Neither team had featured in the second tier play-offs before. It was Brighton &amp; Hove Albion's first visit to Wembley since they lost the 1983 FA Cup Final replay. The club had last played top-tier football in the 1982–83 season. Notts County were aiming for back-to-back promotions, having won the 1990 Football League Third Division play-off Final 2–0 against Tranmere Rovers. They had not played at the highest level of English football since they were relegated in the 1983–84 season. In the matches between the two sides during the regular season, Notts County won their home game at Meadow Lane on New Year's Day 1991 while the return fixture in April ended in a goalless draw. Brighton's top scorer during the regular season was Small with 20 goals (15 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup, 1 in League Cup and 2 in Full Members' Cup), followed by John Byrne with a total of 11 goals (9 in the league and 2 in the FA Cup). For Notts County, Tommy Johnson was the leading marksman with 19 goals in total (16 in the league and 3 in the League Cup) followed by Kevin Bartlett and Regis (both with 16 goals in total).