*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
The 2022 EFL League One Playoff final is absolutely bristling with narrative. You’ve got a proper clash of football styles with the wily Wycombe taking on the slapstick Sunderland facing off for a spot in the second tier of English football.
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It’s also a bit of a David vs Goliath contest with Sunderland demanding more tickets to be released, with them having sold out their 44,000 allocation and Wycombe, at the time of writing, yet to sell half of that. Another interesting element is each side’s respective record in playoff finals, but we’ll get to that later.
On paper this looks like it should be a low-scoring, nervy affair but meetings between the two have broken the norm of their general performances across the 2021/22 season. It could be a cracker so let’s see if we can unearth some winning value with a Bet Builder for Saturday’s clash.
*A Bet Builder with these four bets pays at approximately 36/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Saturday 3pm: Sunderland v Wycombe
League One Playoff Final at Wembley
TV: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football
Wycombe to Win
Wycombe are just one of those sides who find a way to get the job done. You can’t say the same about Sunderland who seem to have an insatiable appetite for inflicting misery and heartbreak on their long-suffering fans.
In these two’s 28 games combined there’s been just one L in the form lines, Wycombe’s 1-0 loss to MK Dons in the play off semi final second leg, but even that was a good result in the end as they won the first game 2-0.
It’s two teams in outstanding form and both have been incredibly tight and, obviously, hard to beat of late. The thing that’s standing out to me, though, is their performances in playoff finals. Since 1990 The Black Cats have played three and lost three while The Chairboys have won two and lost one.
This will be really close and incredibly hard fought, but I just think Wycombe’s hard-nosed approach and ability to grind out whatever they need by hook or by crook is just making them too hard to ignore for me. I’ll side with the Wycombe Win inside the 90 here, especially given the prices, as I just can’t trust Sunderland to get the job done.
Over 2.5 Goals
You might think this is a bit of a mad shout if you’ve even briefly cast your eye over both sides’ recent results. Sunderland have seen Unders in five of their last six matches and, for Wycombe, it’s clicked in five of their last seven.
However, in the two games between these two in the league there were absolutely loads of goals, 10 across the two games in fact. Paddy’s traders are, sensibly, hedging their bets that this will be low scoring but I’m happy to go against that and take on the value with Over 2.5 Goals in this one.
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Ross Stewart to Score Anytime
Despite my leaning towards Wycombe the best play in the goal-scorer markets has to be Sunderland’s Ross Stewart. He’s been absolutely vital for them this term and has a very impressive 25 goals in 52 games, 13 more than the Black Cats’ next-best, Nathan Broadhead.
Wycombe’s top marksman is Sam Vokes who has 17 but they tend to share the goals around making a pick for them a bit harder. Vokes is good value but I can see both teams scoring here and if Sunderland are to net then it’s got to be Ross Stewart to Score Anytime.
Over 3.5 Wycombe Corners
We’ll finish with Over 3.5 Wycombe Corners as set pieces are a big part of their game. However, they can be a bit hit and miss in this market with totals ranging from one won and 12 won in their last three games.
They’ve racked up 28 in their last five giving an average of 5.6 per game with two low totals thrown in there. Sunderland give up a few corners as well so I don’t think we’re asking too much for Wycombe to get four or more corners.
Sunderland v Wycombe tips
Wycombe to Win
Over 2.5 Goals
Ross Stewart to Score Anytime
Over 3.5 Wycombe Corners
*A Bet Builder with these four bets pays at approximately 36/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
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*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
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