fbpx
Connect with us

Brentford

Favourites to win the 19/20 Championship playoffs

Well that it’s, after the regular league season came to an end on Wednesday, we take a look at who are favourites to win the 19/20 Championship playoffs.

Now we know which teams are already promoted, the lineup has been confirmed following what was a dramatic and thrilling final day. So could be joining Leeds and West Brom?

Brentford are set to face Swansea and Fulham will play Cardiff in the semi-finals over two-legged ties taking place across five days from Sunday the 26th of July until the 30th, with the final Wembley on the 4th of August.

www.fanbanter.co.uk – Fan reaction to the latest football news, gossip & funnies

1st leg – Swansea v Brentford (18:30 – Sunday July 26)
1st leg – Cardiff v Fulham (19:45 – Monday July 27)
2nd leg – Brentford v Swansea (19:45 – Wednesday July 29)
2nd leg – Fulham v Cardiff (19:45 – Thursday July 30)
Final – Wembley Stadium (19:45 – Tuesday August 4)

4) SWANSEA

Well first of all, let’s just praise what Steve Cooper has achieved in his first season in charge at the club.

He’s come in, replacing Graham Potter who made the jump up a league to Brighton, and guided them to the playoffs, which has left the Swansea fanbase stunned.

They topped the Championship table twice throughout the 19/20 season, and was in the playoffs for much of the first half, however, a lack of wins in the second saw them slip to 11th by their 37th game. Pressure was on, but they managed to get vital victories to lift them up the standings and stormed into the playoffs by the barest of margins, beating Reading 4-1 to overtake Nottingham Forest on goal difference.

The Swans needed to win and hope that either Cardiff City would lose at home to bottom side Hull or that Forest would be beaten by Stoke, with a five-goal turnaround in Swansea’s favour. Forest lost 4-1 to the Potters.

The Swans will now be fighting for a place in the Premier League for the first time since they were relegated from it in 2017-18.

Their stars players have been Andre Ayew, who has scored 15 league goals this season, and Rhian Brewster – a 20-year-old striker who joined on loan from newly crowned Premier League champs Liverpool in January – who has really caught the football world’s attention since the restart, scoring six times to take his tally up to 10.

Sky Bet odds for promotion: 9/2

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Swansea City AFC (@swansofficial) on

3) CARDIFF

The beginning of the season looked disappointing for the Bluebirds, however after Neil Warnock departed in November with the club lying 14th in the table, the points certainly picked up thanks to the replacement manager in Neil Harris.

They ended the season strong in form, winning four of their last six. In fact, their 2-0 defeat to playoff opponents Fulham was one of only two defeats in their last 11 outings, and Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Hull was a third successive victory. Earlier in the season, under Warnock, they drew with Fulham 1-1 at home.

Lee Tomlin is Cardiff’s top-scorer in the league with eight goals, with another four players contributing seven.

Fair to say Fulham will give them a good test, which should make for an exciting tie come next week.

Sky Bet odds for promotion: 10/3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by World In Motion (@worldinmotionagency) on

2) FULHAM

Scott Parker has had a brilliant first full season with the Cottagers, and now they are hoping to get themselves back in the Premier League at the first attempt.

They come into the playoffs having been unbeaten in seven matches, five of those being vital wins.

Wigan look set to be relegated based on their 12 point deduction (depending on appeal) after drawing 1-1 with Fulham on Wednesday, though even if Parker’s side won, they still would have missed out on going up due to a significant goal difference.

Fulham will look to Aleksandar Mitrovic, the division’s top-scorer for 2019/20, to help take them back to the big time having already netted 26 goals, one more than Ollie Watkins.

They face 5th place Cardiff who are looking to also return to the Premier League after one season away.

Sky Bet odds for promotion: 5/2

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Fulham Football Club (@fulhamfc) on

1) BRENTFORD

Thomas Frank’s side had plenty of opportunities to get that all important promotion to the Premier League this summer, however after a superb eight-match winning streak, they suffered defeats to Stoke and Barnsley which saved both clubs from relegation.

Now they look to end a 73-year wait for top-flight football by battling out with Swansea City who unexpectedly beat the odds to replace Nottingham Forest in the playoffs.

Now they have to move on from that blow, and hopefully they will see attacking trio Ollie Watkins, Said Benrahma and Bryan Mbeumo bring their ‘A game’ having scored 57 league goals between them this season, which has helped Brentford finish 3rd in the table.

They went into Wednesday’s match knowing it could potentially be the last time they would play at their iconic ground Griffin Park, however they will now have just one more game to play there, in the hope they will giving it a happy goodbye come the end of their semi-final second leg.

Sky Bet odds for promotion: 6/4

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brentford Football Club (@brentfordfc) on

HEAD TO HEAD RESULTS (THIS SEASON):

SWANSEA 0-3 BRENTFORD – 22 Oct 2019
CARDIFF 1-1 FULHAM – 30 Aug 2019
BRENTFORD 3-1 SWANSEA – 26 Dec 2019
FULHAM 2-0 CARDIFF – 10 Jul 2020

MINI-LEAGUE

TEAM W-D-L GD PTS

Brentford | 5-1-0 | +5 | 16
Fulham | 3-1-2 | +1 | 10
Cardiff | 1-3-2 | -2 | 5
Swansea | 0-1-5 | -7 | 1

Brentford:
3-0 W v Swansea
3-1 W v Swansea
1-0 W v Fulham
0-2 W v Fulham
2-1 W v Cardiff
2-2 D v Cardiff

Fulham:
0-1 L v Brentford
0-2 L v Brentford
1-1 D v Cardiff
2-0 W v Cardiff
2-1 W v Swansea
1-0 W v Swansea

Cardiff:
1-1 D v Fulham
0-2 L v Fulham
1-2 L v Brentford
2-2 D v Brentford
1-0 W v Swansea
0-0 D v Swansea

Swansea:
0-3 L v Brentford
1-3 L v Brentford
0-1 L v Cardiff
0-0 D v Cardiff
1-2 L v Fulham
0-1 L v Fulham

Now you have seen who are favourites to win the 19/20 Championship playoffs, who do you want to see promoted?

Let us know by commenting HERE!

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Brentford