Norwich City: How similar is play-off push to Huddersfield?

The Norwich City head coach has made no small play of his experience winning the Championship play-offs, talking up the value of that when qualification was secure and referencing his prior victory after the semi-final's first leg.

The German's latest scrap of play-off knowledge was the proclamation that a second-leg trip away doesn't necessarily mean a disadvantage, and even if that was emboldened by the result at Carrow Road it's hard to deny his expertise.

The score, 0-0 for anyone who's been living under a rock, was exactly the same as in Huddersfield Town's home clash with Sheffield Wednesday seven years ago.

The reverse fixture finished 1-1, with the Terriers winning on penalties and repeating the feat at Wembley against Reading. So it's hard to say that Wagner's confidence is misplaced.

The similarities between the campaigns are clear, even down to the reputations of the away grounds both teams visited. Elland Road has one of the most famous atmospheres in the country, but Hillsborough isn't far behind.

When it comes to the actual pattern of the games, however, the two situations begin to diverge.

Huddersfield were completely dominant in their home clash with Wednesday, having 69pc of possession, 12 shots to three, eight corners to one and denying their opponents a single shot on target.

On the road they were slightly more reserved but still had the best of it, with 60pc possession, nine shots to eight and more efforts on target.

Their display on that day was actually closer to what Leeds produced on Sunday, when the Whites had 61pc of the ball and two shots on target to City's one.

If the pattern of Huddersfield's promotion, where the level of dominance slides significantly from home to away, is repeated then that will spell problems for Norwich.

A more worrying case study for supporters is the one that delighted them nine years ago, when Alex Neil guided them first past Ipswich and then Middlesbrough to secure a spot in the 2015-16 Premier League.

City won the play-offs at their last attempt (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

In that tie City, who finished third, travelled to their neighbours and secured a draw on a tense and cagey afternoon in Suffolk, hoping that their superior technical quality would get them over the line at home.

That's a similar position to the one Leeds are in now, and the 3-1 win for Norwich suggests they're in a good position to do so.

But there remain several factors in Norwich's favour as they travel to LS11, including that play-off experience. Wagner isn't alone when it comes to staff who have experienced the mini-tournament before, having worked with goalkeeping coach Paul Clements at Huddersfield.

Clements and Narcis Pelach also reached the final in 2022 before losing out narrowly to Nottingham Forest, and Christoph Buhler was of course Wagner's assistant in 2017.

Throw in the players who have competed in the post-season previously, including Jack Stacey, George Long and Ben Gibson, and there's definitely enough in the know-how column.

There's a reason why Wagner has enjoyed a wink and a nod from time to time in the last few weeks, and the confidence provided by his successes in Yorkshire will help his team when they pitch up there on Thursday. Fans will hope his predictions continue to be proven right.

By the 52-year-old's own admission, however, experience isn't everything, and Norwich will need a plethora of skills to battle through a potential two hours of pressure and emerge victorious.

It wouldn't be the first time the Canaries have defied the odds, though, and it wouldn't be the first time for Wagner either.