THEY call it the richest game in football and Swansea face off against Brentford at Wembley today chasing the Premier League golden ticket.
Brentford v Swansea City
A place in England’s top flight is reportedly worth around £135million so the stakes couldn’t be higher heading into the Championship play-off final.
Brentford have suffered play-off heartache more than any other club, missing out on promotion via the end-of-season shoot-out a record nine times in a row.
They came within a whisker last term, losing to Fulham in extra time at Wembley, so the Bees will be hoping their luck finally changes against Swansea.
And Thomas Frank’s side at least know what it feels like to beat the Swans in the play-offs, having seen them off in last season’s semi.
I cashed in by backing goals in the English play-offs last weekend, with over 2.5 goals and BTTS coming up in the Championship semis and Sunderland’s League One clash with Lincoln.
So I’m tempted to back BTTS again for the Wembley showpiece as it has trapped in four of the last five games between Swansea and Brentford. That bet pays 6/5 at McBookie today.
Both meetings in the regular season ended in 1-1 draws so this one could go to extra time, with the stalemate at 90 minutes priced 49/20 at Unibet.
Andre Ayew’s experience could be vital for Swansea and the Ghanaian is 7/2 with Betfair to score his 20th of the season on the big stage at Wembley.
Brentford will pin their hopes on goal machine Ivan Toney and he’s 7/5 at Unibet to take his tally to an amazing 33 this term.
The second leg of Brentford’s semi was a fiery affair with six yellows and one red dished out.
And we saw four yellows and one red – all to Swansea players – when these sides last faced off in January.
Finals can often boil over too with nine yellows in last year’s Wembley battle and five in the 2019 clash.
So it could pay to back a busy day for the ref with over 4.5 cards priced 5/4 at McBookie and sending off as big as 9/2 at Betfred.
The corner markets could be investigating as well, with the two league meetings between Swansea and Brentford this season producing an average of 10.5 corners.
Over 9.5 corners pays 10/11 at Unibet while the odds increase to 31/20 if you bet on over 10.5.
Blackpool v Lincoln City
Lincoln’s reward for dumping Sunderland is a League One play-off final with Blackpool tomorrow.
It would be some feat if Michael Appleton led Lincoln to the second tier but they’ve won just one of their last five games.
Blackpool’s form is better, winning five of their last six, so you have to fancy them at 13/10 with McBookie to win inside 90 minutes.
I can see this final being quite tight and cagey so try under 2.5 goals at a best 8/11 with Betfair.
Super Singles
- Both teams to score in Swansea v Brentford (6/5, McBookie)
- Brentford’s Ivan Toney anytime scorer (7/5, Unibet)
- Blackpool win inside 90 minutes against Lincoln (13/10, McBookie)
I'm a sports journalist, football tipster and author from Dundee, who is now working in Glasgow. I've covered games at every level, from Junior football to internationals, and still love football even though it has clearly sold its soul. I've been in football tipping since 2018 with the MFT site.
