Gary Lineker has made a new prediction for the Championship play-off winner, following Leeds and Southampton’s two away draws in their semi-final first legs.
Leeds United took the field first against Norwich City at Carrow Road, with manager Daniel Farke returning to the East Anglian club for only the second time since leaving in the 2021-22 season.
Farke’s team lined up significantly more defensively, keeping only their second clean sheet in their past nine league games to avoid loss down south and return to Elland Road as small favourites on Thursday.
Leeds and Southampton have been tipped as favourites to reach Wembley Stadium on May 26 after finishing third and fourth, but that is not always the case, with West Brom and Norwich attempting to defy expectations.
Lineker, the iconic presenter, predicted who would reach the final after seeing both first legs, and he believes that Sunday’s game will now suit both Leeds and Southampton.
Gary Lineker predicts who will reach the Championship play-off final.
Lineker previously agreed with Alan Shearer that Southampton, the latter’s former club, would win the play-offs and be promoted to the Premier League on May 26, although the outcome is still uncertain at the semi-final stage.
Leeds host Norwich at Elland Road on Thursday night before West Brom travel to Southampton on Friday evening, and Lineker told The Rest Is Football that he believes Leeds and Southampton will meet in the final.
“Whoever scores a goal, I would say. They’re generally cautious in the opening legs, but I suspect Leeds and Southampton – I thought those two had terrific results. Both games were really tedious.
“They were two typically hard-fought games that concluded without a goal. Southampton and West Brom got a little more lively near the end, but there weren’t many opportunities and everything was cautious,” Lineker observed.
Chris Sutton and David Wagner are optimistic that Norwich can accomplish it.
Despite Leeds now having home advantage in what is essentially a one-off knockout tie, as the first leg has no influence on the aggregate score, Norwich remain optimistic about winning.
Chris Sutton, who played for Norwich as a teenager and made a name for himself over 100 times, thinks he has a “feeling” Norwich can win at Elland Road on Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, Norwich boss David Wagner has stated that playing at home is not always advantageous, as Leeds prepare to welcome Farke’s former club in Yorkshire later this week, with everything on the line.
