Championship play-off betting preview
Championship Play-Off Final Blackpool v Cardiff City betting preview can be found Here
Nottingham Forest v Blackpool, Tuesday 7.45pm
One of these teams will be contesting the Wembley final later this month and the bookmakers are struggling to separate the duo after Saturday’s first leg. It saw Blackpool come back from a goal down to win 2-1 and they are marginal favourites (10/11 totesport) with most firms to move to within one match of the Premier League. They have already won at the City Ground this season and their attacking approach might lead several punters to back them at 4/1 (bet365) to win in ninety minutes.
Ian Holloway has done a fantastic job this season and the top six finish has been achieved from playing attacking football. It’s difficult to see the visitors sitting back and having to deal with their opponents’ deadly firepower. Therefore, goals could be the order of the day, with Over 2.5 Goals on offer at 11/10 (bet365) and Over 3.5 Goals available at odds of 5/2 (Paddy Power). Crazy things happen in the play-offs, with a whole season’s endeavour reduced to just 180 minutes of football.
Nottingham Forest might be the slight outsiders (evens Paddy Power) to go through to the final, although they are strong favourites (8/11 William Hill) to win on the night – work that out if you will! Their home form has been pretty outstanding in 2010 and it’s possible that they will prove too strong for Blackpool, with Blue Square offering 15/8 that they lead at half-time and full-time.
Cardiff City v Leicester City, Wednesday 7.45pm
The Bluebirds might have drawn first blood on Sunday, although away goals count for nothing in the play-offs so we still have a wide-open tie between these two promotion hopefuls. Cardiff have slipped up on enough occasions this season to give Leicester hope of turning things round and the visitors are 4/1 (Blue Square) to qualify for the Wembley final and draw closer to a second successive promotion.
It’s been an excellent campaign for the Foxes, who are 14/5 (bet365) to win on the night and guarantee that the tie goes to extra-time at the very least. Martyn Waghorn had been in excellent form in the run-up to the play-offs and he’s 15/2 (bet365) to bring the contest level by opening the scoring. However, the visitors’ defence might have their work cut out dealing with Jay Bothroyd (13/2 Paddy Power) and Michael Chopra (5/1 Coral), while Peter Whittingham is 13/2 (Paddy Power) to score first as he did at the Walkers Stadium.
As per Tuesday night’s match at the City Ground, you should always expect the unexpected in the play-offs and it would be no surprise to see this game go to extra-time and possibly penalties. You can get 14/1 with Paddy Power that either team go through on spot kicks and the Bluebirds might be a little pressurised having to protect the lead in front of their own supporters.
