The second legs of the League One play-Off semi-finals take place this week, starting with Bolton against Barnsley on Tuesday.
Wanderers hold a 3-1 lead after victory at Oakwellin the first leg, while Peterborough entertain Oxford on Tuesday and the visitors have the advantage after winning 1-0 at home.
- BOLTON -1 HANDICAP
- PETERBOROUGH TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
Bolton Can Finish The Job
Bolton recorded a deserved 3-1 win in the first leg at Oakwell and can end Barnsley’s promotion hopes in emphatic fashion on Tuesday.
Wanderers opened up a 2-0 lead early in the second half in South Yorkshire but Barnsley did manage to respond after pulling a goal back to keep the tie alive.
However, the Whites struck late on and that goal left the Barnsley players clearly deflated as they had been attempting to force an equaliser - and a two-goal deficit looks too big a big hurdle to overcome as they head to a Bolton side who had the joint best home record in the division.
The Tykes simply have to go on the attack from the off and that could well play into Bolton’s hands, as Wanderers are strong defensively and have the ability to be ruthless on the counter.
As Barnsley can’t afford to sit back, the hosts should get plenty of counterattacking opportunities and an early goal for Bolton could potentially open the floodgates here, so Bolton may be able to beat a -1 handicap fairly comfortably against the out-of-form visitors, who have five defeats from their last seven games.
Posh Can Respond Against U’s
The tie between Peterborough and Oxford is finely poised with just one goal in it ahead of Wednesday’s second leg at London Road.
The first meeting was a fairly even affair, but the U’s managed to edge a close game as they secured a 1-0 win.
With home advantage the Poshcan hit back but another close game should perhaps be expected here.
Oxford have scored six goals without reply in their last two games against Posh but the last time they visited this ground they went down 3-0. The margin of victory is unlikely to be quite so large in this vital fixture, however, and a home win with goals at both ends has some appeal.
Posh have three wins in their last four at home and six wins in their last nine going back further, with one draw and two defeats.
Clean sheets have been an issue for Darren Ferguson’s men and they’ve managed just one in their last six games, while they conceded 28 goals in their 23 home games in the regular season.
The U’s have only failed to score in two of their last 10 away from home and can play their part in what is likely to be a competitive affair by getting on the scoresheet, in an evenly-matched tie that may require extra-time to be resolved.
PETERBOROUGH TO WIN AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
