It’s that time of the year again; it’s time for the playoffs. The first round of playoffs game will take place on Thursday night with the two League 1 Semi finals taking place. I thought I would take a look at the 4 teams taking part and asses their chances.
Preston North End- The Lilywhites suffered last day heartbreak on Sunday when they needed a win to secure automatic promotion but instead they endured a 1-0 loss to Colchester and ending up in 3rd position. Until this they had been on an 18 game unbeaten run but now they will have to go through the dreaded playoffs. The playoffs are certainly not the North Ends forte with them having been in them 9 times and not gaining promotion through them once. Even taking their record into account they are still regarded as favourites to gain promotion for a reason; they have a rock solid defence only conceding 40 goals in 46 all season and there frontline isn't so bad either with League 1 top scorer Joe Garner and the dangerous Jermaine Beckford leading the line with the creative but erratic Paul Gallagher behind them. Could this finally there lucky year?
Swindon- The side from Wiltshire were right up there fighting for 2nd all season until the final month or so when they had a poor run of form with made them end up in 4th place and without a win in 5. Form is key going into the playoffs and some say the team in the best form will have the best chance of winning it. The Robins do have quality but will they be able turn it around? They have the clinical Andy Williams up front with the danger of goal scoring midfielder Ben Gladwin and the gifted Massimo Luongo as the midfield general. The problem they will have is conceding goals they have conceded the most goals out of the teams in the Playoffs and they will need to stop this to gain promotion to the Championship.
Sheffield United- The team that play at Bramhall Lane finished in 5th and did not have had the season the club have hoped for but they still have a chance to make amends and get promotion yet. There is no doubt considering the size and stature of the club they should be winning this league never mind fighting in the Playoffs but they fans won’t care the way they get up as long as they do. The Yorkshire side have certainly had an unpredictable season winning games like Bristol City away but losing games like Crewe at home. They can beat anyone on their day as there League Cup run proved but can they produce their best over these 2 or 3 games? Like Preston they have a poor record in previous Playoffs not winning them in 7 tries. The key men for The Blades are Winger Jamie Murphy who is dangerous to anyone when on form and the defensive pair of Kieran Freeman and John Brayford who cost £1.5 Million in January who will be vital to their successes. They have though lacked goals this season and have scored the least out of the teams in the Playoffs.
Chesterfield- The Spireites did not really expect to be in the mix after only gaining promotion to League one this last season but they found themselves in 6th place and now have a chance to surpass all expectations. They certainly do owe a lot to Irishman Eoin Doyle who scored a remarkable 21 league goals before leaving to Cardiff on deadline day in the January window but they have continued on and gained a Playoff spot without him. Chesterfield do face a tough task to beat 3rd place Preston over 2 legs but it is certainly not one they are not capable of doing with a solid defence in Tendayi Darikwa the clubs player of the year and the experienced Ian Evatt alongside him. Also the inventive Jay O’Shea and Gary Roberts will look to cause problems up top.
Source: DSG
