Leeds' opponents have the benefit of being coached by a man who has been promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs before and the Canaries boss has already boasted of his previous experience at this stage of the season.
David Wagner was triumphant with Huddersfield Town in 2017, earning promotion to the top flight after three straight draws in the play-off semi-final and final, versus Sheffield Wednesday and Reading, respectively. While Norwich's dugout has plenty of play-off experience, Leeds' has promotion pedigree of its own with Daniel Farke among the most successful managers in the second tier's modern era.
Leeds have prepared for this weekend's clash against Norwich by undergoing more-or-less a full week of training at Thorp Arch, but some coaches prefer to do things a little differently and seek to make marginal gains over their opposition wherever possible.
Here is a breakdown of some of Leeds' play-off predecessors and potential opponents, and how they prepared for their semi-final or final ties.
![Russell Martin explained following the Saints' win at Elland Road last weekend that his players would be given Sunday as 'downtime' before gearing up for a two-to-three week period in which there would be no days off.
"We'll have some time together away from Staplewood [training facility]."
"That will help us make sure everyone is really ready for what's to come because it's going to be intense.
"There will not be a day off now for sure for a week or two. After a bit of downtime, we will get back to training.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/jpim-static/image/2024/05/01/9/11/GettyImages-2150446192.jpg.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
1. Southampton - 2024
Russell Martin explained following the Saints' win at Elland Road last weekend that his players would be given Sunday as 'downtime' before gearing up for a two-to-three week period in which there would be no days off. "We'll have some time together away from Staplewood [training facility]." "That will help us make sure everyone is really ready for what's to come because it's going to be intense. "There will not be a day off now for sure for a week or two. After a bit of downtime, we will get back to training.
2. Brentford - 2021
Thomas Frank attempted to give his Brentford side an edge over victorious play-off semi-final first leg opponents AFC Bournemouth when the two sides met at the Gtech Community Stadium by finishing the Bees' pre-match warm-up with a lap of honour around the pitch. The Guardian described the moment as such: "The home team deliberately ended their warm-up with a lap of honour and when the game began every cheer, scream and insult hurled across the pitch seemed to imbue the moment with even more significance. Frank ranked the performance of the supporters just above that of his players."
3. Derby County - 2019
The Rams' play-off journey in 2019 saw them defeat Leeds at Elland Road to book their place in the final where they were subsequently beaten. Frank Lampard took his side to a warm weather training camp between their semi-final victory and their date with Wembley.
4. Aston Villa - 2018
Steve Bruce described his Villans' play-off final preparation as 'absolutely ideal' with the ten-day break between semi-final success over Middlesbrough and the finale in London. It allowed his team to rest and recuperate before taking on Fulham at Wembley where they would lose 1-0.
5. Huddersfield Town - 2017
Wagner took his soon-to-be promoted Terriers to Portugal for a warm weather training camp prior to their play-off final win on penalties versus Reading. Curiously, Huddersfield also arranged for the players' families to attend the five-day camp before returning a good week before the final.
6. Norwich City - 2015
Prior to Norwich's promotion via the play-offs in 2015, head coach Alex Neil was forced to fly to Glasgow straight after the first leg of the play-off semi-final against Ipswich to take part in a course geared towards gaining his UEFA Pro Licence, according to the Guardian.