Leeds United have been a somewhat surprise package this season.

From spying on opposition’s training sessions, to an open presentation of their ingenious tactics to more recently giving their opponents a result defining goal, Marcelo Bielsa’s side seem to have been at the heart of every controversial thing to have happened in the Championship this season.

But for all their surprises this season, their utterly predictable demise of automatic promotion - when it seemed so likely – was perhaps the most unsurprising thing to ever happen to the club.

This has left many believing that Leeds have ultimately failed to get promotion to the Premier League once again. They could be very wrong and here’s why.

Firstly, statistics tells us that the team to finish third is the most likely to prevail in the play-offs. Four of the last eight play-offs have been won by the team who were the best of the rest.

Last year's was won by Fulham who too narrowly and desperately fell short of the automatics in disappointing circumstances. But they were ultimately the best team left to play in that division and showed it as Leeds might also do come the play-off semi-finals.

Leeds simply have one of the most talented squads the Championship has ever seen. A PFA Team of the Season winning centre-back partnership of Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson combined with arguably the best and most creative player in the whole division in Pablo Hernandez means that Bielsa’s side don’t really have any weak areas on the pitch to exploit.

Big game players and experience can win or lose your team the play-offs. Leeds have it in abundance. Hernandez is a veteran of football and can perform on the big stage. Patrick Bamford has play-off final experience with Derby County and Middlesbrough which can go an awful long way in the one-off games.

Also, Leeds have only lost one of the eight matches against potential opponents in the play-offs: West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Derby County and Middlesbrough.

Ultimately, with a class coach, exceptional players and good experience Leeds are far from defeated in the face of a little disappointment.