Championship Play Off Final
Sheffield United are narrow favourites to win the Championship play off final against Burnley at Wembley . Sheffield United are priced at 13/8 (Bet365) to win the game in 90 minutes play and their run of victories towards the end of the season that saw them narrowly miss out on an automatic promotion spot is probably why they are slight favourites in the eyes of bookmakers.
There is some Premier League experience in the Sheffield United side - who are still smarting from the Carlos Tevez debacle that saw them win a high court battle over their relegation two seasons ago-and the will be wanting another crack at the big time.
Burnley aren’t too far behind them price wise and at 15/8 (Ladbrokes) look to be priced at decent odds. Burnley have already experienced big match atmospheres in their fantastic cup runs this season and they have shown they can rise to the big occasion and put in fantastic displays. They have played a lot of games, but with the prize of Premier League football at the end of a one-off match, we reckon they will last the pace and be more than up for it.
While their squad may not have as much Premier League experience, Burnley do have some extremely experienced players like Graham Alexander and Robbie Blake. Their “old heads” alongside some talented youngsters give Burnley the look of a hungry team and a team like that are always dangerous opponents.
Sheffield United have a pretty mean defence and in what could be a low scoring affair the under 2.5 goals is a real possibility at 8/13 (Paddypower).
In the league encounters this season it’s Burnley who have triumphed winning both by the odd goal. The won 3-2 at Brammal Lane and then won 1-0 at Turf Moor last month-ending Sheffield United’s 11 match unbeaten run.
There are plenty of potential match winners if you are looking for a goalscorer bet and in a match where a set piece could be vital Burnley’s Robbie Blake 8/1 (Ladbrokes) to be first goalscorer and Graham Alexander 6/1 (Paddypower) to score anytime are both attractively priced given their prowess at dead ball situations.
Sheffield United have Jamie Ward 8/1 (Skybet) and Darius Henderson 7/1 (Paddypower) who are always likely to nab a goal. But if we were down to our last couple of quid the man we would be backing is Martin Patterson of Burnley at 7/1 (Coral). He has been in great goal scoring form and always seems to pop up with important goals and he is our selection to be first goalscorer.
This game could well go into extra time and the draw 9/4 (Coral) looks worth considering. If you think extra time will be needed to separate the two teams then both teams are priced at 14/1 (Ladbrokes) to win on penalties, while Sheffield United are 8/1 and Burnley are 9/1 (both Bet365) to win the match after extra time.
We think the match will be settled during the 90 minutes and we’re tipping a win for Burnley and we’re predicting a 2-1 correct score 10/1 (Ladbrokes). We’d also advise a bet on Burnley to get promotion at 10/11 (Paddypower).