Jump to content

[Football] EFL Skybet Championship Playoffs 2018/2019


metalrover

Recommended Posts

_106900756_roofe_rex.jpg.jpeg.12ee8a4370df2852fededb015833ce62.jpeg

Kemar Roofe (left) scored in both of Leeds' Championship victories over Derby County this season

Live text coverage from 16:45 BST on Saturday

Derby County duo Martyn Waghorn and Duane Holmes are both doubts for the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final with Leeds United.

Waghorn picked up an Achilles injury in the win over West Brom and Holmes has been struggling with a thigh strain.

Leeds are without Patrick Bamford, who completes his two-match ban after being found guilty of simulation during their recent draw with Aston Villa.

Pontus Jansson faces a fitness test because of an ankle problem.

Leeds won both games during the regular season, running out 4-1 winners at Pride Park in August before a 2-0 win over the Rams at Elland Road in January.

However, that game was overshadowed by Leeds' head coach Marcelo Bielsa's admission that he had sent a member of his staff to "spy" on the Rams after Derbyshire Police were called to their training the day before the game to speak to a man acting suspiciously at the perimeter fence.

Bielsa later admitted that he had sent staff to watch "the training sessions of all opponents", with Leeds fined £200,000 by the EFL for their part in the incident, which Bielsa says he paid himself.

Rams 'ready' for two 'huge games'

Derby secured their place in the top six for the second successive season with last Sunday's 3-1 victory over West Brom.

And head coach Frank Lampard, who is nearing the end of his first campaign in charge, admitted that his side now face two "huge games" against Leeds.

"We mustn't forget they have beaten us twice, we mustn't forget they have finished points above us in the league," he told BBC Radio Derby.

"They are a strong team and at one point looked certainties to be promoted. Although they have dropped out of that, I still respect them hugely. But we will be ready.

"I'm not taking form into account. If we are going to have any chance of getting to Wembley we are going to have two really tough games."

After spending much of the season in the top two, Leeds slipped out of automatic promotion contention when back-to-back defeats over Easter by Wigan and Brentford, followed by the draw with Villa, allowed Sheffield United to join champions Norwich in the Premier League next season.

But Bielsa has urged his side to grasp the opportunity now in front of them in the play-offs.

"This is a football episode that everyone wants to live," he told BBC Radio Leeds. "Both semi-final games [against Derby] are going to be very attractive and the winner will play the final at Wembley, which will be a spectacle.

"The team that wins at Wembley will get promoted. You cannot have a bigger goal than this, and the motivation to face this challenge comes by itself."

Match facts

Leeds United won both matches in the 2018-19 Championship season against Derby County, the first time they've achieved this feat in a single season since 2001-02 when both clubs were in the Premier League.

Since winning seven successive home games in all competitions against Leeds between May 2007 and December 2014, Derby have only managed one victory in their last four (D1 L2).

Leeds' Kemar Roofe scored in both Championship fixtures against Derby in the 2018-19 campaign (3 goals), netting twice in Leeds' 4-1 victory away from home.

This will be Derby's eighth venture into the second tier play-offs; no side have taken part in more. They've only won promotion once in those previous seven seasons in the second tier play-offs (in 2006-07).

Leeds will be participating in their fifth Football League play-off campaign. They've never won promotion via this method, losing most recently against Millwall in the League One play-off semi-finals in 2009.

The team to finish sixth in the Championship has won promotion via the play-offs in just one of the last 13 seasons - Blackpool in 2009-10.

The side to finish third in the second tier has won promotion through the play-offs (current format) on 11 occasions (37%), more than any other position.

Leeds finished the 2018-19 Championship campaign with just one point from their last four games (D1 L3), their worst winless run of the season.

Derby County have lost just one of their last 12 league games (W6 D5), with a current unbeaten run of six (W4 D2).

Leeds United's Pablo Hernandez created 116 chances in the Championship during the 2018-19 campaign; 19 more than any other player. Only Brentford's Said Benrahma (14) provided more assists than Hernandez (12).

