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Leeds vs Norwich LIVE: Championship play-off semi-final result and reaction as hosts run rampant
Leeds 4-0 Norwich: The hosts dominated from the off and now have a trip to Wembley to look forward to
Leeds United are the first team to make it to Wembley after a dominant and brilliant display to defeat Norwich City in their Championship play-off semi-final second leg.
With home advantage, Leeds came out of the traps quickly, forcing Norwich to defend and pressing high up the pitch. They won a free kick just outside the box and Ilia Gruev curled it past Angus Gunn to open the scoring. Joel Piroe, returned to the starting XI for this one, then met a cross from Wilfried Gnonto and powered a header into the back of the net to double the lead.
In what was perhaps the turning point of the match, Ashley Barnes threaed Josh Sargent into space but his one-on-one with Illan Meslier was kept out by the goalkeeper.
Georginio Rutter added a third before the break and Crysencio Summerville put the icing on the cake with a second half tap-in to send the Whites to Wembley.
Relive the action below plus get the latest odds and tips right here:
Leeds vs Norwich prediction
Norwich held their own at Carrow Road against a Leeds United side more focused on keeping a clean sheet than going for the win.
That will be different tonight and buoyed on by their home supporters the Whites will be a force to be reckoned with. Norwich’s best chance of winning is if they score first and hold onto that lead but it’s hard to look past Leeds making it to Wembley.
Leeds 3-1 Norwich (3-1 agg.)
Predicted line-ups and latest odds
Here’s how we see both teams lining up at Elland Road:
Leeds XI: Meslier; Byram, Rodon, Ampadu, Firpo; Kamara, Gruev; Gnonto, Gray, Summerville; Rutter.
Norwich XI: Gunn; Stacey, Duffy, Gibson, Giannoulis; Nunez, McLean; Rowe, Sara, Sainz; Sargent.
And, given their home advantage, it should come as no surprise that Leeds are the favourites with the bookies to go on and win this evening. That said, this match may be a closer affair than previously assumed. Here are the latest odds:
Leeds win 3/5
Norwich win 9/2
Our football betting sites can be found here.
Leeds vs Norwich early team news
Daniel James passed a fitness test to feature off the bench for Leeds in the first leg, though Patrick Bamford wil again miss out. Pascal Struijk’s season is over due to injury.
Norwich suffered a scare when Josh Sargent appeared to aggravate an ankle problem late on at Carrow Road, but David Wagner suggested he was confident that Sargent would be able to battle through it to start again. A calf injury for Ashley Barnes is more of a concern.
How to watch Leeds vs Norwich
The second leg of the Championship play-off semi-final is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Thursday 16 May at Elland Road.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage from 7pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via Sky Go.
If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
Good afternoon!
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Championship play-off semi-final.
This is the second leg of the tie between Leeds United and Norwich City meaning one of the teams will be heading to Wembley while the other will be resigned to another season in the second division.
The first leg was played at Carrow Road and ended in a goalless draw though tonight’s match is expected to be starkly different. Both teams need to win and will want to avoid a penalty shootout so there’ll be plenty of action in both final thirds.
We’ll have all the team news, line-ups and latest updates throughout the evening so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 8pm.
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