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25 May 2023 , 12:12

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EFL Championship Play-off Final – Coventry City v Luton Town

Saturday 27^th May, 16:45

Coventry City’s single goal across both semi-final games against Middlesbrough proved to be enough to see them slide through to the final.

A fine display of defensive maturity on show, having conceded the possession stats in both games, the ‘Sky Blues’ are rightfully confident in their talent going forward with 21-goal striker Viktor Gyokeres leading the line.

Luton Town followed a similar approach against their play-off final opponents, suffering less possession in their two semi-final games but ultimately coming through the other side.

A 2-1 loss in their first game against Sunderland left Rob Edward’s side with plenty to do, but could lean on their notoriously strong home form in front of the Luton faithful.

Goals from defensive duo Gabriel Osho and Tom Lockyer in the second leg completed the turnaround in normal time as Luton confirmed a 3-2 aggregate win to send them to Wembley.

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Meetings between the two finalists throughout the regular season provide more questions than answers going into this huge game.

After the 2-2 and 1-1 draws in previous meetings, there’s likely to be goals with both teams boasting prolific firepower in Coventry’s aforementioned Gyokeres and Luton’s Carlton Morris, with only one league goal separating the two in the goal standings.

The Draws in both games suggest two competitive sides are yet to find a way to better their opponent, and this could head into extra time or penalties, as one team will have to walk away as the winner on this occasion.

Full time result/Win in 90 mins : Coventry - Luton
To lift the trophy : Coventry – Luton
Win in extra time : Coventry – Luton
Penalty shootout win : Coventry – Luton

EFL League One Play-off Final – Barnsley v Sheffield Wednesday

Monday 29^th May, 15:00

Barnsley bettered Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at home in the second leg, doing enough to make it through to the final having held the Papa Johns Trophy winners to a 1-1 draw at The University of Bolton Stadium in the first game.

Liam Kitching’s winner at the back post set up a trip to Wembley with extra meaning in a derby fixture against Sheffield Wednesday.

Sheffield Wednesday’s 4-0 first leg capitulation against Peterborough suggested the tie was done, with the chances of a footballing miracle near impossible.

Near impossible wasn’t impossible enough for Wednesday as they hosted Peterborough and their big lead.

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Two goals in the first half sparked belief, and a 98^th minute stoppage time winner dragged the game into extra time. Peterborough dramatically got a goal in the 105^th minute, only for Callum Paterson to respond for Wednesday in the 112^th minute and take the game to penalties.

A 5-3 penalty win completed the most unlikely of comebacks on a historic night as the Wednesday fans stormed the pitch to celebrate making it to the final in the most sensational way.

Semi-final magic counts for nothing when the sides square off at Wembley, with Barnsley coming into the fixture confidently having beaten Sheffield Wednesday in both games during the League One.

A 2-0 win back in September, followed up with an entertaining 4-2 win in March, suggests Barnsley know how to get the better of Darren Moore’s men.

Although Wednesday may feel the footballing gods could be watching over them, eight goals across the two games suggests this could be an entertaining end-to-end encounter.

Full time result/Win in 90 mins : Barnsley – Sheff Wed
To lift the trophy : Barnsley – Sheff Wed
Win in extra time : Barnsley – Sheff Wed
Penalty shootout win : Barnsley – Sheff Wed

EFL League Two Play-off Final – Carlisle United v Stockport County

Sunday 28^th May, 13:30

Carlisle suffered a 1-0 first leg away defeat at the hands of Bradford in front of a record attendance for a League Two play-off semi-final.

A Bradford own goal in the second leg sent the game into a chaotic extra time period with Carlisle’s Callum Guy 98^th minute goal being cancelled out by a Bradford equaliser just after half time in extra time.

With the door open for a dramatic winner, Ben Barclay's header confirmed that the penalty shootout route would be bypassed with his 112^th minute header to see Carlisle reach the final with a 3-2 aggregate win.

Stockport just missed out on automatic promotion, and found themselves fearing another missed opportunity as they suffered a 1-0 loss at Salford thanks to Matt Smith’s goal.

As is the format for EFL Play-off semi-final games this season, the second leg would serve up plenty of drama.

Stockport’s Isaac Olaofe scored in normal time to send the game into extra time, leading to Stephen Mallan's deflected 112^th minute strike seemingly breaking Stockport hearts.

Jack Stretton’s headed goal three minutes later set the stage for a penalty shootout hero. Goalkeeper Ben Hinchcliffe obliged, as the Stockport shot-stopper produced two brilliant penalty saves to send County through to the final.

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Carlisle are yet to get the better of Stockport County this season having lost 2-0 back in October, and drawing 2-2 at home in their second league head-to-head.

Stockport have the second-best defensive record in the league as well as plenty of talent higher up. Before the first leg loss to Salford, Stockport will still be in confident mood having not lost a game since late February.

Carlisle have been able to rely on Kristian Dennis’ goals and can counter the resilient Stockport defence with the belief that they have scored the second-most goals in League Two this season. A chess match awaits against two deserving finalists.

Full time result/Win in 90 mins : Carlisle – Stockport
To lift the trophy : Carlisle – Stockport
Win in extra time : Carlisle – Stockport
Penalty shootout win : Carlisle – Stockport