EFL Championship Play-Off Final Preview: Villa And Derby County To Meet In England’s Richest Club Game

Two huge clubs set to meet in the play-off final with a place in the FA Premier League at stake

It has been dubbed as one of the richest games in club football around the globe, and this coming Monday afternoon (27 May) Aston Villa and Derby County are set to meet at Wembley Stadium in London in the EFL Championship play-off final. At stake is a place in the FA Premier League and a potential 90 million pound windfall for the winner.

First things first

Before you go any further, head on over to the Oddsshark website, find your favourite betting site and get your own account up and running using your credit card. As a new customer and with the play-off final just a few short days away, there should be a wide range of promotions and special offers available to you.

Where should I be investing my money?

First up, let’s take a look at the recent form of both these sides. Villa ended the domestic campaign very strongly but then needed penalties to edge past West Brom in the semi-finals – if they can rediscover their league form then they should have too much firepower for their opponents.

Derby, by way of comparison, scraped into the play-offs a point ahead of Middlesbrough but then performed one of the most dramatic comebacks of the season to eliminate Leeds. Having lost 1-0 at home, the Rams then won 4-2 at Elland Road to progress to the grand finale.

But while the betting is indeed close, it is Aston Villa who come into this match as the slight favourites to win inside 90 minutes. You can more than double your money by backing Villa to triumph at 2.25, while Derby are out at 3.60 to do the same – a draw is priced in the middle at 3.30, according to Oddsshark.

Who will make it up?

Alternatively, you can make a more straightforward bet based simply on who will lift the trophy and make it to the Premier League. Again, Villa are the favourites to do so at 1.61, while Derby are out at 2.30.

And while we are expecting this to be a closely fought affair between two evenly matched teams, we are expecting Villa’s quality to just about make the crucial difference over the course of the 90 minutes. It is of course never easy trying to predict the exact score line in any football match, but a narrow, 2-1 win for Villa comes in at 9.00, meaning that a US$5 bet would lead to a US$45 pay out.

Such a result would then also allow you to double your money by backing over 2.5 goals in the game at 2.00, while both teams to score comes in at 1.72. However, if you are looking to push any potential winnings from this crucial clash even higher then you could employ a method known as combo betting, which allows you to select multiple outcomes at higher odds.

For example, a combo bet of a Villa win, coupled with both teams to score, could see you more than quadruple your money at a price of 4.50, while you could more than triple any investment by backing a Villa win and over 2.5 goals in the game. Over 2.5 goals and both teams to score still comes in at 2.30, meaning you could more than double your cash.

Villa to come out on top

Given this is a final and so much is at stake we could see a tense opening, but Villa have the more technically gifted squad and could look for a crucial early goal. It may therefore be a good idea to back over 0.5 goals in the first 10 minutes at 4.50, while Villa are at 9.00 to be ahead by the end of that time period.

Villa need to be looking to take this game to Derby, who could well wilt under intense pressure and the grandeur of the occasion. You can almost quadruple your money by backing Villa to win this game to nil (without Derby scoring a goal) while they are out at 7.00 to actually go out and win both halves of the match.

In terms of goal scorers, Tammy Abraham may well be Villa’s best shot of grabbing the goals that could fire them back to the top flight. You can more than double your money by backing the striker to score any time at 2.10, while he is at 4.50 to net either the first or the last goal of the game.

EFL Championship play-off final:

Monday, 27 May

(2.25) Aston Villa x Derby County (3.60); draw (3.30)