Football – England – League One Play-Off Semi-Final 1st Leg
Thursday 7th May 2015 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Sheffield United had to make do with a place in the play-offs as they’d failed to win their last five matches of the season, of which four of them were draws; a 2-2 draw at Oldham Athletic which was then followed by 1-1 draws with Bradford City, Leyton Orient and fellow play-off rivals Chesterfield.
The Blades also displayed some mixed results at Bramall Lane in the final weeks of the regular season as they’d registered wins over Port Vale, Scunthorpe United and Doncaster Rovers, along with draws against Bradford City and Chesterfield. However, defeats to Peterborough United, Fleetwood Town and Crewe Alexandra show their recent vulnerabilities.
Sheffield United’s overall home record finished on 10-7-6 35/24 while their record against top third opposition was 3-1-3 8/7, with their last three matches against such opposition including wins over Preston North End and tonight’s opponents Swindon Town along with a draw with Chesterfield.
Visitors Swindon Town blew their chances of automatic promotion on the back of a very poor run of results in the final weeks of the regular season as they’d posted just two wins from their last nine matches.
Back-to-back wins over Peterborough United and Rochdale were the rare glimpses of success for The Robins in a turbulent final stretch of the League One season which included four defeats to MK Dons, Bristol City, Swindon Town and Preston North End. These recent losses to top third opposition doesn’t bode well for Mark Cooper’s side, and indeed their record on the road at top third teams is a weak one.
Stats of 2-1-4 7/14 is not the sort of record you need at this crucial stage of the season, particularly when you consider they’ve won one of their last six matches against such opposition.
To wrap up, I’ll give the quarter ball on The Blades here tonight who’ll no doubt be keen to take a lead to the County Ground next Monday night. Sheffield United could shade this perhaps 1-0.
Pick: Sheffield United AH-0.25 @ 1.91 Bet Victor
