The Play-Offs are a fantastic, exciting feature of the season & invariably they are always notoriously difficult to predict & this year looks highly likely to be on the toughest to predict in recent seasons.
In League 1 Millwall, Charlton, Swindon & Huddersfield Town all had fantastic seasons & finished within 5 points of each other while in League 2 it was even closer with only 1 point difference covering Rotherham, Dagenham, Aldershot & Morecambe.

Those small points differences show how competitive these Play-Offs Matches are going to be & how tight they are to call but we have had a good look at the set up in each League & the markets available so here are our views on how we feel the Play-Offs may work out & the value bets worth consideration.

League 1 Play-Off Preview

Millwall, Charlton, Swindon & Huddersfield Town all had fantastically consistent seasons & totally deserve to have earned their places in the Play-Offs & all four will now believe they have an equal chance to reach the Final & gain promotion to the Championship.

The draw for the Semi Finals puts Millwall up against Huddersfield Town & Charlton up against Swindon and they really do look incredibly tough Semi Finals to call.

Millwall vs Huddersfield Town:

In the case of Millwall versus Huddersfield Town, it’s a match up of the two teams with the best home records in League 1 as both Millwall & Huddersfield Town only lost 1 home game out of the 23 home league matches played.

Millwall achieved 56 points at home with 17 wins & 5 draws and had the best home defensive record while Huddersfield achieved 50 points at home with 14 wins & draws and had the best home goalscoring record in League 1.

Those statistics show how close both matches are likely to be & clearly the strong home form indicates that is quite possible that both teams will win their home matches so it could well come down to which side gets the best home result but deciding which side that will be is incredibly tough.

The first leg of this Semi Final sees Huddersfield Town taking on Millwall at Home so clearly Huddersfield will be looking to win that & take a lead to Millwall while Millwall will obviously look for a positive result to take back.

It really is a tight call between these two sides in terms of ability & quality so perhaps the vital key could be Millwall’s experience from being in this situation last season & so MILLWALL get our narrow vote to edge their Semi Final against Huddersfield Town and qualify for the final.

Betting Recommendations:

MILLWALL to qualify for the Final

Charlton vs Swindon Town:

Just like the Millwall vs Huddersfield Town clash, this looks an equally competitive Semi Final draw & a tough one to call give how close they finished to each other.

Charlton achieved 2 more points that Swindon but we don’t expect that to count for too much in the context of this Semi Final & given the fact both their home & away records are similar it really does highlight the task in splitting them.

Charlton achieved 48 points at home & 36 away while Swindon achieved 47 points at home & 35 points away so there really is nothing in it & even their goalscoring records are similar too.

The pressure is on Charlton more than it is Swindon so that could be a factor but Charlton do have the edge in terms of allround player quality & that probably counts for more & we see CHARLTON has the bet to edge this tight Semi Final and qualify for the Final.

Betting Recommendations:

CHARLTON to qualify for the Final

League 1 Play-Offs Final Summary:

We’ve put forward both MILLWALL & CHARLTON as our bets to qualify for the final so assuming we are proven right, we see a Millwall vs Charlton, all London final and that really does look a cracking prospect both in terms of the match & the occasion itself.

Just as with the Semi Finals, a Millwall vs Charlton clash would be tough to call given the London derby element & of course anything is possible on the day itself but as things stand, we see MILLWALL as being the overall strongest contenders & they are our recommendation to win the League 1 Play-Offs and book their return to the Championship.

League 2 Play-Off Preview:

Rotherham, Dagenham, Aldershot & Morecambe all finished within 1 point of each other & all had very similar home & away records with similar goalscoring records as well so absolutely anything is possible in these Play-Offs.

The betting for the League 2 Play-Offs have Morecambe & Rotherham both on 5/2 & Aldershot & Dagenham both on 11/4 so that indicates how close the bookies think it is & how hard it is to decide which side will prevail.