Source : bbc.com/football

Edited by metalrover
Link to comment
Share on other sites

_106900397_jrod.jpg.jpeg.9b7a802979b75c138488df4d6c635f5b.jpeg

West Bromwich Albion striker Jay Rodriguez scored in both Championship fixtures against Aston Villa during the regular season

Follow live text coverage from 12:00 BST on Saturday

Aston Villa should have striker Tammy Abraham available for the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final first leg against West Bromwich Albion.

Villa's top scorer missed their final three games of the regular season with a shoulder problem.

Albion forward Hal Robson-Kanu starts a three-match suspension following his red card against Derby on Sunday.

Chris Brunt is likely to return after missing the loss to the Rams, while Jake Livermore (foot) is doubtful.

Albion won 2-0 at Villa Park in February, with the season's earlier meeting at The Hawthorns ending in a 2-2 draw.

Another promotion would be a highlight - Brunt

Midfielder Chris Brunt is aiming to win promotion to the top flight with Albion for the third time, having done so automatically in 2008 and 2010.

The Northern Ireland international told BBC WM: "It'd probably be the highlight of my career. I'm not getting any younger and to achieve promotion again would be brilliant.

"I've spent most of my career playing for West Brom as a Premier League player and I'd love to finish my career at West Brom as a Premier League player.

"We've got a good opportunity to get to Wembley and have a chance to do that. It's a bit harsh that it's a showdown over two games - you've been playing for 10 months and it comes down to two games in a week, but so be it. We've got to make sure we're ready for it."

As for Villa, they were 10th and seven points off the play-offs when Albion won 2-0 at Villa Park on 16 February.

However, they soon began a 10-match winning sequence which lifted Dean Smith's men up to a finishing position of fifth in the Championship.

Asked if things had come together at the right time for Villa, full-back Neil Taylor said: "It's easy to say when you win 10 in a row.

"The team was doing really well and the most impressive thing was that anybody who had to step into the team over that period was also doing really well.

"We've shown in that block of games that it's the squad that will carry you through to the end, which any team that gets out of the Championship needs."

Match facts

This will be the 170th meeting between local rivals Aston Villa and West Brom in all competitions, with the Villans winning on 77 occasions (D37 L55).

West Brom are unbeaten in their last four games against Aston Villa (W2 D2), winning on each of their last two trips to Villa Park, including their most recent visit in February.

West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez has scored in three of his last four games against Aston Villa, including both matches during the 2018-19 Championship season.

Aston Villa will be making their second appearance in the Football League play-offs, reaching the Championship play-off final last season, losing 1-0 to Fulham at Wembley.

West Brom will be participating in their fourth Football League play-off campaign, securing promotion from the third tier in 1993 but losing out in both attempts in the second tier (2001 and 2007).

The team to finish in fourth place has won the second tier play-offs in two of the last five seasons (QPR in 2013-14 and Hull City in 2015-16), as many as in the previous 22 campaigns combined (Leicester City in 1993-94 and Charlton in 1997-98).

Only league winners Norwich City (93) scored more goals than West Brom (87) and Aston Villa (82) in the 2018-19 Championship season.

Aston Villa have lost just one of their last 13 league games (W10 D2), although this loss was in their last game of the Championship campaign against title winners Norwich.

West Brom striker Dwight Gayle has scored seven goals in his last seven starts, although only one of these goals has come away from the Hawthorns.

Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham scored 25 Championship goals during the 2018-19 campaign; only Norwich's Teemu Pukki scored more (29).

Source : bbc.com/football

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Camper said:

I used to support villa as a very young boy. So i hope villa returns to EPL.

Villa ish big club, they missed out on promotion last year, this round sure cheong all the way. This will be an interesting match..

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, metalrover said:

Derby @ 3.05

Draw @ 3.90

Leeds @ 2.20

Can hoot draw?

From the records, derby on 5 no lose streak while leeds on 4 winless streak.

 

Leeds also have a much better h2h record against derby..

Looking at the odds... im more inclined to take derby win.

  • Full Of Win 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Camper said:

From the records, derby on 5 no lose streak while leeds on 4 winless streak.

 

Leeds also have a much better h2h record against derby..

Looking at the odds... im more inclined to take derby win.

Derby ish the team on form now, leeds on a losing run recently... 

Leeds away to derby, hoot home win makes sense....

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Mugentech.net uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using this site you agree to Privacy Policy