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Wigan v Blackpool  (3.00 Saturday):

No Premier League history between these two teams.

All time league record:

Wigan: 11 (relates to a price–home and away–of 6/5 via percentages)

Draws: 8 (2/1)

Blackpool: 5 (4/1)

Since a Wigan win (at Wigan) in all league matches: 2

Since a drawn game (at Wigan) in all league matches: 0

Since a Blackpool win (at Wolves) in all league matches: 1

Blackpool, Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City & Leicester City fought out two very tough, competitive Semi Final 1st leg matches & everything still looks in the balance with anything still possible.

Blackpool take a 2-1 lead to Nottingham Forest for the 2nd leg & Cardiff City take a 1-0 lead back to Cardiff & all four teams still have everything to play for & all 4 teams will believe they can reach the Final.

The 2nd leg matches look certain to be high pressure, intensely competitive matches that should provide great excitement & drama and we have had a good look at the games with our value betting recommendations that we think are worth consideration.

Nottingham Forest vs Blackpool – (Tuesday 7.45pm)

This tie is fascinatingly poised as Blackpool travel to take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground holding a 2-1 advantage & this 2nd leg looks set to be an absolute cracker.

The first point of call is the fact that Nottingham Forest have to win the game so that will dictate their approach to the match but having a home record that reads 18 wins, 2 draws & only 3 defeats should give them massive confidence.

Billy Davies has done a great job with Nottingham Forest & the key element in that is the remarkable home record which means Nottingham Forest go into home games believing they will beat whoever they are playing & we expect the same here.

Billy Davies would have been concerned by the manner of the 2 Blackpool goals but Notttingham Forest’s home defensive record is very impressive & that solid base combined with the excellent quality in attack does give Nottingham Forest an excellent chance to get the win they need.

Blackpool know they face a tough task at Nottingham Forest but Ian Holloway has been fantastic ever since taking over at Blackpool & if anybody can guide Blackpool to success it will be him & he will believe Blackpool can go to Nottingham Forest and get the positive result they need to reach the final.

Blackpool’s away record is not all that impressive & they have conceded goals in the majority of their away games so that must be a concern although Blackpool did achieve a win & a clean sheet when these two sides met here in the League & that should give the Blackpool players a confidence boost.

The first leg was an excellent game of entertaining football & we certainly expect more of the same here so it’s hard to call but Nottingham Forest home record is incredibly impressive & we are going to side with Nottingham Forest to get yet another home win & they certainly look fairly priced to do so.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Nottingham Forest win

Correct Score Options: Nottingham Forest win 2-0/2-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Blackstock/Anderson/Tyson

Scorecast options: Blackstock/Anderson/Tyson score 1st & Nottingham Forest win 2-0/2-1

Double Result: Nottingham Forest H/T & F/T

Cardiff City vs Leicester City – (Wednesday 7.45pm)

Peter Whittingham’s winner from the 1st leg gives Cardiff City a vital 1-0 lead to take into this 2nd leg but the tie is far from over & we fully expect Leicester City to give everything so this should be a really good match to watch.

Cardiff City & Leicester City both look to play positive, attacking football so we are expecting a decent, open game as the best policy for Cardiff City will be to attack & try to score more goals while Leicester City know they have to score goals & win the game to have any chance.

Cardiff City have been strong at home all season so will be confident they can be positive & get the result they require while Leicester City have a mixed away record but are certainly capable of going to Cardiff City and getting the win so it really is a tough game to call.

These two sides have played each other 3 times this season & the margin has only been 1 goal on each occasion with 1-0 & 2-1 victories for Cardiff City & 1-0 win for Leicester City so that proves how close the games have been & how tight this will be & especially with all the added pressure.

With 2 well matched teams & given what is at stake it’s a really tight call with a low scoring draw a really tempting option but we feel Cardiff City have the edge from the 1st leg & importantly home advantage which could be vital & Cardiff City do look worth a bet to edge another tight win on the night.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Cardiff City to win

Correct Score Options: Cardiff City to win 2-0/2-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Bothroyd/Whittingham/Chopra

Scorecast options: Bothroyd/Whittingham/Chopra score 1st & Cardiff City 2-0/2-1

Double Result: Cardiff City H/T & F/T

Nottingham Forest, Cardiff City, Blackpool Town & Leicester City have all earned their places in the Play-Offs and now the time has come for one of those 4 sides to prove they can handle the pressure, the expectations & show that deserve to earn the final spot in the Premier League for next season.
All the Play-Off matches are always intense, high pressure occasions & particularly the Championship Play-Offs because a place in the Premier League guarantees a side millions of pounds in revenue & the chance to test themselves against the very best teams in the country and absolutely everything is at stake over the next few weeks.

We have had a good look at the set-up of both Championship Play-Off Semi Final 1st leg matches & here are our previews of the games with value betting recommendations we feel are worth consideration:

Blackpool vs Nottingham Forest – (Saturday 12.45pm)

9 points separated 3rd place Nottingham Forest & 6th place in the final Championship League table but the teams line-up for this Playoff Semi Final 1st leg with an equal chance of getting to the final & these two sides do look set to produce a really close battle.

Blackpool built their season on fantastic home form with 13 wins & 6 draws from 23 matches and indeed they go into this home leg with massive confidence given their fantastic end of season form.

Blackpool lost only 1 of their last 9 Championship matches & their victories included a resounding 3-1 home victory over Nottingham Forest so that should give them massive belief & certainly every reason to have great confidence of getting a positive result here.

