Sheffield Wednesday v Barnsley League One play-off final prediction

The League One play-off final between Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley may be the most difficult to call in the entirety of the EFL.

Barnsley sealed their place to the final with a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers at Oakwell last Friday night.

The tie was level going into the game, following a 1-1 draw at the University of Bolton Stadium in the first leg, but Liam Kitching’s 24th-minute header was enough to settle the clash and set up a South Yorkshire derby at Wembley Stadium next Monday.

Wednesday booked their place at Wembley after a remarkable comeback against Peterborough United in their semi-final.

After a 4-0 defeat at the Weston Homes Stadium in the first leg, Darren Moore’s side miraculously won the second leg 5-1 after extra time at Hillsborough on Thursday night to take the game to penalties. They ended up winning 5-3 on penalties to complete an incredible turnaround.

It was one of the greatest EFL comebacks, as no team had ever overturned more than a two-goal deficit in play-off history, underlining the size of Wednesday’s achievement.

It will be third against fourth on Monday 29th May, with kick-off at 3pm.

However, it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion who will come out victorious, considering Michael Duff’s side have won both clashes between the pair this season, including a 2-0 victory at Hillsborough in September and a 4-2 win at Oakwell in March.

What are the pundits saying about Sheffield Wednesday against Barnsley? Who will win?

George Elek of the Not the Top 20 podcast believes Wednesday go into the tie as favourites, he said: “I personally do think [Sheffield Wednesday will win], and I’m a huge fan of this Barnsley side and it’s no criticism of them, but if you get 96 points in a season, and you come back from 4-0 down to win a play-off semi-final, there’s not much more you can do to try and get promotion.”

However, he has been hugely impressed with Barnsley, Elek added: “It’s just a really well-rounded, good out of possession side, who consistently create good opportunities from open play and set pieces; a really awkward opponent for Sheffield Wednesday as well.”

Out of the three finals, Elek believes that this one is the hardest to call despite backing Wednesday as things stand, he continued: “I’ve still got a sneaky feeling, they’re the one of the outsiders of the three, with Luton, Sheffield Wednesday, and Stockport as the three favourites – I think League One is the one where I would think it’s more of a coin toss in my mind right now.”

Will Barnsley beat Sheffield Wednesday?

It’s hard to disagree with Elek and this is an incredibly difficult game to call.

Wednesday will have good momentum, given the nature of their progression to the final; but it’s hard to ignore Barnsley. It’s definitely the hardest final to call, with Stockport the clear favourites in League Two, and Luton at the very least solid favourites in the Championship.

League One is the tightest game of them all, with the smallest margin of quality difference, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see either team win it at Wembley.