Football Tips no image

Published on May 10th, 2011 | by Sportingly Better Tipster

0

Football League Predictions – Championship Playoffs 2010/2011 Plus Tips

Promotion Odds

Swansea @3.40
Cardiff @3.50
Reading @3.75
Nottingham Forest @4.00

Nottingham Forest v Swansea City
First Leg – Thursday 12th May 2011, KO: 1945
Second Leg – Monday 16th May 2011, KO: 1945

Reading v Cardiff
First Leg – Friday 13th May 2011, KO: 1945
Second Leg – Tuesday 17th May 2011 KO: 1945

Nottingham Forest

  • Finished in sixth place in the Championship with 75 points and +19 goal difference
  • Finished with the third best home record in the Championship
  • Worst away record of all the sides in the Playoffs and have only scored 26 goals away from the City Ground
  • Lewis McGugan is Forest’s top goalscorer this season with 13 goals (16th overall)
  • Forest have won the last 4 games on the bounce scoring 3 or more goals in each game

Swansea

  • Finished in third place level on 80 points with rivals Cardiff with only goal difference separating the sides
  • Finished with the second best defensive record behind leaders QPR conceding just 42 goals
  • Finished with the best home record in the Championship and has kept 14 clean sheets all season
  • Have lost 11 games away from home; more than any side in the top 9
  • Scott Sinclair is the 4th top goalscorer in the Championship with 19 goals (13 at the Liberty Stadium)
  • Not lost at home in 8 matches
  • Won the last 3 games on the bounce

Reading

  • Finished in fifth place with 77 points and a +26 goal difference
  • Only lost 5 games on the road all season
  • Identical home record to semi-final opponents Cardiff with 12 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats
  • Shares the second best defensive record on the road with only 26 goals conceded
  • Have only lost once in their last 16 games in the Championship, although are on a run of just 1 league win in 4 games
  • Have not lost in 8 games away from home
  • Shane Long is the Championship’s second top goalscorer with 21 goals

Cardiff City

  • Finished fourth in the Championship on 80 points with a goal difference of +22
  • Have won more games away from home than any other side in the Championship this season (11) and have the third best away record in the division
  • Identical home record to semi-final opponents Reading with 12 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats
  • Have scored more goals on the road than any side in the Championship
  • Jay Bothroyd is Cardiff’s top goalscorer in the Championship with 18 goals (7th overall)
  • Have only lost once in their last 10 league games, but have only managed 1 win in their last 4 games

Verdict

The winner of the Championship play offs is a difficult one to judge and often a lottery. Even the bookmakers separate these four sides with just 0.6  in odds. Cardiff are blessed undoubtedly with the best personnel with Bellamy, Bothroyd, Chopra and Whittingham but this doesn’t always equate to results on the pitch and the recipe for success in the play offs.  Swansea have a dominant home record, are good defensively but are a bit hit and miss on the road; winning 9 but losing 11. Forest have won their last 4 games on the bounce, but before that run they only managed 1 win in 11 games, so it remains to be seen what Forest side will turn up for the play-offs. Forest’s lack of a goalscorer and an average looking away record is also cause for concern. Reading have the Championship’s second top goalscorer in Shane Long and have a great resilience and defence on the road, but like Cardiff go into the Championship play offs in no great run of form.

Best Bet: Swansea City @3.40

Semi-Final Match Betting

6 of Reading’s last 7 home games have gone over 2.5 goals and 7 of Reading’s last 8 home matches have had both teams scoring. With the Championship’s second top goalscorer on show and the likes of Bellamy, Bothroyd, Whittingham and Chopra, the overs market is a worthy consideration.

Over 2.5 goals (Reading v Cardiff) Semi-Final First Leg @2.025

Goals have been flying in at both ends for Forest recently with 8 out of their last 11 league games ending with both teams scoring and with Sinclair and co, a vital away goal should be on the cards for Brendan Rogers to take back to the Liberty Stadium.

Both teams to score (Nottingham Forest v Swansea) Semi-Final First Leg @1.90

Don’t forget to register your interest in our forthcoming premium football tips for the 2011/2012 season.


[poll id=”18″]


About the Author

Established in 2008, Sportingly Better prides ourselves on bringing you FREE betting tips each and every week. Our football tips focus on the UK Premier League, Australian A-League, and more. Follow us on Twitter @sportinglybet to make sure you never miss our FREE tips!



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

*

Back to Top ↑