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

Sunderland beat Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley last season to win promotion to the Premier League [Getty Images] 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. Can stats pick out the Championship play-off winner? Second leg comebacks are rare in Championship 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 [Getty Images] 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.