Sports Blog 13/05/2016: Championship Preview – Play-Off Semi-Final 1st Legs, Friday 13th & Saturday 14th May 2016

With the Championship play-off semi-finals starting this weekend who will edge closer to joining Burnley and Middlesbrough in the Premier League next season?

First up Friday evening sees a potentially bitter Brighton travel to Sheffield Wednesday at 7.45pm on Sky Sports 1. All the Seagulls needed was a win against Middlesbrough in their final game of the season to secure a place in the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history, a remarkable feat given how close to they were to relegation last season. Instead a 1-1 draw at the Riverside Stadium, complete with a red card for Dale Stephens just 4 minutes after he nabbed the equaliser, forced Brighton into the play-offs. Frustratingly Chris Hughton won’t just be missing Stephens but Bobby Zamora, putting extra pressure on Tomer Hemed, with 17 goals this season and a Super Mega PGM of 20-24, to do the business come Friday night.



Wednesday, meanwhile, are the weak link in this year’s play-offs, finishing in 6th place and 15 points adrift from Brighton. Yet the Owls pulled off a few impressive victories this season, namely League Cup victories over both Newcastle and Arsenal, and managed to ward off the play-off challenges from both Ipswich and Cardiff as the Championship began to wrap up. Perhaps most importantly, in Fernando Forestieri and Gary Hooper the club has a pair of in-form forwards, at a Super Mega PGM spread of 21-15 apiece.

Considering both meetings this season ended in a goalless stalemate it will be interesting to see if the intensity of the event brings about a bit more excitement. Our Spreadex traders aren’t too hopeful, however, offering a Total Goals spread of 2.05-2.25, whilst home advantage has led to a Sheffield Wednesday/Brighton Goal Supremacy spread of 0.1-0.3.

Saturday then sees Derby host Hull at 12.30pm on Sky Sports 1. For a while Hull looked like they were set to nab one of the automatic promotion spots, occupying 1st place across February following a strong return in the New Year. Yet the Tigers gradually began to slip, with key loss against Middlesbrough, and an ominously heavy defeat 4-0 to Derby, leaving the club stuck in 4th place. Still, Steve Bruce’s side has a decent chance of bouncing straight back to the Premier League, especially if the electric Abel Hernandez, on 21 goals and a Super Mega PGM of 23-28, shows no signs of slowing down as the season rushes to its crescendo.



Even though they struggled at the start of the New Year Derby spent most of the season lurking in the play-off zone, briefly scaling to the heights of 1st place on Boxing Day. The Rams managed all this despite a mid-season manager change, Darren Wassall replacing Paul Clement following the latter’s 8 game winless run as 2016 got underway. Much of the side’s success falls at the feet of Chris Martin and Tom Ince, with a combined total of 27 and Super Mega PGMs of 22-27 and 14-18 respectively.

Given their hefty home win at the beginning of April the Rams are just about favourites for Saturday’s 1st leg, with Spreadex offering a Derby/Hull Goal Supremacy spread of 0.15-0.35 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.1-2.3.

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