The line up for the League 2 Semi Finals sees Rotherham vs Aldershot & Dagenham vs Morecambe and to be honest we feel absolutely anything is possible in those matches but on balance ROTHERHAM look just the pick to qualify past Aldershot & MORECAMBE just to have the edge over Dagenham.

League 2 Play-Off Semi Final Betting Recommendations:

ROTHERHAM to qualify for the Final & MORECAMBE to qualify for the Final

League 2 Play-Off Summary:

We’ve put forward ROTHERHAM & MORECAMBE as our recommendations to qualify for the final and indeed a Play-Off Final between Rotherham United & Morecambe is a hard call to make on the day but as things stand now, ROTHERHAM get our vote to win the League 2 Play-Offs and celebrate promotion to League 1.

Overall Betting Recommendations:

MILLWALL & CHARLTON to qualify for the League 1 Play-Off Final

MILLWALL to win League 1 Play-Offs outright

ROTHERHAM & MORECAMBE to qualify for the League 2 Play-Off Final

ROTHERHAM to win League 2 Play-Offs outright

The Championship, League 1 & League 2 are probably the three most complex & difficult leagues for football punters to assess with confidence & the weekly challenge of finding winning selections is indeed a very tough one.

We have had a good look at all the fixtures in those leagues & here are our thoughts on where the best value may lie:

The Championship:

Swansea vs Q.P.R.:

Very interesting game in prospect here as Swansea manager welcomes his former team Q.P.R. to what should be a good game of positive football

Swansea have started slowly this season with 5 draws & only 2 wins in their first 10 league games & the most worrying fact is that they have failed to score in 6 of those games.

Swansea will be looking to this game to build on their terrific 2-1 win against Sheffield United in their last home game which should give them confidence for this match.

Q.P.R. come into this game in good confidence & in a run of form which has seen them only lose 1 game in the last 8 & that was a 1-0 defeat by Chelsea.

Q.P.R. were very impressive when winning on their last visit to Wales when the beat Cardiff 2-0 & they followed that up with an excellent 5-2 home win last weekend & a very solid 1-1 draw away at Newcastle United.

We are expecting a good game of positive football with both managers philosophy based on entertaining so it should be a very competitive game.

Swansea will be determined to build on their last home win but in our opinion, Q.P.R. are in better form & have more quality in attacking areas so they look a good value bet to get another important away win.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match betting: Q.P.R. to win

Correct score options: Q.P.R. to win 2-0/2-1

First goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime options: Simpson/Buzsaky/Routledge

Sheffield United vs Doncaster Rovers:

We expect this match to be an intense local derby & it should provide a game with great atmosphere & competitive spirit on the pitch.

There is no love lost between the folk of Sheffield & Doncaster and you can be certain everybody connected to both clubs will be fully up for this game.

Sheffield United are odds on favourites to win this game but they deserve to be given how they are unbeaten at home & certainly have the edge in terms of quality in the squad.

Doncaster Rovers always attempt to play good passing football & they are a solid team unit with a good team spirit which makes them hard to break down but at the same time they struggle to win games.

This should be a cracking atmosphere & match to go with it but given how good Sheffield United looked against arch rivals Sheffield Wednesday, the local rivalry should inspire them & they look a solid bet to win this battle.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Betting: Sheffield United to win

Correct Score options: Sheffield United to win 2-1/3-1

First goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime options: Evans/Henderson

The remaining fixtures in the Championship look very, very difficult to assess with any outcome entirely possible & there is a good chance that there will be a higher percentage of draws.

The games that appeal as likely DRAW candidates are:

Barnsley vs Ipswich, Coventry City vs Leicester City, Preston vs West Brom & Derby County vs Sheffield Wednesday

League 1:

The League 1 fixtures list looks incredibly tough this weekend & the potential for a higher proportion of draws is certainly there – the highlights of the fixture list are Colchester vs Huddersfield Town & Leeds United vs Charlton Athletic.

Colchester vs Huddersfield Town:

4th place Colchester welcome 6th place Huddersfield Town to what is definitely a very important clash but equally could well be very entertaining one given the quality within both sides.

