The one aspect that could seriously dictate the outcome of the L1 play-off final: Opinion

In the lead-up to big footballing occasions, the psychology of the two teams with so much at stake is often discussed at length.

In this season’s League One play-off final, it could be a defining aspect of how the two sides prepare and who will join Plymouth and Ipswich in the Championship.

Here’s how it could prove decisive throughout this all South Yorkshire contest.

How will it impact Barnsley?

Barnsley come into this game as the only side who have done the league double over Sheffield Wednesday this season, something which will give Tykes fans a big cause for optimism in the lead up to the final.

In the latter of those two fixtures – a pulsating fixture at Oakwell – we perhaps got a hint of how this final could play out, if Barnsley were to execute a similar game plan to perfection.

Despite Wednesday dominating the majority of the second half after Lee Gregory’s equaliser, two late goals – in particular a devastating counter-attack for Liam Kitching’s goal – proved to be where Wednesday came unstuck on the night.

Despite having the dynamism in midfield and attack, Barnsley will once again look to show their resolute defensive side which has been a strength all campaign long, and the physical battle between Mads Andersen and Michael Smith promises to be one of many key battles across the Wembley pitch.

Set pieces have also been pivotal to Barnsley in their play-off campaign thus far, with both goals stemming from an initial set play before reaching the second phase, something which at times Sheffield Wednesday struggled to deal with at times in their own semi-finals.

How will it impact Sheffield Wednesday?

Anybody connected with The Owls will rightfully savour the extraordinary scenes which took place at Hillsborough on Thursday night, but they cannot afford to have spent all of their energy in the 120 minutes it took to overcome Peterborough’s 4-0 advantage from the first leg.

The second leg was a testament to not just the ability of a side which finished on 96 points, but also their character, after numerous Wednesday fans as well as outsiders had written them off.

The psychological impact of creating history in the semi-final is one that Darren Moore had already played down post-match, regardless of the initial achievement of completing the so-called ‘mission impossible’.

Such a result has undoubtedly given the entire club a massive boost to believe they can finish the job off, after narrowly missing out on automatic promotion in the regular season.

It is without question that Moore has assembled one of the most talented and high-value squads in the division.

Two of his players also featured the last time Wednesday made the trip to the national stadium in 2016, when they were defeated 1-0 by Hull City in the form of Barry Bannan and Jack Hunt. Both of these seasoned players will be hoping they can use their experiences from that day as added motivation to get the blue half of Sheffield back into the second tier.

How will it decide the outcome of the final?

With the unpredictable nature of the play-offs as a whole, but in particular this aspect of which Sheffield Wednesday team turns up from the two legs will play a massive part to deciding who clinches promotion.

They come into the game as favourites , but this will not phase Michael Duff’s side after beating them twice across the regular season, but Duff will have to prepare his side to be facing an extremely buoyant side after Thursday night’s events, and they will hope to exploit any remaining frailties, something Peterborough were incapable of doing.

Darren Moore will be hoping his side’s result gives them the belief, but that they aren’t too overconfident as this could then play into Barnsley’s hands, and Wednesday will be aware of the quick transitions this Barnsley team are capable of, with the likes of Luca Connell, Devante Cole and Slobodan Tedic.

Regardless of who comes out on top, it will be a pulsating and intriguing encounter between two sides who have varying styles of football.