Micah Richards makes Leeds United play-off prediction amid Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker's Southampton FC claim | OneFootball

Having witnessed 120 minutes of Championship play-off action over the weekend, we are no closer to knowing who will join Leicester City and Ipswich Town in the Premier League next season.

Across both semi-final ties that took place on Sunday afternoon, no goals were scored by the four sides taking part, with each game finely poised as to who will be playing under the Wembley arch on May 26.

Both Leeds United and Southampton hold the advantage in their respective encounters by having the chance to secure a trip to the capital backed by their home supporters, but both Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion will fancy their chances of upsetting the odds to try and cap a fantastic campaign.

Pundits update their play-off final predictions following first leg action

With the second leg of the semi-finals getting underway later this week, pundits across the footballing world have given their predictions as to who will make the final at the end of the month.

In a previous episode of the podcast, Micah Richards predicted Leeds to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, while Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker opted for Southampton.

And in the latest installment of The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker asked his co-hosts for their predictions following this weekend's action.

"From today's evidence, I haven't got a f****** clue," Richards answered abruptly.

"Anyone who scores a goal I would say," Lineker said. "I mean they are always a bit cautious in the first leg I think. But I suspect it might be Leeds and Southampton. They are good results for both those sides, aren't they?"

Shearer, who played for the Saints in the early stages of his career, still thinks that they have enough to ensure an immediate return to the top flight, insisting their draw against West Brom was a good result heading into the second leg.

"Yeah, I think so," Lineker agreed. "I said Southampton and I think that was a good result for them. 0-0 away to West Brom is a good result, so I would fancy Southampton getting through.

However, Richards revealed he would be sticking by his original pick, believing Daniel Farke's side will return to the Premier League this term. "Leeds. I am sticking with Leeds," he concluded.

Southampton and Leeds hold the advantage going into their second leg ties

With both ties finely poised, you feel as though Daniel Farke and Russell Martin will be much the happier of the two managers heading into their respective encounters.

For the Whites in particular, they have a favourable home record, particularly against the Canaries.

This season, David Wagner has turned Carrow Road into a fortress, accumulating 49 points throughout the course of the campaign. However, it has proved to be away from home that stopped them from shaking up the automatic promotion picture.

From their 23 away games, Norwich have picked up just 24 points, which included 11 defeats. When compared to the other sides in the division, the teams who finished in the bottom five of the standings were the only ones below them.

Given Leeds' impressive record against Norwich on their own turf and their form at Elland Road, this could play significantly into their advantage.

The Canaries' last win at Elland Road came back in February 2019, with the Championship encounter ending in a 3-1 victory, masterminded by Farke. Norwich would go above Leeds in the standings thanks to goals from Mario Vrancic and Teemu Pukki.

While the statistics suggest that Southampton's encounter with West Brom will be a tightly contested affair, the advantage of having a full stadium of Saints supporters will fill the home side with confidence that they can secure their place at Wembley this month.