Football – England – Championship Semi Final Play-Off 1st Leg
Thursday 8th May 2014 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
The regular season of the Championship is now done and dusted and we now move into the play-offs with four teams competing for the highly coveted place among the Premiership for next season.
Brighton take on Derby County in the first of the play-off semi finals with both sides displaying solid overall form going into the play-offs but their respective home and away results of late have been a little shaky.
Firstly looking at Brighton’s results in the back end of the season and The Seagulls put together a vital eight match unbeaten run which eventually ensured their passage into the play-offs despite stiff competition from Reading and Blackburn Rovers who just missed out. Wins over Leicester City 4-1 away and Nottingham Forest 2-1 on the final day were the decisive victories amongst home wins over Charlton Athletic and Yeovil Town.
Brighton’s overall home record finished up on 10-7-6 31/21 but as alluded to earlier, they recorded just three home wins in their last eight at the AMEX Stadium which included defeats against Wigan Athletic, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough. Brighton failed to score on just three occasions overall whilst keeping a total of nine clean sheets.
Visitors Derby County finished their season with a 1-1 draw away at Leeds United which ended a strong run of five wins on the trot for The Rams who comfortably held on to secure third place at the end of the season. Home wins over Huddersfield Town, Barnsley and Watford along with wins away at Blackpool and Doncaster Rovers means that they have second leg advantage in this tie.
However, The Rams won just twice on the road in their last seven away matches (at Blackpool and relegated Doncaster Rovers) while they suffered defeat at the hands of Burnley, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough.
Derby’s overall away record finished up on 11-6-6 38/27 and despite scoring the most number of away goals in the top six, they’ve also conceded the most too which may be a concern ahead of this fixture for manager Steve McClaren.
This promises to be a tight and I daresay low-scoring affair as neither team will want to surrender a lead going into the second leg, but I feel that Brighton have the slight edge over their opponents tonight so I’ll back them with the round ball for insurance – could be a 1-0 win for The Seagulls.
Pick: Brighton AH0 @ 1.74 Pinnacle
