A chance to get their place back in the Premier League is at stake for both Leeds United and Norwich City as they compete in the second leg of the play-off semi-final looking to book their place at Wembley.
Date: 16/05/24
Kick-off time: 20:00
Venue: Elland Road
It is the most important game of the season for both sides so far as they meet at Elland Road, with the winner heading to Wembley later this month. The tie is finely poised at 0-0, following their draw at Carrow Road last weekend. This means Leeds have a slight advantage as they look to secure victory in front of their home fans.
However, it has been a dreadful few weeks for Leeds, as they lost ground in the race for automatic promotion, and had to settle for a third place finish and playoff berth. In their final six games of the Championship season, they won just one game and lost four. Norwich were also not in the best form, though they had lost one and drawn three in the same amount of games. They finished sixth, three points clear of seventh place Hull City.
The lack of goals in recent weeks for Leeds could be a cause for concern for Daniel Farke. The stalemate against Norwich in the first leg marked the fourth time they had failed to score a goal in their last six. Defensively, they have conceded 10 in this stretch, highlighting their struggles. If they are to get back to their best in attack, the spark is most likely going to come from Crysencio Summerville, who is their top scorer with 19 goals. The Canaries also have some dangerous attacking options, in particular Josh Sargent and Gabriel Sara, who have combined for 29 goals this season.
Last weekend’s result snapped a four-game losing streak against Leeds for Norwich, a run which included games from both the Championship and Premier League. The hosts did the double over their opponents this season, the first of which being a 3-2 win at Carrow Road. They had to come back from a 2-0 half-time deficit, as a brace from Summerville helped turn it around. In their home fixture, they narrowly won 1-0, with Patrick Bamford scoring the winner after 16 minutes.