Leeds United take on Southampton in the Championship play-off final with an immediate return to the Premier League the reward for the victors on Sunday afternoon at Wembley Stadium.
The Whites and the Saints are seeking to rejoin the top flight after their relegations in 2022/23 but only one of them will be able to join Leicester City and Ipswich Town at the elite level next term.
United finished three points ahead of Southampton, who picked up wins in both of their meetings this season.
Here’s 90min’s preview ahead of Sunday’s defining encounter at Wembley.
Leeds United vs Southampton H2H Record (Last Five Games)
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 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, SKY GO Extra, Sky Ultra HD |
|
United States |
ESPN+, SiriusXM FC |
|
Canada |
DAZN Canada |
Leeds crushed Norwich City 4-0 in the second leg of their semi-final and manager Daniel Farke is unlikely to tinker with that starting XI too much on Sunday.
The German has, however, confirmed striker Patrick Bamford will play no part, while centre-back Pascal Struijk is also unavailable.
Leeds United predicted lineup vs Southampton (4-2-3-1): Meslier; Gray, Rodon, Ampadu, Firpo; Gruev, Kamara; Gnonto, Rutter, Summerville; Piroe.
Southampton have been sweating over the fitness of striker Che Adams in the build-up to the weekend’s clash. The Scotland international missed the two games against West Bromwich Albion but Saints boss Russell Martin has confirmed both he and Ross Stewart have recovered and are in contention to play.
Gavin Bazunu, Juan Larios and Stuart Armstrong have been long-term absentees at St Mary’s and won’t feature in the play-off final.
Southampton predicted lineup vs Leeds United (3-5-2): McCarthy; Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens; Walker-Peters, Smallbone, Downes, Aribo, Manning; Armstrong, Adams.
Leeds weren’t quite strong enough to usurp Ipswich and earn automatic promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, but their mauling of Norwich in the semi-final second leg means Farke’s side will be bristling with confidence.
Three defeats on the spin looked to have set Southampton up horrendously for the play-offs but they won at Leeds on the final day and the mental advantage of having two victories in their pocket from the teams’ two encounters cannot be understated.
Both clubs are desperate to join Leicester in returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking, but it could be Southampton who score a third win over Leeds this season to return to the promised land.
Prediction: Leeds United 1-2 Southampton
READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP
