Southampton star will hope to repeat St Mary's trick against West Brom in the play-offs: View | OneFootball

Southampton missed out on the automatic promotion spots, finishing in fourth, 10 points behind champions Leicester City and seven behind second placed Ipswich Town.

But dreams of an immediate Premier League return are very much still alive for Russell Martin's men, who take on West Brom in the play-off semi-finals.

The Saints have only won two of their last five games, but a final day win away from home against potential play-off final opponents Leeds United was a major confidence boost for Martin and co.

The Hampshire outfit also have a hotshot among their ranks, in the form of Adam Armstrong, who finished the regular season as the Championship's second top goalscorer on 21 goals, six behind that of golden boot winner Sammie Szmodics.

Armstrong's St Mary's form is dangerous

Over half of Armstrong's goals this campaign have come on home soil. He has scored at St Mary's on 12 occasions, and his home form is something that both he and the Saints will hope continues into the play-offs.

Martin's side travel to West Brom on Sunday in the first leg of their play-off semi-final, before hosting the Baggies on Friday 17th May.

It is advantageous for the Saints to be the home team for the second leg, not least because, in the event of a first leg defeat, a comeback effort is more plausible in front of a home crowd.

And, of course, the St Mary's outfit would be more confident playing in front of their own crowd if they draw at the Hawthorns, or even claim what would be an invaluable victory.

But regardless of what happens in the midlands, Martin's men can return to the south coast with the knowledge that Armstrong is especially dangerous in front of goal on home soil, while this is something the Baggies must be wary of.

Interestingly though, the former Blackburn man has not scored at St Mary's since a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough on Good Friday, after drawing blanks in Hampshire against Watford, Preston and Stoke, although he did provide assists in wins over the Hornets and the Lilywhites.

The 27-year-old will not be short of confidence though, after he scored the goal at Elland Road which established a 1-0 lead for the Saints, who went on to claim a 2-1 victory over the Whites.

Armstrong has more than proven his worth in the second tier this season, so he will hope that he can demonstrate his quality once more, and fire his side to Wembley and beyond.

Saints have had the upper hand over the Baggies this season

The Championship play-offs are famous for being as unpredictable as the lottery, and are games in which anything can happen, but the Saints can certainly take confidence from their head-to-head record against the Baggies this campaign.

Back in November, the Saints defeated Carlos Corberan's side at St Mary's 2-1 with goals from Will Smallbone and the ever dangerous Armstrong.

Then, in February's reverse fixture, Martin's side ran out as 2-0 victors at the Hawthorns courtesy of strikes from Ryan Fraser and Wales international David Brooks.

This head-to-head record shows that the Saints have undeniably had the upper hand over the Baggies this campaign, but perhaps Corberan and co can use this as motivation to get revenge on their top-six rivals when it matters most.

One thing is for certain though - we can anticipate plenty of drama, twists and turns in the play-offs. For the Saints, though, they will hope that Armstrong's goalscoring exploits on home soil will once again prove to be a decisive factor to land them a Wembley date with either Leeds or Norwich.