Promotion playoffs: Examining battle for coveted Premier League spot

Here, theScore picks apart the upcoming Championship playoff semifinal matchups prior to Wembley's prestigious showpiece on May 27.

Aston Villa vs. West Bromwich Albion

First meeting: May 11 at 7:30 a.m. ET (Villa Park)

Second meeting: May 14 at 3:00 p.m. ET (the Hawthorns)

West Brom upset a few neutrals when Darren Moore was given the boot in March. He was a popular figure and administered better football than his predecessor Tony Pulis, but his tactics didn't get the best out of a talented bunch of players. Dwight Gayle should never be playing on the left flank.

The age of the squad and backing Moore received in the transfer market - Mason Holgate, Stefan Johansen, Jacob Murphy, and Jefferson Montero were all loaned in during an impressive spate of January business - also made delivering an instant return to the Premier League a near-necessity.

And it can be done. The Baggies can't be written off with a team featuring Gayle, Jay Rodriguez, the inconsistent yet undeniably gifted Matt Phillips, and Chris Brunt's left trotter. Caretaker boss James Shan joined West Brom in 2006 to coach the Under-7s and is now three matches away from potentially managing in the Premier League.

West Brom's Midlands rivals Aston Villa are in their second straight playoff campaign after losing in last term's final to Fulham.

Jack Grealish's importance to the Second City club can't be overstated. When the midfielder suffered an injury in December, Villa won two of their next 14 matches. When he returned in March, Villa won 10 matches in a row. His ambitious dribbling and intelligent use of his body draw more fouls than any other player in the league.

Tammy Abraham has also been invaluable. The striker was reportedly close to moving his loan terms to Wolverhampton Wanderers in January but decided to continue his fight for promotion with Villa. What a relief: Following 25 goals and three assists, the 21-year-old has every right to demand a prolonged run in Chelsea's first team when he goes back in the summer.

Dean Smith suffered a wobble after a few months in charge but has since instilled belief, uncovered a solid center-back pairing in Tyrone Mings and Axel Tuanzebe, and even had the luxury of resting his players in Villa's last outing of the season.

Derby County vs. Leeds United

First meeting: May 11 at 12:15 p.m. ET (Pride Park)

Second meeting: May 15 at 2:45 p.m. ET (Elland Road)

Leeds haven't fallen into the Championship playoffs arse backward. It's much worse than that.

The West Yorkshire club was top on Boxing Day, but its results since would only be enough for 13th place. A common diagnosis for Leeds' slump has been fatigue due to the huge workload overseen by eccentric handler Marcelo Bielsa.

"He is a unique coach. You will never see a coach with as strong a mentality," the Portland Timbers' Bill Tuiloma, who worked with Bielsa at Marseille, told theScore. "(He's) a coach who wants everything to be precise and perfect in training: the exercise has to be perfect, the passing has to be perfect, the movement has to be perfect."

However, Tuiloma believes Leeds' struggles could be more of a mental issue than a physical one. Fear of failure rather than exhaustion from Bielsa's repetitive sessions may be the problem.

"If you weren't strong up in the head, your body's not going to be strong at the same time," he offered. "Yes, we did train a lot, but in the games, it just came out easy: the passing, movement."

There is already a little needle between Leeds and Derby that stems from when Bielsa employed someone to spy on Rams practice earlier this season, but there are other elements that have kept things interesting during Frank Lampard's first season in management.

Lampard's links with the Chelsea job are faintly ridiculous. If it wasn't for his big name, the former midfielder would be closer to the sack at Pride Park than a Stamford Bridge return. There are high expectations at Derby under trigger-happy owner Mel Morris, but the club had to wait until the final day to confirm its playoff berth. It was far from a sure thing.

Lampard has swapped his personnel around and changed shape many times, which can partially explain his squad's lack of a distinct identity. Significant fees were spent on players like Jack Marriott and Martyn Waghorn, and veterans like Ashley Cole and Efe Ambrose were brought in on big wages, but there still appears to be an over-reliance on loanees Harry Wilson, Mason Mount, and Fikayo Tomori.

Whoever wins the two-legged affair between these teams will likely be the underdog going into the final.