Ian Holloway is a fantastically positive manager & he will certainly have spent all the preparation time for this match building up the belief & confidence of the Blackpool players & he will know that their best chance of getting through this Semi Final tie is to get a good home win first to take an advantage into the 2nd leg.

Billy Davies will be frustrated Nottingham Forest did not achieve automatic promotion after looking rock solid candidates to do so earlier in the season but the main thing is Nottingham Forest have a chance of promotion & indeed they are probably the team to beat in the Play-offs given their quality.

The Nottingham Forest players will be pumped up for this match & determined to put right what went badly wrong against Blackpool when they were beaten 3-1 a few weeks ago & Nottingham Forest will believe they have the talent to get a good positive result from this one.

Nottingham Forest’s away form was terrible in the latter part of the season but they were incredibly strong away from home in the early parts of the season & the fact they achieved 11 draws away from shows how tough they when playing away & we expect the same here.

This is a fascinating game to call because Blackpool & Nottingham Forest both have positive to recommended backing them & it is going to be fiercely competitive so it’s a tight call but we feel the real value lies in backing a scoring draw which will set things up perfectly for the 2nd leg.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: DRAW

Correct Score optionS: 1-1/2-2

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Adam/Blackstock/Earnshaw

Scorecast options: Adam/Blackstock/Earnshaw score 1st & 1-1/2-2

Double Result: DRAW H/T & F/T

Leicester City vs Cardiff City – (Sunday 1.15pm)

A goal difference of only 3 goals was all that split these two strong sides at the end of the regulation season in the Championship as Leicester City & Cardiff City finished level on points & this Semi Final certainly looks a hard one to call with real confidence.

Leicester City have done fantastically well to get into the playoffs & manager Nigel Pearson deserves all the credit going for achieving it with a relatively thing squad in such a competitive league.

Leicester City are desperate to get back into the Premier League & indeed their best chance to do lies in getting a good, solid result & preferably a good win in this first leg at home so we are expecting Leicester City to be really positive but clearly they face a very tough test against Cardiff City.

Dave Jones again deserves huge credit for the great job he has done at Cardiff City & the way he has handled the club despite all the major financial, off field concerns & especially for getting Cardiff City into the playoffs after missing out so narrowly last season.

The fact Cardiff City have achieved a place in the playoffs again after suffering that major disappointment last season illustrates the character & indeed the quality within the Cardiff City squad and they will definitely believe they can earn their place in the Premier League.

Cardiff City are a hard side to play against because they provide a really good mix of competitive team spirit & an excellent level of quality with their attacking unit probably the best in the Championship with the likes of Bothroyd, Chopra & Whittingham all massive goal threats & they could well be the key to this tie & to Cardiff’s bid for playoff glory.

Leicester City & Cardiff City have already played each three times this season with 2 wins for Cardiff City & 1 win for Leicester City with home advantage the key each time so that could be important again but it really is a tough game to call.

We are expecting a good, competitive battle with a good mix of good football & indeed physical power and it was really tempting to go for a competitive, scoring draw but on balance we feel Cardiff City have the extra quality in attack & that makes them a value bet to get a vital away win here.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Result: Cardiff City to win

Correct Score options: Cardiff City to win 2-1/3-1

First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime: Bothroyd/Whittingham/Chopra

Scorecast options: Bothroyd/Whittingham/Chopra score 1st & Cardiff City win 2-1/3-1

Double Result: Cardiff City H/T & F/T

This is a fascinating clash as it brings together two teams which obliged by getting the results we predicted for them last weekend, with Blackpool playing well & getting a point at QPR & Cardiff City winning in fine style at home.

With both teams starting the season in positive fashion they will come into this game with confidence. With the vastly experienced Ian Holloway & Dave Jones as the respective managers in charge, then that it is also certain this game will be competitive.

We have great respect for Blackpool who will give it their best, but Cardiff City were fantastic against Scunthorpe & we reckon the bookmakers are taking a huge risk with the price available for a Cardiff City win. That scenario looks a great value bet worth taking.

Bet Recommendations:

Outright Match Betting:

Cardiff City to win

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Correct Score options:

Cardiff City to win 0-2/1-2

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First Goalscorer/player to score anytime:

Bothroyd/Chopra

Scorecast options:

Bothroyd/Chopra score 1st + Cardiff 2-0/2-1

Double Result:

Cardiff City Half Time & Full Time

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This is a fascinating clash with QPR, owned by extremely wealthy owners taking on the financially limited & relatively small Blackpool and it really is a fine example of the great variety in the English Football League.

This game also presents a very interesting clash of stories regarding the respective managers with Jim Magilton under great pressure to deliver promotion for QPR this season while Ian Holloway, former Queens Park Rangers manager and now the new manager of Blackpool, has his own pressures of attempting to ensure Blackpool retain their Championship status.

QPR are favourites to win this match & that is fair considering they are at home and appear to have the stronger squad, but we feel the odds on price is very short and potentially dangerous given it is the first game of the season. On balance we feel that Ian Holloway will have a point to prove at his old club and could well inspire his Blackpool side enough to get a positive result, so we are taking the draw in this one.

Bet Recommendations

Outright Match Betting:- DRAW

football|queens-park-rangers-v-Blackpool|win-draw-win|draw

Correct Score Options:- 1-1 or 2-2

First Goalscorer (each way)/Player to Score Anytime:- Patrick Ageymang

Scorecast:- Ageymang score 1st + 1-1 draw

Double Result:- DRAW Half Time / Full Time