Leeds and Southampton eye PL return 

©TM/IMAGO

The winners of the English Championship play-offs will earn the most lucrative prize in football. Four clubs will compete to reach the Premier League and the play-off final  is estimated to be worth around €300 for the winners in TV deals, sponsorship and additional revenue streams. 

It’s widely regarded as the richest game in football but Leeds United, Southampton, Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion will need to navigate the two-legged semi-finals to reach the Wembley showpiece. It was another thrilling season in England’s second tier with four clubs – Leeds, Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town – engulfed in a race for the two automatic play-off places. Leicester were eventually crowned champions to immediately bounce back from relegation and Ipswich completed an incredible achievement to secure back-to-back promotions. At the start of the season, Leeds and Southampton were favourites to secure automatic returns to the Premier League but will either of them emerge victorious through the play-offs?

Who will win the English Championship play-offs?

Leeds United finished third and they’ll face Norwich City in the semi-final. They’ll have the advantage of playing the second leg at Elland Road and Daniel Farke’s men will be confident of progressing. However, Leeds badly tailed off towards the end of the season as they surrendered their automatic promotion place to Ipswich. Southampton will be favourites to navigate past West Bromwich Albion but the form table tells a different story. 

Across the last ten games, Leeds United and Southampton really struggled with Norwich and West Brom enjoying superior records. Leeds ranked 12th with 14 points, while Norwich ranked fourth with 18 points. Furthermore, Southampton ranked 13th on 14 points – with a goal difference of -3 – and West Brom sat ninth on 15 points. Leeds, however, won both games against Norwich during the regular season, while Southampton won both encounters against West Brom. As the graphic below illustrates, the total market value of Leeds United and Southampton are far superior to their opponents. Moreover, at the start of the season, Southampton also boasted the most valuable squad in the English Championship history.

The most valuable players in the English Championship play-offs

Southampton and Leeds United dominate the list of the most valuable players in the English Championship play-offs. Leeds’ squad (€205.6m) is more valuable squad than Southampton (€189.9m) but the Saints have the two most valuable players in Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Kyle Walker-Peters. 

Former Manchester City defender Harwood-Bellis is the second most valuable player in the English Championship behind Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Walker-Peters has strong interest from Premier League clubs and the former Tottenham star is valued at €20m. After Harwood-Bellis and Walker-Peters, four Leeds United players are valued at €18m, while Gabriel Sara is the only Norwich City player in the top ten list. No West Brom players feature with Grady Diangana their most valuable player at €4m.