League One play-off final tips: Expect plenty of goals from Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday

Date, KO time and TV coverage

League One play-off final, Monday May 29, Kick-off 3pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event

Predicted score

Barnsley 2-2 Sheffield Wednesday

Suggested bets

Over 2.5 goals

Both teams to score

Key stats

Four of the five EFL play-off finals to feature either of these sides have had at least four goals.

Barnsley won both of the regular season meetings, 4-2 at Oakwell and 2-0 at Hillsborough.

Barnsley have scored 82 goals this season, an average of 1.70 per game.

Sheffield Wednesday have scored 86 goals this season, an average of 1.79 per game.

Verdict

Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday will meet for the third time this season when they meet in the League One play-off final. The Tykes won the previous meetings 4-2 and 2-0.

Barnsley’s route to the capital was a fairly uneventful one. They kept things tight on the road but were pegged back shortly after taking the lead. They produce a routine 1-0 victory at home.

There was nothing routine about Sheffield Wednesday’s semi-final. They lost 4-0 in the first leg against Peterborough, leaving it until the 98th minute of the second leg to cancel out those four goals.

Darren Moore’s men showed their attacking class and despite an early setback in extra time, they ran out 5-1 winners in 120 minutes and progressed via penalty kicks.

It’s unlikely that Barnsley’s dominance during the regular season meeting will count for much at Wembley, but it may give Michael Duff’s men confidence that they can more than match their Yorkshire rivals.

Barnsley’s form to end the season left a lot to be desired and their victory over Bolton was their first in five games. Wednesday, however, won four consecutive matches to wrap up their campaign.

The humbling at London Road may have shown some weaknesses, but how the Owls responded could leave them feeling pretty invincible.

Between 2000 and 2016, Barnsley have made three trips to Wembley for a play-off final. They were beaten 4-2 by Ipswich in 2000 and drew 2-2 with Swansea in 2006 before winning on penalties.

More recently, they beat Millwall 3-1 in 2016. All three of their play-off final appearances have featured at least four goals.

Wednesday have made just two appearances, most recently losing 1-0 to Hull in 2016. Eleven years earlier, in 2005, they beat Hartlepool United 4-2.

These two teams kept a combined 20 clean sheets away from home soil this season but when push comes to shove, they both should find the net here. Including the play-offs, these teams scored a combined 168 goals this season.

On paper, it’s hard to split the teams. Despite Barnsley’s regular season dominance, both sides are capable of goals. If we see an early goal, which has been a trend in Wednesday games, then it could be high scoring.

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