The English football season draws to a close on Monday with the Championship’s showpiece event – the play-off final – which is set to take place at Wembley between Reading and Swansea (Swansea 8/5 to win in 90 minutes).
The Welsh side haven’t been in the top flight since 1983 and have been down to the bottom rung of the football league pyramid since then. However, they are a club on the rise and with promotion from League One in 2008 coinciding with the opening of their new stadium, they look set for a very bright future.
They are managed by former Jose Mourinho protégé Brendan Rodgers, who had an unsuccessful stint in charge at the Madjeski Stadium. However, he has bounced back and the Swans have been in the play-offs all season.
They play a superb brand of attacking football which always provides goals. They have also been impressive defensively this season, conceding only 42 goals throughout their 46 league games, giving them the second tightest defence in the division.
One of their star players is former Chelsea youngster Scott Sinclair whose mazy dribbling and goals from midfield have been an integral part of Swansea’s push for promotion.
The winger has scored 19 goals this season and he could be the difference as the Swans look to seal promotion (Sinclair 11/2 to be first goalscorer).
Reading are truly a team in form and incredibly were sat in 12th position in the middle of February. Since then, they proceeded to go on an incredible run, with eight straight victories sealing their place in the play-offs (Reading 17/10 to win in 90 minutes).
The Berkshire side were relegated from the Premier League in 2008 but have bounced back under coach Brian McDermott and have been superb in the second half of the season.
The Royals have kept five clean sheets in their last eight matches and with talismanic captain Matthew Mills marshalling the defence, they always look solid.
However, it’s at the other end that they’ve been hitting the headlines with Irish international striker Shane Long netting 25 times this season. He was instrumental in his side’s play-off semi-final victory against Cardiff, scoring twice, and only Danny Graham has scored more times in the Championship this season (Long 5/1 to score the first goal).
The game has all the ingredients of a real classic. Championship play-offs are traditionally cagey affairs but after Blackpool’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Cardiff last time around, this could all change. Both sides have superb attackers with the ability to trouble anyone and for the neutral it could be an absolute thriller.
However, due to their form, Reading could be a top flight side on Monday evening.
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Schalke (11/1 Bundesliga Outright 2010/2011 Outright) have bolstered their title chances with a double deadline day swoop for Dutch international striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Mexican midfielder Jose Manuel Jurardo for a combined £21million.