Leeds United will face Southampton in the Championship final with a quick return to the Premier League winners’ prize on Sunday afternoon at Wembley Stadium.
The Whites and Saints are looking to rejoin the top flight after being relegated in 2022/23 but only one of them will be able to join Leicester City and Ipswich Town in the top flight next term.
United finished three points ahead of Southampton, who have won both of their meetings this season.
Here it is 90 min preview ahead of Sunday’s meeting at Wembley.
Leeds United vs Southampton H2H Record (Last Five Matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Leeds United |
Southampton |
|---|---|
|
Leeds United 4-0 Norwich City – 16/05/24 |
Southampton 3-1 West Bromwich Albion – 17/05/24 |
|
Norwich City 0-0 Leeds United – 12/05/24 |
West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Southampton – 12/05/24 |
|
Leeds United 1-2 Southampton – 04/05/24 |
Leeds United 1-2 Southampton – 04/05/24 |
|
Queens Park Rangers 4-0 Leeds United – 26/04/24 |
Southampton 0-1 Stoke City – 27/04/24 |
|
Middlesbrough 3-4 Leeds United – 22/04/24 |
Leicester City 5-0 Southampton – 23/04/24 |
|
The country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, SKY GO Extra, Sky Ultra HD |
|
United States |
ESPN+, SiriusXM FC |
|
Canada |
DAZN Canada |
Leeds beat Norwich City 4-0 in the second leg of their semi-final and manager Daniel Farke is unlikely to sing too much about Sunday’s starting XI.
The German, however, confirmed that striker Patrick Bamford will not play a part, while defender Pascal Struijk is also unavailable.
Leeds United predicted to face Southampton (4-2-3-1): Meslier; Gray, Rodon, Ampadu, Firpo; Gruev, Kamara; Gnonto, Rutter, Summerville; Piroe.
Southampton are sweating on the fitness of striker Che Adams as they head into this weekend’s game. The Scot missed the two games against West Bromwich Albion but Saints boss Russell Martin confirmed that he and Ross Stewart have recovered and are in contention for a play-off.
Gavin Bazunu, Juan Larios and Stuart Armstrong have been away from St Mary’s for a long time and will not feature in the play-off final.
Southampton predicted to face Leeds United (3-5-2): McCarthy; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens; Walker-Peters, Smallbone, Downes, Aribo, Manning; Armstrong, Adams.
Leeds were not strong enough to overtake Ipswich and secure automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, but beating Norwich in the second leg of the semi-final means Farke’s side will be full of confidence.
Three defeats on the spin looked to have put Southampton in dire straits for the play-offs but they won at Leeds on the final day and the psychological advantage of having two wins in their pocket in two group games cannot be underestimated.
Both clubs are keen to join Leicester in returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking, but it will be Southampton who get a third win at Leeds this season to return to the promised land.
Prediction: Leeds United 1-2 Southampton
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