With the buzz and excitement surrounding promotion to the Premier League, it is the Play-offs that perhaps provide the most enjoyable route to the top flight.
This season all three of the clubs relegated from the Premier League last season, have a chance to bounce back up.
Welsh club Cardiff, who have been unsuccessful in their last two play-off attempts, will also look to join Reading and Southampton in gaining promotion.
Southampton's win over Coventry on Saturday ended West Ham's pursuit for automatic promotion and instead resigned them to third place and the play-offs.
The 'unlucky' third place was notorious for being the one place that would almost certainly result in failure.
In the first 10 years of the Play-offs following the inception of the Premier League, only Bolton Wanderers were successful in the Play-offs after finishing third, this was in 1995.
Promotion for Ipswich Town in 2000 and Bolton again the year later did seem to buck the trend.
It wasn't until five years later when Watford successfully defeat Leeds in the last game to be played at the Millennium Stadium, that things changed.
Four of the last six Play-off finals have been won by the team finishing third.
Derby County picked up a 1-0 win over West Brom in 2007, before Hull got the same result against Bristol City the following year.
Wins for 5th place Burnley in 2009 and 6th place Blackpool in 2010 ended a spell of 3rd place successes.
It was Swansea City who took 3rd place in 2011, with the Swans picking up a 4-2 victory over Reading at Wembley and bring the glory back to 3rd.
The omens look brighter for West Ham, who may consider themselves unlucky to have missed out on the top two.
Semi-final first leg
Thursday May 3 - Cardiff v West Ham (1945)
Friday May 4 - Blackpool v Birmingham (1945)
Semi-final second leg
Monday May 7 - West Ham v Cardiff (1630)
Wednesday May 9 - Birmingham v Blackpool (1945)
Source: DSG
