Norwich City's clash v Leeds United is huge for one big Gabriel Sara reason: View | OneFootball

Norwich City know their 2023/24 season comes down to one game, their second leg play-off game against Leeds United on Thursday night.

The Canaries had an up-and-down season, but from January onwards, the club has been in decent form, and that helped them secure a top-six finish.

Norwich finishing in sixth place meant they had to secure promotion the hard way, as they now have to get past the third-best team in the league, Leeds United, to even reach the play-off final.

All expectation is on Leeds to win, but David Wagner’s men held their own in the first leg, meaning they know they head to Elland Road with everything still to play for as the game is 0-0.

The Canaries may have to be patient in the second leg, with Leeds likely to be the dominant side, meaning there will be pressure on players like Gabriel Sara to excel when given the chance.

Gabriel Sara will be key for Norwich in the second leg against Leeds

As mentioned, Norwich go to Elland Road having played out a 0-0 draw with Leeds on Sunday.

This means the game is balanced, and therefore, Norwich can go to Yorkshire looking to frustrate Leeds and hope the chances they do create they can take them.

As always in games like this, key players from both sides will be looked at as being the ones to make a difference in this type of game.

In this case, Norwich will be looking at Gabriel Sara as someone who can be the difference-maker, as he’s been all season.

The Brazilian played in every single league game this season, averaging 89 minutes on the pitch, and he was rewarded on multiple occasions by Sofascore for his performances.

In those 46 league games, Sara scored 13 goals, averaging a goal 0.3 times a game and one every 316 minutes of football.

As well as the goals, the midfielder also grabbed 12 assists, with him outperforming his xAG at 11.93. He also created an impressive 16 big chances for his teammates and averaged an impressive 1.6 key passes, as per Sofascore.com.

So, it is clear from the stats how good Sara has been this season, and he will be relied upon on Thursday as Norwich bid to overcome Leeds.

Norwich could lose Gabriel Sara if promotion isn’t secured

Obviously, if Norwich are going to get past Leeds on Thursday, they need more than Gabriel Sara to perform.

But given how influential he has been in this Norwich team all season, he will look to be once again on Thursday, and if they do go through, then again in the play-off final.

Thursday is a massive game for Norwich, as they know a win and they are that one step closer to reaching Premier League football.

But defeat, and the Canaries remain in the Championship, and they face possibly quite a difficult summer transfer window.

Norwich have a few players that you may expect to be on the radars of clubs heading into the summer, Sara being one of them, as well as winger Jonathan Rowe and striker Josh Sargent.

Rowe has had numerous interests in him throughout the summer, while Sargent has been linked with Wolves and Brentford in recent times.

They may be departures that are expected, but Norwich will not want to be losing Sara this summer as well; therefore, this game on Thursday is even more significant.

If Norwich can get past Leeds and then navigate their way through the play-off final, they stand a great chance of keeping hold of the Brazilian, as they can offer him Premier League football, and he would surely want to test himself in that division and repay the faith shown in him by the Norfolk side.

However, if Norwich do get knocked out by Leeds, it would not only spell the end of their promotion hopes for another season, but it could mean a player like Sara is increasingly likely to exit Carrow Road.

Failure in promotion could mean clubs come sniffing around Sara, as they may be able to offer the midfielder something they can’t. Norwich will not be able to take a strong stance on the 24-year-old, as they may have to accept any high offer given that they don’t have the riches of the top flight.

So, pressure will be on Norwich to win in terms of reaching a step closer to the Premier League and helping them keep hold of their best players like Sara.