League One play-offs: Tykes to trump Trotters in Roses battle

The Owls finished third in the regular season with 96 points, the highest total ever to miss out on automatic promotion in the Football League, but lost 4-0 at Peterborough in the first leg which has seen their League One play-off winner odds rocket to 28/1.

We also have League One play-off betting tips for the Roses clash between Barnsley and Bolton, but get things started at Hillsborough.

Sheffield Wednesday v Peterborough (Thu, 20.00, Sky Sports)

The Owls finished 19 points clear of Posh in the table, not that you would have believed it from what transpired last week.

Goals from Jack Taylor, Joe Ward, Kwame Poku and top scorer Jonson Clarke-Harris all but sealed Posh’s date at Wembley on May 29, although manager Darren Ferguson, who is bidding for a fifth promotion with the club, is not getting carried away.

He said: “It’s 4-0, but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We want to go to Hillsborough and try to win the game, that’s the attitude that we’ve got.”

🎥 Darren Ferguson was pleased with his side’s display against Sheffield Wednesday and praised the club’s supporters for the way they backed the team on a special night in PE2. #pufc

— Peterborough United (@theposh) May 12, 2023

That was something they failed to do at the start of March when Jaden Brown scored the only goal of the game for the hosts, although they won both of their home matches without conceding.

The home team have won all three encounters this season and a fourth is priced at 7/10, but we’re on board Posh to win or draw at 11/10 in the double chance market.

Darren Moore’s side had their chances last week, but were ultimately blown away and will find it difficult to pick themselves up for the return leg.

Clarke-Harris was League One’s top scorer with 27 goals and he struck in two of the three matches against Wednesday this season, so at 13/5 in the League One play-off odds, we’ll add the striker to score at any time as one of our selections.

Barnsley v Bolton (Fri, 20.00, Sky Sports)

Friday’s second semi-final is evenly poised after the first leg ended 1-1 at the University of Bolton Stadium.

Bolton’s leading marksman Dion Charles scored his 21st league goal just four minutes after Nicky Cadden had threatened to put Barnsley in the driving seat for Friday’s return at Oakwell.

Unlike the game at Peterborough, this was a much cagier affair which the Trotters dominated in terms of possession, although they scored with their only shot on target.

💬 The post-match views of Nicky Cadden after the Reds were held to a 1-1 draw in Bolton today.

🎥 Full interview on iFollow Barnsley ⤵️

— Barnsley FC (@BarnsleyFC) May 13, 2023

Manager Ian Evatt was also grateful to the Trotters’ on-loan goalkeeper James Trafford who produced some vital saves either side of the goals, so opposite number Michael Duff had a case when he claimed his side deserved more than a draw.

He said: “We did enough to win the game. It was a disciplined performance against a very good team. Their goal came from nothing and we had some good chances and the keeper made some good saves.

“It is a sign of our performance that there is a tinge of disappointment that we didn’t do enough to shade it. Even after (their goal) we still had enough chances to go on and win it: lots of corners, lots of shots. But next Friday will be a tight and similar sort of affair. I said to the players, ‘don’t think the job is done now’. There will be no back-slapping.”

🗣️ "𝗜'𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘂𝘀."

Ian Evatt speaks following the 1-1 draw with Barnsley…#bwfc

— Bolton Wanderers (@OfficialBWFC) May 13, 2023

All four meetings between these teams have involved three or fewer goals and with captain Mads Andersen back to marshal Barnsley’s back line, Bolton could find it a tough night.

The home team have not won any of this season’s fixtures in League One or the FA Cup, but we suspect that run is about to be broken, with Barnsley winning and under 3.5 match goals at 17/10 the next of our League One betting tips.

In the anytime goalscorer market, Barnsley’s Bobby Thomas catches the eye at 9/1. The 22-year-0ld defender, on loan from Bristol Rovers, twice went close to restoring the visitors’ advantage and having scored six times for the Tykes and his parent club this season, he looks well priced to add to his tally.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication