What happens if Leeds United are tied with Premier League promotion rivals amid Championship drama

Leeds United's race to return to the Premier League will almost certainly go down to the last day of the Championship season with four teams still in the run-in for the title and automatic promotion spots.

Ipswich Town, Leicester City and now Southampton all have a realistic opportunity alongside Leeds to finish either first or second and avoid the dreaded playoffs. The Saints moved themselves firmly into the automatic promotion picture on Tuesday night with a first-half brace from Che Adams followed by a Stuart Armstrong effort securing a 3-0 win over Preston North End.

That result moved Russell Martin's men three points behind Leeds with a game in hand. That game in hand will be played a week on Tuesday against fellow promotion hopefuls Leicester.

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If the Championship promotion race continues in the same fashion as we have seen all season to date, there is a realistic possibility that at least two teams, if not three or four, will be locked on identical points tallies come the end of the season. With this in mind, Leeds Live has taken a look at the process the EFL shall go through to separate them.

The first port of call will be to separate the teams through their goal difference. Currently, only one goal separates Leeds and Leicester so further methods could be needed to decide who goes up and who makes the playoffs.

If goal difference is also level, teams will be separated in this order; goals scored, then most points in the head-to-head matches, then goal difference in head-to-head games, before goals scored in those games. In the unlikely event that the teams are still not separated after all that, the final standings shall be decided by the number of wins, then goals scored in away games.