The EFL Championship play-offs are some of the highest-stakes games you’re likely to find, with an estimated £200M on offer to the club that wins the four-way go and ascends to the top tier of English football.
Derby and Fulham will kick proceedings off tonight at Pride Park in the first leg of their semi-final. It’s a third versus sixth affair as late-season form side Slaviša Jokanović’s Fulham find themselves in Derbyshire having just failed to make automatic promotion.
The home side are 2/1 shots to win on the night, with their visitors in at 6/4 and the draw at 12/5. They’re some attractive prices and indicate how difficult a game this one is to call.
Derby have the services of the in-form Cameron Jerome and Matěj Vydra on the side and manager Gary Rowett is no daw; they’ll be well drilled ahead of this test. Meanwhile, Fulham have shown some startling, free-flowing football in the second half of the season with the likes of young Ryan Sessegnon to call upon.
While these games can be famously cagey affairs, we think both of these teams have the capability of bagging at least once here, an eventuality that can be brought onside at a price of 8/11.
In terms of other selections, we’ll supplement our main wager with a toe-dip into the goalscorer markets. On-loan Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has be a revelation since his switch to Craven Cottage, scoring 10 in 14, at 6/5 to find the net in this one, the gutsy frontman is fairly priced.
