The 38th Championship play-off final is the last match of the domestic season in England. The winner will join Leicester City and Ipswich Town in the Premier League for the 2024-25 season.
Those three clubs replace Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton Town, all of whom were relegated last season.
Who is taking part?
Leeds United, who finished third in the 46-game Championship season, are playing Southampton, who ended one place behind them in fourth. Both sides were relegated from the Premier League in 2023 in 19th and 20th places respectively.
When is the Championship play-off final?
The 2024 Championship play-off final will take place on Sunday, May 26 at 3pm, kicking off 24 hours after the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United at the same venue.
Where is it being held?
Wembley Stadium in London will host the match, the day after the FA Cup final and five days before the Champions League final.
The play-off final moved to Wembley in 1990, the fourth year it was held. Originally a two-legged affair played home and away, it became a single match for Swindon Town’s victory over Sunderland in 1990. Sadly for Swindon, joy was short-lived, a long-running investigation into their financial conduct announced its findings shortly afterwards and the Football League promoted Sunderland in their stead.
What TV channel is the FA Cup final on in the UK?
Sly Sports has the rights to the Football League and will be showing the final on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.
The highlights will be shown on ITV4 at 10pm and again on ITV1 at 11.20pm.
TalkSport has the exclusive national radio rights for the match and starts its coverage at 1.30pm.
What happened in the semi-finals?
Leeds United played the sixth-placed club, Norwich City, drawing 0-0 with them at Carrow Road in the first leg before hammering them 4-0 at Elland Road in a return to form after their end-of-season wobble.
Southampton also drew the first leg away from home, leaving West Bromwich with a 0-0 draw, and then beat Albion 3-1 at St Mary’s when Adam Armstrong continued his rich vein of form with two goals.
What happened between the two earlier in the season?
Southampton triumphed in both games, starting emphatically with a 3-1 home victory which began a club-record unbeaten run of 25 matches. Saints also won at Elland Road on the last day of the season proper, going into the play-off semi-finals with a 2-1 victory and making them favourites for the match, if not with the bookies.
What are their records in play-off finals?
Leeds have lost three times at this stage of the season – defeated by Charlton in 1987, Watford in 2006 and Doncaster in 2008 in a League One final.
This is Southampton’s first play-off final.
Can I still get tickets for the final?
No. Athough tickets went on sale only on Saturday, both clubs had sold out their 35,000+ allocations completely to season ticketholders and members, leaving none for general sale.
Latest injury updates
Leeds United have a major doubt about Patrick Bamford who has missed the last four games after injuring a patella tendon during the victory over Middlesbrough. Pascal Struijk, who captained the side before Christmas, has been out with a groin injury since the turn of the year, and Sam Byram missed the second leg against Norwich with a hip injury.
Southampton’s first choice goalkeeper, Gavin Bazunu, has been ruled out until 2025 after rupturing his achilles tendon in April and the former Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong is recovering from a quad injury. The Scotland international has been named in the provisional squad for Euro 2024 but will not be ready to return until next month.
Who is the referee?
John Brooks is the man with the Acme Thunderer, a Premier League official who was the referee for Manchester City’s victory over West Ham which confirmed them as champions for a fourth season in succession. Brooks’ only other Championship match this season was Saints’ 3-1 victory over Leeds last September.
What is the prize?
Various estimates have been made about the gross value of winning promotion via the play-offs from TV income and sponsorship, ranging from the conservative £135 million to almost double that figure according to Deloitte.
What are the latest odds?
- Leeds United 13/10
- Southampton 11/5
Odds correct as of May 22
