"Outstanding" - Pundit urges Southampton to be wary of West Brom man ahead of play-offs | OneFootball

After a thrilling Championship campaign, the play-offs will get underway this weekend to decide the third and final team to win promotion to the Premier League.

With Leicester City winning the league title and Ipswich Town securing the second automatic promotion spot, it is now up to Leeds United, Southampton, West Brom and Norwich City to battle it to see who takes the final promotion spot.

Championship play-off fixtures

With the table finishing as it did above, the schedule for the play-offs is now set.

In the semi-finals, third-placed Leeds will take on sixth-placed Norwich, whilst Southampton and West Brom will face each other after finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

The first legs of the semi-finals are set to take place this weekend, with Leeds traveling to Carrow Road on Sunday lunchtime, shortly followed by Southampton's trip to West Brom and The Hawthorns.

Carlton Palmer on which WBA player Southampton should fear

Ahead of the play-offs, FLW spoke to former England international midfielder Carlton Palmer to get his thoughts on the play-off battles at hand in the Championship this weekend.

Specifically focusing on the West Brom v Southampton clash, we asked Palmer which Baggies player the Saints should fear the most heading into the two-legged tie.

Focusing on their solid defensive record, Palmer picks out one of the Baggies' backline who has been almost imperious under Carlos Corberan this season.

"West Brom have been solid this season, that's the basis of their season so far," Palmer said when speaking to FLW.

"They have not conceded a lot of goals.

"One of those players who has been outstanding is Cedric Kipre. The Ivorian has made 45 appearances in all competitions for the Baggies and has been absolutely fantastic for them.

"I think he won all the player's awards - he's won the Player of the Year, the Player's Player award, so he's very strong and that's what West Brom will look to be over these two legs.

"They've been very very strong defensively, haven't been as prolific in terms of scoring goals, but they've been solid and hard to beat.

"That is how they will go into the play-offs and it's going to be down to Southampton to try and break them down."

West Brom v Southampton match and TV details

The Championship play-off semi-final first leg between West Brom and Southampton is set to take place on Sunday 12th May, with kick-off at The Hawthorns scheduled for 14:15.

The match, like all of the play-off fixtures, will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Football.

Build up and pre-match analysis will begin at 14:00 on the channel, with action getting underway 15 minutes later.

Cedric Kipre will give Southampton something to think about

Coming in from the cold after a season on loan at Cardiff City, Kipre has been the surprise package of a really solid season for West Brom.

Kipre played a part in 14 Championship clean sheets for the Baggies, and the fact he has won awards for his performances speaks volumes on how much of a mistake it was for Steve Bruce to let him go last season to South Wales.

It means that whoever starts up-front for Southampton in the two-legged clash has a lot on their plate to deal with - whether that is Che Adams or Adam Armstrong.

Both strikers are class in their own right, but they will have a tough job on their hands to get past the Ivorian brick wall that is Kipre.