Huddersfield v Reading
Bank Holiday Monday 29th May, 15:00
Live on Sky Sports
Huddersfield
Huddersfield are looking to return to the top-flight of English football
for the first time since 1972 and could become the first Football
League side in history to win promotion having conceded more goals than they've scored in the league.
Terriers manager David Wagner believes his side winning
promotion would be a similar "fairytale" to Leicester winning the
Premier League last season and is pulling out all the stops to ensure
his charges are ready for one final push.
The German boss took his squad to Portugal for a mini training camp and
instructed the groundsman at the club's Canalside training ground to
alter the dimensions of the main pitch to match those of Wembley. By
training at 3pm, the players have also experienced similar conditions to
that expected in the capital.
Wagner says he has no doubts his troops will handle the pressure of the big occasion but doubts persists over Kasey Palmer's participation despite returning to training. Elsewhere, Elias Kachunga should be fit enough to feature.
Reading
Reading have failed in all five of their previous play-off campaigns and
the Royals are bidding for a first success in the final following three
previous defeats with promotion within touching distance.
Jaap Stam's side have defied the odds throughout the
campaign - the Berkshire outfit returned the third-worst shot ratio
return in the Championship, whilst only Rotherham and Barnsley have
faced more on-target efforts - and the Dutch master is confident his
squad can repeat the feat here.
Reading nullified the league's second-top scorers Fulham over two legs
in the semi-finals thanks to a masterful effort from Player of the
Season Ali Ab-Habsi but captain Paul McShane remains banned and left-back Jordan Obita is a major doubt for Monday.
Stam must decide whether to adopt a conservative approach and persist
with playing five at the back or potentially open up a little more with a
four-man defence. Either way, Roy Beerens, Garath McCleary and Liam Kelly are all pushing for starts and inclusion.
Match Odds
It's dubbed the most valuable match in world football - promotion to the
Premier League, and access to its vat of television money, will boost
the winners' coffers by at least £170m. But the magnitude of the match can often cripple clubs on their big day at Wembley.
Huddersfield 2.44 have been chalked up as market favourites but with both regular season fixtures being decided by a solitary goal for either side, a tight and cagey encounter is forecast with the Draw 3.20 the most obvious solution at the prices on offer.
Town stuttered into the play-offs with a -2 goal difference and just one
success in seven (W1-D3-L3) and, despite deservedly edging their
two-legged semi-final with Sheffield Wednesday, Wagner's men have
struggled for goalscoring inspiration of late.
Reading 3.45 were the most profitable team to
back in the Championship this season due to their abominable
performance data but the Royals have now W8-D1-L2 following their 2-1
aggregate success against Fulham and do appear a little underrated in a
one-off cup clash on neutral turf.
Over/Under 2.5 Goals
With both league matches settled by a singular goal, another nip and
tuck affair appears likely on Monday and opposing goals looks our best
way to profit.
Since the famous Sunderland 4-4 Charlton play-off final 19 years ago, 11
(61%) of Championship curtain-closers have reached the 90 minute mark
with fewer than three goals - 50% of those 18 encounters produced no more than a solitary strike, seven of which arrived since 2004.
Under 1.5 Goals can be backed at 2.80
and certainly appeals considering Huddersfield have scored just one
non-penalty/non own goal in their past six outings whilst six of
Reading's last nine goals arrived via set piece situations.
Only three of the past 16 finals have paid out for Both Teams To Score
backers, again highlighting the value in opposing goals, but with little
wriggle room price-wise, backing a goalless first-half at 2.38 offers value - all four play-off semi-final matches saw this selection prove profitable.
Recommended Bets
Back the draw @ 3.20
Back Under 1.5 Goals @ 2.80
Back 0-0 half-time correct score 2.38
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