Championship play-off predictions: Who will win Premier League promotion?

The battle to join Leicester and Ipswich in the Premier League commences on Sunday and Leeds, having missed out on automatic promotion despite amassing 90 points, are joint-favourites alongside Southampton to navigate the play-offs.

The Saints and the Whites are frontrunners by some distance, with Norwich and West Brom priced up at 5/1 and 6/1 respectively. But can either pull off a shock this weekend?

Championship play-off predictions

Southampton to be promoted at 13/8

Daniel Farke’s side entertain his former club Norwich, a team they finished 17 points clear of in the regular season, while Southampton lock horns with West Brom.

Many may pin their hopes on Leeds coming through their test with the Canaries but it is hard to have any confidence in them going all the way given how they finished the season, winning only two of their final eight games to gift Ipswich promotion.

In fact, Leeds faltered under pressure and lost three of their final four league games, going down 1-0 at home to Blackburn, as well as suffering a 4-0 hiding at QPR and enduring 2-1 reverse when entertaining playoff rivals Southampton.

Leeds looked a leggy outfit and, having started the year with nine straight league wins, they may have exerted a lot of energy at the midpoint of their campaign as they pursued automatic promotion. Going so close could have also impacted them mentally.

Leeds completed a league double over Norwich and they should come through that two-legged tie given the Canaries also closed out the campaign with only two wins from their final seven matches.

But both could have their work cut out to live with Southampton, who may have been mentally preparing for the playoffs for a couple of weeks.

The Saints finished the season on 87 points, which was three worse off than Leeds but 12 clear of fifth-placed West Brom, their opponents in the playoffs.

However, three straight defeats before their season-closing game at Leeds meant they knew their fate already and that it was going to have to be via the playoffs if they were to be promoted.

A 2-1 victory against Leeds at Elland Road should have restored plenty of belief and it means they had a sublime record against their playoff rivals.

Russell Martin’s side completed doubles over Leeds and West Brom while both meetings with Norwich ended in score draws.

Southampton were 2-0 winners against West Brom at Hawthorns as recently as the middle of February and that should stand them in good stead for their two-legged playoff tie.

The Saints are attempting to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking and they still inherit a lot of top-flight quality, which should bolster their promotion prospects.

The likes of Adam Armstrong and Che Adams have had fine seasons, with the pair combining to score 39 goals, while Jan Bednarek, Jack Stephens, and Stuart Armstrong provide the experience and the leadership.

They may lack the star quality of Leeds but they look less fatigued, more well-balanced and were able to look after their star men in the closing weeks, which could ultimately prove pivotal.

West Brom also won only two of their final eight league games and they will be relying on striker Brandon Thomas-Asante, who was their only player to hit double figures this season with 12 goals.

The Baggies are a difficult side to predict but they won only six of their 23 away league games and to have any chance of making it to Wembley they may have to beat the Saints in the opening leg at Hawthorns.

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