Leeds v Southampton LIVE: Championship play-off final latest updates from Wembley

Southampton manager Russell Martin expressed hope ugly scenes involving rival fans would not tarnish a “beautiful moment” after leading his side to Wembley with a 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Adam Armstrong’s brace following Will Smallbone’s opener propelled Saints into the Championship play-off final against Leeds United on May 26.

Home fans spilled on to the pitch to celebrate moving a step closer to an immediate Premier League return but trouble flared when some clashed with visiting supporters in front of the away end. Martin condemned the crowd disorder on a raucous evening at St Mary’s as he turns his attention to clinching promotion at the national stadium.

“I haven’t seen it but I think it’s unnecessary and I’m pretty sure it will be a real, real minority,” said Martin. “Our fans were amazing tonight. For those who did do that, if it tarnishes the night we’ve had and the win we’ve had and getting to Wembley in any way then they’ve let themselves down.”

Will Ferrell is the latest celebrity to become a minority investor in Leeds, the PA news agency understands.

Hollywood actor Ferrell, 56, has bought a stake in Leeds owners 49ers Enterprises, joining the likes of Russell Crowe, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

Three-time major winner Spieth confirmed he and fellow American Thomas bought minority shares in the Championship promotion chasers last summer.

Ferrell is co-owner of Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC and revealed he was a big fan of English football during a trip to watch Manchester City beat Aston Villa 3-1 last season.

The line-ups are pretty much as we expected although Southampton have listed Ryan Fraser as part of the midfield three, with Joe Aribo further forward but they could easily be switched.

With Patrick Bamford out injured, Joel Piroe leads the line for Leeds.

Leeds XI: Meslier; Gray, Ampadu, Rodon, Firpo; Gruev, Kamara; Gnonto, Rutter, Summerville; Piroe

Southampton XI: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens; Fraser, Downes, Smallbone; Aribo, Armstrong, Brooks

The teams are out for today’s Wembley final:

Perhaps it only took Leeds United 37 years to master the play-offs. The oldest curse in the Football League’s end-of-season exercise in delight and dejection may only have another 10 days left to run. Leeds, beaten in the second tier’s inaugural final in 1987, invariably unsuccessful in such knockout ties ever since, will be marching on together down Wembley Way after a display of blistering brilliance.

Their promotion specialist of a manager, Daniel Farke, subjected his former club Norwich to a harrowing night as Leeds transformed their form and the mood. They lost their way and their automatic play-off place in the last six weeks of the season. And then, suddenly, came a display to support the theory they had it in them to be the best side in the Championship this season. They outwitted Norwich even before they outsprinted and outran them. Opposing fans are fond of chanting that Leeds are falling apart: Elland Road reverberated to it, the Leeds supporters launching into a mocking chorus as Norwich collapsed and capitulated, three goals down by half-time, perhaps fortunate to only lose by four.

Raucous and rousing, Elland Road was rocking, almost 40,000 white scarves swirling in the Yorkshire night. After the drabness of the first-leg stalemate at Carrow Road came an evening infused with energy and electricity. Leeds played like men possessed, Norwich like a group trapped in the eye of a storm. It felt all the stranger that Leeds had lost their last two home matches. There was no danger of a hat-trick. Instead, the treble may belong to Farke, on course to take a team into the Premier League for the third time in his last three seasons at this level. The first two were with Norwich; now the German ended their chances of a top-flight return.

Read Richard Jolly’s full report after Leeds’s semi-final second-leg demolition of Norwich:

If you had American socialite Paris Hilton sending Leeds a good luck video ahead of the Championship play-off final on your pre-match bingo card then, erm… Congrats I guess? And can I have next week’s lottery numbers?

For those of us more on the baffled end of the spectrum, here’s The Simple Life star wishing her beloved boys in white all the best…

After just one season away, they’re back in the Premier League, a play-off final victory at Wembley seeing the despair of 12 months ago turn to joy now, optimism fuelled once more that this time it can be different, this time they can remain among the elite and become a sustainable, sustained, top-flight side.

Just one thing to decide: the actual team to which that opening paragraph can be applied. Leeds United or Southampton, either way it still chimes true – two of last year’s fallen trio, one will join another in bouncing straight back up.

Leicester City are already there and, just as last year’s three promoted sides succumbed to an immediate drop, last term’s three relegated names have gone the distance to reclaim their spot among England’s 20 finest. Ipswich Town, of course, are the outlier here. They were in neither the Premier League nor the Championship last year, the story of the Tractor Boys and Kieran McKenna one which is infrequently repeated and impressive in its own right – but also a total one-off in the story of year-to-year promotions and relegations.

The knock-on of that is that only one of Saints or Leeds can earn the right to go straight back up now while the loser will face another arduous second-tier campaign; Leeds ended the regular season in third, one place and three points above their Wembley foes, but Saints triumphed in a final-day meeting between the teams, 2-1 at Elland Road.

Read Karl Matchett’s full analysis ahead of today’s play-off final:

Southampton are not thought to have any fresh fitness concerns. Stuart Armstrong and Gavin Bazunu remain out.

Predicted Southampton XI: McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens; Aribo, Downes, Smallbone; Brooks, Armstrong, Fraser.

Patrick Bamford will miss the final having not recovered sufficiently from his knee injury to feature. Sam Byram could be fit to start though, after returning to training ahead of the game.

Predicted Leeds XI: Meslier; Gray, Ampadu, Rodon, Firpo; Gruev, Kamara; Gnonto, Rutter, Summerville; Piroe

Leeds vs Southampton is due to kick off at 3pm BST on Sunday 26 May at Wembley Stadium.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the Championship play-off final live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage on the latter channel from 2pm BST. Subscribers can stream the game via Sky Go.

If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.