Seeley’s Selections – Championship Play-Off Final

The biggest prize in domestic football is up for grabs at Wembley on Monday with a place in the Premier League awaiting the winners of either Norwich or Middlesbrough.

It’s not only the biggest game of the football league season, it’s also one of the trickiest with BoyleSports making the Canaries their 5/6 marginal favourites to make an immediate return to the big time.

Middlesbrough fans will look at the 10/11 with BoyleSports and think that’s worth taking as they’ve already done the double over their promotion rivals and have won both of those games without conceding, which is 18/5 with BoyleSports.

One thing you would have noticed this season is when BoyleSports have found it very hard to separate two sides, we’ve weighed in with a punt on the draw and that is exactly what I suggest we do again in this one. It’s one of the most obvious punting strategies, but also one of the most profitable and it will be again.

The stalemate after 90 minutes is 23/10 with BoyleSports and in a match where they can’t split the two sides and nerves playing a massive part, that just is the wrong price.

Nobody ever backs the draw, but start now.

The Canaries were my ante-post selection for promotion and I ripped the slip up at Christmas and threw it in the dustbin, along with the socks and the soap on a rope from the kids. Since the arrival of Alex Neil though they have turned their season on its head and have been superb.

They’ve only lost twice in their last 21 games and they will be popular at the 13/8 to win this in the 90 minutes.

They do boast the best squad in the division, that is for sure, and they are yet to lose on the road under the new manager but this Middlesbrough side will be a tough nut to crack.

One of the defeats Neil suffered was a 1-0 home loss against Aitor Karanka’s side, but how they lost that match I still don’t know and I just couldn’t back them at the 19/10 available with BoyleSports for their third win this season against the Canaries.

Recent Championship play-off finals have been tight affairs, but this one could be an entertaining one. Both teams have scored in the last four Norwich games, and the Riversiders were involved in some both teams to score thrillers at the end of the regular season, so the 20/23 with BoyleSports on both teams to score in this one that looks a decent wager.

I also like a 1-1 draw which is 5/1 and that will keep up Norwich’s unbeaten away record under Neil and Middlesbrough’s unbeaten record this season against the Canaries, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this go all the way to a penalty shoot-out.

We landed the first goalscorer in yesterday’s League One play-off final when Jermaine Beckford grabbed the opener in the Preston v Swindon clash.

In this one I’m going to take a chance on Norwich’s Bradley Johnson who is overpriced at 12/1 to score the first at Wembley.

Seeley’s Selections:
Draw @ 23/10
Both Teams To Score – YES @ 20/23
Correct Score: Norwich 1-1 Middlesborough @ 5/1
Bradley Johnson First Goalscorer @ 12/1

*Prices correct at time of publication.