Southampton boss Russell Martin has shared whether he will be watching Leeds United’s Championship play-off semi-final with Norwich City.
Leeds are set to welcome the Canaries to Elland Road in just a matter of hours for the second leg with the tie still firmly in the balance.
The two sides played out a cagey 0-0 draw at Carrow Road on Sunday but it is make or break time tonight as a winner must be decided, whether that’s after 90 minutes, extra-time or penalties.
Whoever comes out on top will be rewarded with a trip to Wembley to face either Martin’s Southampton or West Brom on Sunday 26 May, who play each other tomorrow with the score also at 0-0 after the first leg.
Leeds will be looking to make use of home advantage this evening but also know they will have to do something they haven’t done since 1987, which is win a play-off tie at Elland Road.
Martin shares whether he’ll be watching Leeds vs Norwich
It looks set to be a special atmosphere under the lights at Elland Road tonight and certainly considerably better than the one Martin experienced on the final day.
Alongside Blackburn Rovers, Southampton were one of just two sides to beat Leeds on home soil during the regular season, though both of those came in the final two matches.
Leeds will need to get back to the form they were showing just a matter of weeks ago to come out on top, something which pundits including Gary Lineker believe will happen.
Martin was speaking in his pre-West Bromwich Albion press conference earlier today, where he was asked whether he would be watching tonight’s tie.
He said: “I am watching with interest because it impacts a game we might be involved in.”
Simon Jordan tips Leeds vs Southampton final
With both having missed out on automatic promotion in the final weeks of the season, Leeds and Southampton were strong favourites heading into the play-offs.
Having come away with 0-0 draws from the first leg, that hasn’t changed ahead of tonight and tomorrow’s return fixtures.
Simon Jordan is among those who have tipped a Leeds vs Southampton final today, predicting the latter to go all the way to the Premier League.
He said: “I’ve always said Leeds will win. It will be a Leeds and Southampton final, and then Southampton will win. I am a great admirer of Leeds and I will be delighted in the unlikely event they get to the Premier League.”