Well well well. What a week of football. We started out with United playing will they won’t they with Van Gaal – and then a case of when they with Mourinho. But that’s all settled and wrapped up now so we can concentrate on the fantastic weekend of on the pitch action instead. Saturday is one of the best days of football in months. The Champions League final and the Championship playoff final.
My final double comes in at 50/1, so feast your eyes.
5pm: Hull City vs Sheffield Wednesday – BET NOW
We start with an afternoon kick off at Wembley in what is the richest game in English football. I’ll be throwing my eye over this one because I’ve a couple of friends at Hull. Steve Bruce and Keith Bertschin are old mates of mine but they’ve a tough task against Sheffield Wednesday.
I’d be quietly confident that Hull could get the job done. Brucey and the boys have had a great season, albeit with two draws against Wednesday. That suggests that this one will be very tight and if you look at the defensive records, it’s probably right. But Steve’s been promoted three times already in his career and he knows what it takes to win a playoff final – he did so with Birmingham over a decade ago. And remember he’s taken this Hull side to Wembley before.
The wise Owls
Standing in his way is a very tough Sheffield Wednesday side. Paddy’s blog tipped them to win the playoffs at the beginning and having comfortably beaten Brighton their odds have come in big time. They’ve only failed to score nine times out of almost 50 games. That’s an incredible scoring record and when you consider that they only conceded 17 home goals all year you can see why they’re 90 minutes away from a return to the Premier League.
Get all the latest Championship playoff final odds here
I can see this one going all the way, but Steve’s experience and knowledge of the big match atmosphere and tactics required should just pull his Hull side over the line, but don’#t be surprised if it goes all the way first.
Andy’s bet: Hull City to be promoted in extra time at
7:45: Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid – BET NOW
That should wet the appetite nicely for the Champions League at the San Siro on Saturday night. I cannot think of a Madrid derby more anticipated than this one. Apart from the final two years ago. Atletico were almost there in 2014 but Sergio Ramos had a different idea. Ever since then the red half of Madrid must’ve been bubbling, waiting to take revenge. Now they’ve the perfect opportunity.
The Galacticos
The two league games this year have been so close but it was Zidane’s side who came out on top in the second. Real can’t afford to go gung-ho against Atleti because we saw what they did against Bayern Munich in the semi final. Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo will all need to on top form for Real to be comfortable. 110 goals in the league this season proves that on their day, they can hit that next level. It’s just a question as to whether they will be let do so by their city rivals.
Leaking just 18 goals in 38 league games made Atletico’s defence the best in Europe by a country mile. They are extremely professional in everything they do and they are so hard to break down. Diego Simeone’s remit will be to get a clean sheet because he knows if that happens, Atleti will probably win the game.
They’ll need to catch Real on the counter if they want a chance. Fernando Torres and Antoine Griezmann will have no trouble finding the net particularly the in form Spaniard. If you’ve knocked out Barcelona and Bayern Munich, you probably have something going your way.
I’m tipping a repeat of the scoreline from their previous final meeting. As to who takes it in extra time, that’s up for you to decide!
Andy’s bet: 1-1 draw after 90 minutes at