West Brom, Southampton play-off hopes predicted by supercomputer
West Brom have a 20.2 per cent chance of making a return to the Premier League via the play-offs, according to Opta Analyst.
Carlos Corberan’s side will face off with Southampton for a place in the play-off final after finishing fifth in the Championship.
The Baggies will welcome the Saints to The Hawthorns on Sunday (12 May) for the first leg of their semi-final tie, before making the trip to St Mary’s Stadium for the second leg the following Friday (17 May).
Leeds United and Norwich City are the two other teams looking to book their place in England’s top flight next season, and the Opta supercomputer (8 May) has crunched the numbers ahead of the play-offs getting underway.
Southampton have a 55.5 per cent chance of reaching the final, which leaves Corberan’s side with a 44.5 per cent chance of making it to Wembley.
Leeds United are favourites to win the play-offs with a 33.2 per cent chance, while the Saints have a 26.4 per cent chance, making West Brom and Norwich the joint least-favourites with hopes of just 20.2 per cent each.
Carlos Corberan and West Brom will be keen to prove Opta wrong
It appears that on paper, the odds are stacked against the Baggies heading into their clash with Southampton.
Luckily, football isn’t played on paper, and these recent calculations will only inspire West Brom to upset the odds and make a dramatic return to the Premier League.
For all of Opta’s fancy analysis, it appears that the order of which team is most likely to win the play-offs is based on which team finished highest in the Championship this season.
But that is a simple prediction to make, and history has demonstrated that the team that finishes third doesn’t always come out on top in the play-offs.
In fact, Leeds United have never won promotion via the Football League play-offs, with this set to be their sixth appearance.
All West Brom can do now is ignore the outside noise and ensure they are fully prepared for the task at hand this weekend.
In other West Brom news, Corberan should be wary of one Southampton player after his recent admission.
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