Football tips: Brewster can make the difference for Swansea against Brentford

Sunday evening sees a clash between two sides who have entered the play-offs under very different circumstances. 

Swansea will hardly believe their luck that they are still vying for a place in the Premier League. Yes, they had a mathematical chance of qualifying on the last day, but the chances of Cardiff losing at home to an absolutely dreadful Hull team or Nottingham Forest losing heavily at home to a Stoke team with nothing to play for were very slim. 

Thus followed one of the biggest bottle jobs in modern history as Forest totally collapsed, allowing Swansea to sneak in the back door via a huge goal difference swing.

Our tips for the final day in the Premier League:

• Man Utd to get the job done in Champions League battle at Leicester
• Chelsea to be left feeling blue as Wolves head to Stamford Bridge
• Can Villa get the job done at West Ham?
• Arsenal to seal Watford’s doom at the Emirates
• Don’t expect the great escape from Bournemouth in trip to Everton

Brentford, on the other hand, have now missed two golden opportunities to seal automatic promotion in a collapse bested only by Forest. 

First, they had the relatively straightforward task of drawing with Stoke in the penultimate game of the season to move ahead of West Brom into second-place. They lost. With all hope seemingly lost, West Brom presented Brentford with yet another golden opportunity when they drew at home to QPR on the final day, meaning that Brentford simply had to beat relegation-threatened Barnsley at home. They lost again, conceding a stoppage-time goal as the visitors saved their hides. 

Bizarrely, Nottingham Forest lost to the same two sides in their respective bottle job and also conceded in stoppage time against Barnsley. Getting back to the matter at hand though, Brentford will find it difficult to recover from the hammer blow of missing out on automatic promotion. 

Sunday 18:30 – Swansea v Brentford: Swansea to win

Swansea will be jubilant and should have an extra spring in their step on Sunday evening. 

It has happened countless times when a team who narrowly misses out on automatic promotion struggles to pick themselves up for the play-offs and Swansea could deal Brentford another hammer blow on Sunday night. 

Rhian Brewster to score anytime

Swansea owe a significant debt of gratitude to Liverpool loanee Rhian Brewster, who has been in excellent form since the restart and played a huge part in the Swans’ play-off push. The youngster has scored six goals since the resumption, including terrific opening goals away to Forest and Reading, and looks like a real talent. 

There are goalscoring options all over the pitch for both sides but, with Brentford’s front three faltering in the last two games, it is the Swansea forwards that look the more likely to find the back of the net on Sunday. 

Brewster is the most likely of those Swansea players and is excellent value to score anytime on Sunday. 

Over 2.5 goals

While Brentford may have faltered in recent weeks, they still remain the top-scoring side in the division with an impressive 80 goals. 

Swansea may be the lowest-scoring side in the play-offs based on the 46-game season, but they have been free-scoring of late, scoring 12 goals in their last six games. 

The Swans also conceded a worrying 53 goals throughout the season and will struggle to keep out Brentford’s swashbuckling attack for 90 minutes. 

It all points to goals on Sunday and, from a neutral perspective, we can only hope that that is the case. 

Tips for Sunday’s Championship action

Match result: Swansea win
To score anytime: Rhian Brewster
Over/under 2.5 goals: Over

Don’t Miss

• Man Utd deliver fax machines to Europe’s top clubs amid poor David de Gea form
• Peter Crouch’s guide to celebrating safely – in your bubble

Our tips for the final day in the Premier League:

• Man Utd to get the job done in Champions League battle at Leicester
• Chelsea to be left feeling blue as Wolves head to Stamford Bridge
• Can Villa get the job done at West Ham?
• Arsenal to seal Watford’s doom at the Emirates
• Don’t expect the great escape from Bournemouth in trip to Everton

The Paddy Power Guide to Responsible Gambling – Everything You Need to Know