Championship Pay Off Semi-Final second leg

Monday, 16 May 2011

Swansea v Nott'm Forest, (agg 0-0), POSF, L2, 19:45

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Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Cardiff v Reading, (agg 0-0), POSF, L2, 19:45

So, currently the two Welsh teams have a good chance of making it to the finals with their games  finishing goalless in the first leg.

Swansea v Nottingham Forest

Swansea have one of the best home records in their division with 15 wins and only 3 losses, scoring 41 and only conceding 11

Whereas Nottingham Forest has had a mixed results away with 7W 7D 9L. 

The bet here is now for Swansea to win this game due to their superiority at homes games, and Nottingham Forest failing to beat a resolute Swansea team that was reduced to 10 men in the second minute!

Under/Over 2.5 goals

I fancy the over 2.5 goals which is currently trading at 2.32, as I believe there will be a goal or two in the first half.

Once an early goal is scored, I would then bet for under 2.5 which should trade at around 2.5, which will hopefully give you a win-win result.

Although, I am not sure about this as there may only be two goals in total for this game.

Result: Swansea win 3-1

Cardiff v Reading

Cardiff have been pretty okay at home, with 12 home wins out of 23 games, with Reading only losing 5 games away all season.

I still feel that Cardiff are probably the underdogs in this game, and a punt on Reading at 3.3 to win away. Although I would like to see Cardiff progress, and even if they score an early goal to calm their nerves they may still 'bottle' the game and lose in the end. I hope I am wrong.

Under/Over 2.5 Goals

Currently at 2.24 for over 2.5 goals, and I believe that the game being stalemate in the first leg, will enable an early goal in the first half (Cardiff more likely to score first), so a bet on over may be worth it, and again, you can always bet for under when the first goal is scored, although this has the classic of being a 2-2 game!

The only way I can lose on this is if it stays 0-0, but if you want to play safe you could also bet for a draw at 3.35 (on Bet Fair).

Result: finished 3-0 to Reading. 

Championship Play-off 2011

 Well, I am slightly gutted that Cardiff did not qualify automatically to the Premiership. I did believe that they were more likely to make the Play-off, although I am still unsure whether they have the strength to qualify and even survive the Premiership.

Play-off dates and times (taken from the BBC website). 

Thursday, 12 May 2011

Nott'm Forest v Swansea, POSF, L1, 19:45

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Friday, 13 May 2011

Reading v Cardiff, POSF, L1, 19:45

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Monday, 16 May 2011

Swansea v Nott'm Forest, POSF, L2, 19:45

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Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Cardiff v Reading, POSF, L2, 19:45

From viewing the form guide, Nottingham appear to be the form team entering the Play-off winning 5 games, and the other teams only winning 3 from their last 6 games.

Nottm Forest  5W 1L

Swansea 3W 2D 1L

Cardiff 3W 2D 1L

Reading 3W 2D 1L

Nottm Forest v Swansea

Nottingham has won 13 games at home and their last 3 games at home.

Swansea has lost 11 games away, and lost 4 in their last 6 away games.

So it seems Nottingham Forest are likely to win this game, and they also won 3-1 earlier in the Championship season.

Result: Game ended 0-0 with Swansea having a man sent off in the second minute. So good result for Swansea.

Reading v Cardiff

Reading have won 12 games at home with 6 wins in their last 7 home games.

Cardiff have lost 8 games away and won 11, and have won 3 games in the last 5 away games.

Both games in the Championship ended in stalemate

So, a game that could go either way, depending on who scores the crucial first goal. 

Result: Game ended 0-0 

I am really unsure whether Cardiff can qualify, and they may even lose the first leg, which I do hope does not happen, but they may capitulate at home as well.

So my prediction for the team to qualify will more likely come from the first game between Nottingham Forest and Swansea, and as Nottingham are more likely to draw first blood with a home win, they may be strong enough to get something away to Swansea.