Hull City v Sheffield Wednesday Betting Tip Draw, 2016-05-28

Could be a long afternoon at Wembley on Saturday

Championship Tips

Saturday 28th May 2016 Kickoff 1700hrs
Hull City v Sheffield Wednesday
Football – Championship Playoff Final – England

The Championship playoff final has long been billed as the most lucrative game in world football due to the riches on offer for the victorious game in the Premier League. However, the prize is even greater this time around as the 2016/17 Premier League campaign sees the beginning of the most expensive television deal in history. No matter the riches at stake, however, the only thing that both sets of players and coaching staff will be concentrating on is being on the winning side on Saturday and guaranteeing themselves a shot against the best teams in the country next term.

Hull City had to survive a rather large scare in the second leg of their semi-final despite seemingly all but winning their tie after a 3-0 first leg success away to Derby. The Rams hit back with two goals but were unable to find the equaliser that would have taken them into extra-time. Instead, Steve Bruce’s men managed to just about hold on and move one game away from an immediate return to the top-flight. It was only the second time that Hull had tasted defeat at home in this year’s Championship, ironically enough both came against Derby. The Tigers finished six points off of automatic qualification, in fourth spot, which is an indication of how tight the league was this season. None of that matters now of course, and Hull will be hoping that they can repeat their success of 2008 when defeating Bristol City 1-0 at Wembley. That result earned them their first ever crack at the Premier League, and whilst they now have recent experience of that level, the stakes are possibly even higher for the reasons alluded to above.

Few would have expected Sheffield Wednesday to have finished in the top six at the beginning of the season so the fact they have made it all the way to the play-off final is pretty remarkable.  Carlos Carvalhal only took charge of the club last year and considering he’s experiencing English football for the first ever time, the adjustment that he has made has been excellent, and his team have been one of the most exciting to watch all season long. The 42 goals they scored at Hillsborough could not be bettered by any other side and went a long way to their finishing position of sixth place. That meant being paired against Brighton in the playoffs, who only missed out on finishing in the top two on goal difference. Wednesday went into the two legs as the underdog – as they have been all season – but they took their chances when they came and despite being outplayed for large spells (particularly in the second leg at Brighton, they earned their place in Saturday’s final. The games against Brighton were rather indicative of their season as a whole with an impressive, dominant home performance followed by a less than convincing away match.

After winning 3-0 away from home in the first leg, last week’s home game with Derby was always going to be a tricky encounter. Other than the staunchest of Derby supporters, nobody expected the deficit to be overturned but the early goal noticeably shook Hull and they became rattled for the rest of the first half. It looked as though, at half-time, that Hull were in danger of becoming the first ever team to lose a two+ goal lead in playoff history but to their credit, Bruce’s men recovered well in the second 45 minutes and were much more composed as they comfortably closed the game out. I would expect to see a Hull performance much more like their first leg against the Rams as unlike last Tuesday’s game, nothing less than a win will do on Saturday, and that will refocus their minds and ensure maximum concentration.

One of the key men for Wednesday all season long has been Fernando Forestieri – the Italian forward signed from Watford in the close season. Having played a bit part in the Hornets team who won promotion last season, Forestieri has kicked on and become the Owls top scorer with 15. His partnership with Gary Hooper has been crucial to the team’s success but he has not scored since the middle of April – a run of six games which is his longest spell of the season without notching. Whilst Wednesday negotiated the semi-final without either of their strikers scoring, a game such as Saturday will require all their big players to perform and that especially applies to the little Italian who is capable of turning a game on its head in an instant. In a match that is likely to be decided by fine margins, his creativity and influence will be pivotal if Sheffield Wednesday are to be playing Premier League football next season.

Hull City v Sheffield Wednesday Betting Tips

As well as being one of the biggest games in English football, Saturday’s playoff final has that little extra bit of spice (as if it needed it) being a local derby. Approximately 60 miles separate the cities of Hull and Sheffield but when the final whistle blows on Saturday, there will be much more between these two clubs. One will be confined to another season of slog in the Championship whilst the other will be preparing to reap the financial rewards and looking forward to facing team’s managed by Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola.

There has been absolutely nothing between these two teams when they have faced each other on both occasions this term. A 1-1 draw at Hillsborough back in October was followed by an even tighter affair at the end of February when it finished goalless at the KC Stadium. I think the smart money is on Saturday’s game following suit – particularly with so much pressure which is only natural on an occasion such as this one. Both teams done the hard work in the first leg of their semi-finals but they also proved their character by surviving big scares in the return. Whichever side is capable of showing the quality and character on Saturday will ultimately prevail but I am very much of the opinion that we will need longer than the 90 minutes to decide that. Two out the last three Championship finals have required extra-time and I am backing that we see yet another one of these titanic tussles go a similar way.

Draw 23/10 @ Marathonbet