England » Championship Play Offs
Blackpool v West Ham, Saturday 19th May 15:00
50 points over 2.5 goals, best odds 1.91
Since the 2nd Division playoffs were created for the 1986/87 season, they’ve always been an exciting way to end the campaign in the second tier of English football. The prize on offer for the winners of West Ham v Blackpool on Saturday afternoon at Wembley is an £85m golden ticket direct to the World’s most lucrative Division next season.
After the inception of the Premier League in 1992, the incentive to win this game has increased almost exponentially over the years. 1993’s classic encounter saw player-manager Glenn Hoddle lead Swindon to a 4-3 victory over Leicester, a game which set the blueprint for a decade of high-scoring thrill rides at Wembley, only 3 of which ended in fewer than 2.5 goals being scored.
The escalating financial pressure on smaller clubs in the new century meant we began to see much tighter games; after Wolves had blasted 3 first half goals against Sheffield United in 2003, the proceeding finals became far edgier and with less goals, up until 2010 when Blackpool beat Cardiff 3-2 and last season when Swansea defeated Reading 4-2.
Blackpool Boss, Ian Holloway, only knows how to send his teams out one way, to attack. He indicated this week that his tactics have not been affected by the 8 goals West Ham have scored against the Tangerines this season – a 4-0 win for the Hammers at Upton Park and a 4-1 away victory at Bloomfield road.
Sam Allardyce’s heavily criticised West Ham side have finally come into to some consistent goal-scoring form at the right time (see below), their recent performances suggest we should witness another thrilling match at Wembley for the third consecutive campaign.
7 of West Ham’s last 9 games have ended in an Over 2.5 goal result
| Burnley | 2 | 2 | West Ham | 24/03/2012 |
| Peterborough | 0 | 2 | West Ham | 27/03/2012 |
| West Ham | 2 | 4 | Reading | 31/03/2012 |
| Barnsley | 0 | 4 | West Ham | 06/04/2012 |
| West Ham | 3 | 3 | Birmingham | 09/04/2012 |
| West Ham | 6 | 0 | Brighton | 14/04/2012 |
| Bristol C. | 1 | 1 | West Ham | 17/04/2012 |
| Leicester | 1 | 2 | West Ham | 23/04/2012 |
| West Ham | 2 | 1 | Hull | 28/04/2012 |
Blackpool’s 2-2 draw in the Championship playoff semi-final 2nd leg versus Birmingham was their 31st over 2.5 goal result recorded this season. In the League campaign, the Tangerines featured in 30 over 2.5 goal matches over the course of their 46 game season, notching up an impressive 79 goals in the process, and more importantly, conceding 59 goals along the way too.
Thanks for reading,
Phil Rushton, Football Betting Master
