Preston North End v Swindon Town
Sunday 24 May 2015
Football – England – League One Betting Tips
Preston North End would have been frustrated having to compete in the end-of-season play-offs considering automatic promotion looked very likely for the last couple of months of the season. They held second place from MK Dons for weeks only to slip-up in the final few games and forfeit that position, consigning Preston to the play-offs. Three consecutive draws in their last half a dozen games meant they had to match or better MK Dons result of the final day. The Dons comfortably brushed aside already relegated Yeovil, meaning North End had to win at Colchester. In truth, it was one of their worst performances of the season and ended up losing 1-0. The manager, Simon Grayson, managed to regroup his squad and get their focus on two games against Chesterfield in the semi-final. A 4-0 aggregate win against that opponent was much more indicative of the standards they have set for the majority of the season.
When automatic promotion began to look unrealistic, Swindon and their manager Mark Cooper made the conscious decision to prepare for the play-offs. Cooper elected to rest key players and freshen his squad up to give his team the best possible chance of winning promotion via this route. Cooper was willing to run the risk of losing form heading into a their semi-final, and actually went the last five games without winning. It is a decision which looks to have been worth it, however, at least going by their matches with Sheffield United. Swindon got stronger and stronger in the first leg at Bramall Lane, winning that game 2-1. The second leg was an amazing 5-5 draw, but they were never down in the game and it could be argued that they lost concentration in the closing stages resulting in the final score on aggregate being closer than it should have been, on the balance of play. There’s no doubt that Swindon will have to be at their best – and defend better as a team – for the whole game if they are to win on Sunday.
This is the second consecutive season that Preston have finished in the top six and made it to the play-off stage. They finished in fifth last term, and despite placing two positions higher this season, they actually accumulated only four points more suggesting the division is not quite as strong this time around. Grayson and his players certainly will not want to hang around and see how strong League Two is next season, and will hope that their performance in the second leg against Chesterfield is a sign of things to come. It was a dominant display and one which illustrated the 20 point gap between the two clubs at the end of the regular season.
Swindon have not played Championship football since 2000 when they finished bottom and relegated to the third tier of English football. They have suffered two further relegations in that time, but bounced back at the first time of asking both times. Swindon have also contested the play-offs on three separate occasions in this division, reaching the final back in 2010. It would be an excellent achievement for Cooper if he is the man to lead Swindon back to the Championship, and would be a far cry from all the financial troubles they have endured since they last played at that level.
Preston v Swindon Betting Tips
There were 10 points between these two clubs after 46 games, but that will be little indication of what happens on Sunday at Wembley. The last five teams who have finished fourth have went on to triumph in the play-off final which will be a good omen for Swindon, but that’s all it is. Of course, the gap would probably have been less had Swindon never opted to rotate their squad in the closing weeks. In terms of predictions, I think Preston’s powerful display over Chesterfield was the perfect response to the disappointment they suffered on the final day at Colchester. They will have had a fortnight’s rest to prepare for this and proved to be far too good for Swindon when the two met at the end of April, running out 3-0 winners at Deepdale. Some may point to their performance against Colchester and be concerned that they could repeat that in another high pressure occasion. I am not overly worried about that, as I think the quality they have upfront with Jermaine Beckford and Joe Garner will be too much for a Swindon defence that has conceded 18 goals in their last eight games.
Preston 6/5 @ Bet365
