Southampton have a golden chance to secure Premier League football as they face Leeds United in the Championship play-off final on Sunday.
The 3pm kick-off at Wembley is sure to be a fascinating spectacle, with two sides looking to achieve a return to the top flight at the first attempt.
Widely dubbed the ‘richest game in football’ for the lucrative financial rewards of promotion via the one-off fixture, there can be no stone left unturned in preparation for such a monumental clash.
Southampton manager Russell Martin should take confidence from the fact he has guided his side to two wins from two against Leeds this season, but that has not stopped him meticulously planning for the final.
Southampton have discussed possibility of penalties against Leeds
Martin spoke to the media on Friday afternoon ahead of his side travelling up to London for the final.
This is unquestionably the biggest game of the 38-year-old’s fledgling managerial career and he deserves great credit for both getting his side to this point and how he has handled the pressure associated with the play-offs.
However, all that means very little if Southampton are not winners come Sunday evening and Martin has spoken about how Southampton have covered every eventuality, with penalties in particular being mentioned.
Martin was asked in his pre-Leeds press conference whether the Saints squad have practiced penalties ahead of the game.
Having won the play-offs as a player whilst captaining Norwich City, Martin knows all about the fine margins that can make the difference in a game of such magnitude and replied: “We’ve spoke about it, we’ve prepared for it as much as we possibly can.”
He went on to explain how they have gone about this, saying: “We’ve given them some stats around it and then spoke about the feeling around it. We have tried to prepare ourselves as much as we can.”
“We’ll all cross our fingers and pray that it doesn’t get that far. I think every professional footballer in the world can take penalty I think that’s about the skill to execute it under immense pressure and immense fatigue.
“That comes down to it, it’s purely psychological. It has to be. We’ll be as ready as we can be for them and if they come then I’ll really trust that we have the players to carry that out.”
History suggests Southampton should prepare to play more than 90 minutes
The play-offs have been in place in the second tier since 1987, however for the first three seasons the final was a two-legged affair with both sides playing one leg at home.
History would suggest that Martin and his squad are right to prepare for the possibility of the game going beyond the ninety minutes, with eight of the 34 one-legged finals going to extra time – or just under a quarter.
Of these, four have been decided by a penalty shootout in what is perhaps the cruelest way to have the outcome of a season of hard work dictated by.
Given what is at stake, play-off finals are understandably often tense, cagey affairs with it often a case of two teams desperate not to lose rather than to take the initiative to really go out and beat their opponents.
Just last season a penalty shootout was required to separate both Luton Town and Coventry City after the two sides drew 1-1 after 120 minutes, with Luton ultimately coming out on top.
Given the philosophies of both Martin and Leeds manager Daniel Farke are both largely positive, it will be interesting to see if the game slots into the familiar pattern of a play-off final or whether the two sides will be a little more expansive in the Wembley showpiece.
Either way, it looks set to be a fascinating contest and, if it does go to penalties, then Southampton have given themselves every chance of success.