Southampton have huge advantage over Leeds, West Brom and Norwich in the play-offs: View | OneFootball

The play-offs are nearly upon us, as Leeds United, Southampton, West Brom and Norwich City battle for the final promotion place to reach the Premier League.

As usual, these games are sure to be tense and dramatic, with only one team set to experience the high of winning at Wembley later this month.

The general consensus is that the play-offs are a lottery, and you can understand that view, as it’s now just three games, and these are relatively evenly matched sides coming up against each other.

Southampton boast an impressive head-to-head record

However, one factor that has to come into play is the head-to-head records between the sides involved.

And, whilst the table shows Leeds are the best of the four sides over 46 games, it’s Southampton who come out on top emphatically when these sides have faced each other.

Russell Martin’s side will face West Brom in their semi-final, with the first leg to be played at The Hawthorns on Sunday, and they will take huge encouragement from the fact they won 2-0 at the same venue just a matter of months ago, in what was an assured display.

Prior to that, they had beaten Albion 2-1 on their own patch, in what was a hard-fought success, where Carlos Corberan’s men will feel they merited something.

Of course, past records don’t count for much when the whistle is blown this weekend, but it does ensure Saints have a positive mindset going into the clash.

They know that there’s nothing to fear, as they’ve overcome Albion on two occasions, and they’ve finished above them in the league. It will allow them to enter the game with confidence, and it will create additional belief that they can reach the final.

Should they overcome the Baggies, Saints will face either Norwich or Leeds at the national stadium, and, again, they have yet to be beaten by either side.

Up against the Canaries, Southampton played out a remarkable 4-4 draw at home, before sharing two goals at Carrow Road.

Even though they needed a late penalty to rescue a point on the south coast, on both occasions Southampton had more than double the attempts of Norwich.

Meanwhile, they rounded off the campaign with a win at Leeds, which ensured they did the double over the Yorkshire side, after a convincing 3-1 win on their own patch back in September, when they were three up inside 35 minutes.

Southampton have the experience to come through the play-offs

To have gone unbeaten in six games against their fellow play-off sides is some achievement by Southampton, and whilst they were well-beaten by Leicester on two occasions, it proves they’re generally good against the better sides in the Championship.

That will be because there’s a lot of know-how and experience within the group, with most of Martin’s squad having played at the highest level.

Therefore, they won’t be overawed by an atmosphere or occasion.

When The Hawthorns is bouncing this weekend, it won’t be anything new for the likes of Jan Bednarek, Kyle Walker-Peters or Che Adams, among others, as they’ve played at the biggest grounds in the country, and also represented their countries.

So, Martin will be confident his team have the temperament to cope with these high-pressure situations, and results this season demonstrate that tactically, and technically, they can get the better of Albion and Leeds, whilst they finished 14 points above Norwich in the campaign.

Ultimately, the unpredictability is part of what makes the Championship and the play-offs so exciting, so you can never say anything with any certainty.