Win the first leg and keep clean sheets – how to stand a chance in the play-offs

Win the first leg and keep clean sheets – how to stand a chance in the play-offsSunderland beat Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley last season to win promotion to the Premier League

The EFL regular campaign finished with a flourish and now gives way to all the annual chaos the post-season provides.

Twelve teams across the three tiers of the English Football League will begin their pursuit of the final promotion place.

The Championship play-offs promise the riches of the Premier League but in League One and League Two the incentive of teams testing themselves on a higher stage next term is no less a motivation.

In the 40th season of the play-offs, what does history tell us about how to succeed? What do winning teams typically do on their way to success? And, even more importantly, what should they avoid?

BBC Sport has piled into the data, got a headache from looking at a spreadsheet, and compiled some things to watch out for as the play-offs return.

Fulham beat Derby County at Craven Cottage, having lost the semi-final first leg at Pride Park, before winning the Championship play-off final against Aston Villa in 2017-18

It might sound obvious, but in the second tier, avoiding a first-leg deficit is a key component to being a successful play-off side.

And even if you get back into the tie by scoring first in the second leg of your semi-final, the odds appear stacked against you claiming that final promotion place.

In the current format – a two-legged semi-final followed by a one-off final – teams have scored first in the second leg on 21 occasions having lost the first.

But, of those, only three clubs have not only reached the final but also won promotion to the top flight.

Bolton Wanderers did it first in 1994-95 after trailing 2-1 to Wolves after the first leg of their semi-final.

John McGinlay scored to take the second leg to extra time then, after escaping with just a yellow card for appearing to punch David Kelly, then scored again in the 109th minute to send his side to Wembley.

Bolton eventually beat Reading to win promotion to the then-named Premiership.

It took 23 years for another side to repeat the feat, as Fulham scored first in their second leg against Derby County before going on to beat Aston Villa in the 2017-18 final.

Thomas Frank's Brentford team are the only team since 2013-14 to lose the first leg of an EFL play-off, go behind in the second and then fight back to win and subsequently go on to win the final

Five years later it happened again. Gabriel Osho gave Luton Town the lead having lost against Sunderland in their first leg, with the Hatters eventually going on to beat Coventry City on penalties in the 2022-23 final at Wembley.

Since 2013-14, only twice has a team lost the first leg, gone behind in the second and still managed to advance to the final. And both of those occasions happened in the Championship.

Derby County were the first to do so in a fiercely contested tie against Leeds against the backdrop of the infamous "Spygate" scandal.

Then head coach Marcelo Biela said he had "personally" paid a £200,000 fine Leeds received after a member of the club's staff was seen outside Derby's training ground before a league game between the sides earlier that season.

Leeds won a tight first leg 1-0 at Pride Park through Kemar Roofe's 55th-minute strike.

Stuart Dallas then put his side seemingly in control in the return at Elland Road, before goals from Jack Marriott, Mason Mount and a Harry Wilson penalty turned the match on its head.

Dallas scored again to level it up on aggregate, before Marriott struck with five minutes remaining to send the Rams through to the final, where they eventually lost to Aston Villa in Frank Lampard's final match in charge at the club.

Brentford became the only team to lose the first leg, go behind in the second and then win promotion in 2022-23, when Thomas Frank's team fought back to defeat Bournemouth in the semi-final, before sealing their top-flight status with victory over Swansea City in that season's final.

Conversely, Hull, who face Millwall on Friday, have won all three of their first leg ties in their previous EFL play-off semi-final appearances, keeping a clean sheet each time.

AFC Wimbledon beat Walsall in the League Two play-off final at Wembley last season

Clean sheets certainly aid a team's play-off bid.

On 23 occasions in the second tier, a club has gone on to win promotion having been the only team to score in either a semi-final first or second leg.

And on three occasions – Charlton in 1997-98, Burnley in 2008-09 and West Ham in 2011-12 – a club has shut out their semi-final opponents in both legs.

The Addicks twice beat Ipswich Town 1-0 before winning one of the all-time great finals, defeating Sunderland on penalties after a captivating 4-4 draw after extra time.

West Ham swept aside Cardiff 5-0 on aggregate before beating Blackpool 2-1 courtesy of Ricardo Vaz Te's 87th-minute winner.

Burnley won all three of their Championship play-off games in 2009 with a clean sheet. They beat Reading 3-0 on aggregate in the semi-final and Wade Elliott's goal in the final saw them overcome Sheffield United 1-0.

Outside of the Championship, Stevenage in 2010-11 (League Two), Preston North End in 2014-15 (League One) and AFC Wimbledon last season (League Two) have also achieved the feat of going up without conceding.

Darren Byfield scored the winner as Walsall beat Reading in the 2000-01 Division Two play-off final

Goalless draws in play-off semi-finals are relatively rare – but if you are involved in one, make it the first leg.

In the second tier, there have been only 16 goalless draws in semi-finals.

Eight teams have won promotion to the top flight after being involved in a goalless draw in the semi-finals – all of them in the first leg.

There have only been three goalless second legs in second tier play-off semi-finals – but none of those teams have ultimately become a play-off winner.

No semi-final has ever gone the whole way to penalties with a 0-0 scoreline across both legs.

As for own goals, it might sounds obvious but try not to put the ball into your own net.

A total of 30 have been scored in the third and fourth-tier play-offs, with Walsall the only side ever to have benefitted from two own goals in a single play-off campaign.

Ray Graydon's Saddlers eliminated Stoke City in the Division Two (now League One) semi-finals in 2000-01, with Gavin Ward putting through his own net for the Potters, before going on to beat a Reading side managed by Alan Pardew and with current Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson in the team.

The Saddlers' current caretaker boss Darren Byfield scored the winner in Cardiff that day but earlier on, Reading's Tony Rougier also scored an own goal, drawing Walsall level at 2-2 in extra time.

Swindon Town have scored the most own goals from tiers three and four – against Charlton in 2009-10, Brentford in 2012-13 and Sheffield United in 2014-15. The Robins failed to win promotion on all three occasions, too.

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