7 things to look out for in the EFL play-off semi-final second legs

From tactical questions for Sunderland and Orient to the superpowers shown by Walsall and a brilliant Blade, we're set for a knockout Round Two

How do you follow that…?

Those play-off semi-final first legs, eh – always so cagey and low-scoring.

Or not. Though they’d run out of puff by the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, stretching lazily on the sofa after a gluttonous roast with all the trimmings, the first legs of the 2024/25 EFL play-off semi-finals were a surprise in every sense.

We were told that the away sides just play for a goalless draw to take into their home tie, but this year’s half-dozen hit double figures between them, beating their various hosts 10-3 on aggregate with only Charlton drawing a blank on the road. We were told not to expect goals, and 2025 was the first time in nearly 20 years that both Championship first legs had three or more goals apiece.

And we were told – all right, you were told by us – that woefully out-of-form teams would struggle, and they didn’t. If this article was called 7 Things We Learned From The First Legs, numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 would be ‘ignore the form book’.

But instead we turn our eyes to the second legs, and what we can expect… apart from the unexpected.

Here are 7 things to look out for in the second legs of the play-off semi-finals.

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1. A fresh tactical battle for Stockport & Orient?

Ali Maxwell

Richie Wellens was visibly unhappy with how the tactical battle played out on Saturday, coming down to the dugout from his usual high vantage point to corral his players into better shape.

The Orient manager was unhappy with the balance of his midfield:

“When you play with two attacking 8s, sometimes they can be ahead of the ball too much, so when the ball turns over, you lose them – you lose that connection pass. I thought we didn't have that, especially in the first 20 minutes, and it cost us a little bit, so hopefully [Jordan] Brown will be back.”

…and also seems to itching to revert to his favoured back four:

“I don’t like a back three, do I? I don’t like it. But we’ve had to adapt in recent weeks because of the fitness of our full-backs. TJ [Tom James] and Jack Currie coming back at this time is a bonus, but it’s just how much they can last. I was pleased with them when they came on.”

Jordan Brown. Tom James. Jack Currie. If all are fit to start, a switch from 3-5-2 to 4-2-3-1 is on the cards, with Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Azeem Abdulai and Randell Williams coming out. This switch would, on paper, solve a few issues from the first leg: better midfield balance, a more appropriate 1v1 defender for jinky Jayden Fevrier, and greater wide attacking threat.

But each football tactic is like a duvet that covers either your feet or your head, but not both. One fewer defender in the Orient backline could see Stockport target man Kyle Wootton come to the fore, for example.

Dave Challinor has a selection headache of his own, caused by the return of key players. Captain Lewis Bate came off the bench to play his first minutes since 1st April, and he was joined by fellow midfielder Callum Camps, out since 22nd March. While Owen Moxon performed well enough, both Bate and Camps were above Moxon in the pecking order before their injuries, and Challinor may prefer to bring one of them back in.

Jack Diamond returns from his suspension to add another dribbly wide threat on top of the nightmare-inducing Fevrier. In fact, Diamond was outshining Fevrier in terms of goals and assists towards the end of the season and will be raring to go.

Given the impressive implementation of Challinor’s game plan at Orient, major changes to the starting XI seem unlikely. But the Stockport boss isn’t shy to switch things up when things aren’t going to plan, and his bench will look stacked on Wednesday.

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2. Another Walsall game management masterclass

Huw Davies

Hey, Walsall’s god hasn’t abandoned them after all! The Saddlers won 2-0 on the road with a composed performance that belied their recent struggles, and if there’s one thing Chesterfield can take from the first leg into the second, it’s that they must find a way to play it on their own terms, not Walsall’s.