/768x432/skysports-west-brom-preston_6543034.jpg?20240504153320 600w,https://e0.365dm.com/24/05/1600x900/skysports-west-brom-preston_6543034.jpg?20240504153320" aria-hidden="true" class="sdc-site-video__poster-img"/>
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          <span class="ui-media-caption__caption-text" data-role="caption-text">Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship game between West Brom and Preston</span>
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     <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn" data-account-id="6057984924001" data-amp-iframe-embed="" data-asset-id="3b3eae08-ba19-4cba-8478-1a319d03c16e" data-asset-path="" data-asset-version="" data-autoplay="false" data-auth-config="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://api.condatis.sky/auth/video/token","tokenRequired":true,"fetchMethod":"url","fetchOptions":{"encoded":true},"headers":{"X-SkyGDP-Proposition":"sportweb","X-SkyGDP-Territory":"GB","Authorization":"OGY5ZDgxZjRhNzYwNGQ3MTljMjFhMDJlOGVmODRhYzA="}}" data-caption="Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship game between Birmingham and Norwich" data-clip-type="" data-component-name="sdc-site-video" data-competition="" data-copy-url-text="URL copied to clipboard" data-fn="sdc-site-video" data-id="id_3b3eae08-ba19-4cba-8478-1a319d03c16e" data-is-live-stream="false" data-lite="true" data-options="" data-originator-id="49" data-originator-handle="brightcove-sport-gb" data-package-name="" data-provider="brightcove" data-player-id="DESF5xFjJ" data-playsinline="" data-sensitive="false" data-sdc-id="6542887" data-sdc-video-id="3b3eae08-ba19-4cba-8478-1a319d03c16e" data-sport-category="" data-state="loading" data-token-state="none" data-video-ad-unit="videoplayer" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids="" data-video-id="ref:3b3eae08-ba19-4cba-8478-1a319d03c16e" data-video-type="" data-auto-pause-on-not-visible="" tabindex="-1" data-closed-captions-position="" data-show-closed-captions="true" data-show-pip="" data-show-live-stream-scrubber="">
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          <span class="ui-media-caption__caption-text" data-role="caption-text">Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship game between Birmingham and Norwich</span>
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EFL play-off records

Leeds have featured in the EFL play-offs five times without securing promotion.

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

The Southampton team had only one stint in the EFL playoffs, where they were defeated by Derby County in the Championship semi-finals during the 2006/07 season.

West Brom has participated in the EFL playoffs four times, managing to secure a victory once in the third tier. However, they have never succeeded in the Championship playoffs.

On the other hand, Norwich has been part of the EFL playoffs twice in the second tier, achieving promotion on one occasion.

In the 19 Championship play-off seasons since 2004/05, the team finishing in third place has emerged as the most successful, while the sixth-placed team has had the fewest wins. Notably, Blackpool claimed the final playoff position in 2010 and secured promotion.

The Championship Team of the Season for 2023/24 has been revealed by Sky Sports analysts Simeon Gholam and David Prutton.

If you are interested in watching your EFL team live on Sky for at least 20 matches next season, Sky Sports will be broadcasting over 1,000 EFL games, providing fans an opportunity to follow their favorite teams closely.

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