Colchester have been excellent this season losing only 2 of their 10 league games with 4 wins from their 5 home matches & clearly they are very strong at home.

That point was proven with their fantastic 3-0 home win against Charlton last weekend & that result should drive Colchester to be very positive & go for the win again here.

Lee Clark’s Huddersfield Town come into this game having suffered a poor spell of results after a great start to the season so clearly they need to bounce back here.

Lee Clark is a very positive manager & Huddersfield definitely have got the necessary talent within their squad to go to Colchester & be positive in their play although they will have to be much defensively solid than they have been in recent matches.

We like the look of this match & the prospects for entertainment & goals certainly look high & it what is likely to be a very competitive game, a scoring draw appeals as a value bet here.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Betting: Draw

Correct Score options: 1-1/2-2

First goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime options: Lisbie/Odejayi/Rhodes/Kay

Leeds United vs Charlton Athletic:

It does seem incredible that these two former Premier League sides now clash in a League 1 tie but that is the case & here we have what is certainly the biggest League 1 game so far this season & probably will be the biggest all season in League 1.

Leeds United & Charlton come into this massive match sitting 1st & 2nd respectively after both enjoying tremendous starts to the season.

Leeds United are unbeaten so far & Charlton have only lost 1 game so far so clearly this is going to be a very competitive game & one that looks incredibly tough to call.

The home record of Leeds United in the past year or so is phenomenal & clearly Leeds United fear nobody when playing at Elland Road so we expect them to be very positive against Charlton here.

Charlton suffered their first loss of the season when going down 3-0 away at Colchester so they have to get over that but previously they had looked very confident & certainly have the quality within their squad to achieve a positive result at Leeds.

This game should provide a lot of entertainment given the quality within both sides but equally there is a lot of pressure on this game & with that in mind we feel that neither side will want to lose & a scoring draw looks a sensible bet.

Betting Recommendations:

Outright Match Betting: DRAW

Correct Score options: 1-1/2-2

First goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime options: Beckford/Becchio/Shelvey/Burton

League 2:

League 2 is a notoriously competitive league to solve & incredibly difficult for football punters to find a consistent winning edge & we have to say the League 2 fixture list looks tough again this weekend but here are the teams we think have a great chance of winning:

Notts County to beat Cheltenham

Chesterfield Town to beat Accrington

Rotherham United to beat Crewe

Shrewsbury Town to beat Morecambe

Bournemouth to beat Port Vale

In our ante-post analysis of League 1, we nominated Huddersfield Town as one of our main bets for League 1 this season & also highlighted Brighton as a team with the real potential to be involved so this game has plenty of appeal to it & looks well worth covering.

Huddersfield Town have had a decent start to their League 1 campaign following up their 2-2 draw away at Southend with a convincing 3-1 win at home against Southampton on saturday and both of those performances highlighted the key strengths that we feel give Huddersfield Town a great chance of achieving success this year in League 1.

Huddersfield Town displayed great belief & character to come back from 2-0 against Southend to earn a draw & then against Southampton they displayed real clinical qualities & we do feel they will serve punters well this season.

Brighton have had quite a poor start to the season with no goals so far & only 1 point & facing a team of Huddersfield’s calibre they clearly do need to show improvement to have a chance of getting a result on tuesday.

Now when looking for value bets, bookmakers offers of odds on about a team winning don’t usually fit that criteria for us but in terms of this game, Huddersfield Town are odds on to beat Brighton & we have to concur that those odds are both realistic & do actually offer punters a bet that is worth taking with exciting talent Jordan Rhodes in such good goalscoring form.

Bet Recommendations:

Outright Match Betting:

Huddersfield Town to win

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Correct Score options:

Huddersfield Town to win 2-0/3-0

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First Goalscorer each way/Player to score anytime:

Jordan Rhodes/Antony Kay

Double Result:

Huddersfield Town Half Time & Full Time

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