Barnsley vs Sheffield Wednesday Prediction & Betting Tips - League One

Prediction published on 27/05/2023, 12:54  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 29/05/2023 at 02:00 in Football Predictions

Sheffield Wednesday face Yorkshire rivals Barnsley in the League One play-off final. Wednesday finished third in the main season, ten points clear of their opponents in this Wembley final. Not many of their fans would have been expecting to make the trip down south after the first leg of their semi-final. The Owls lost 4-0 at Peterborough and it looked like being another season in League One. Then they stunned the football world by winning the home leg 5-1 and then winning a penalty shootout to complete the great escape. The Yorkshire club had won four successive league games before that defeat at Peterborough. Four of their last six games played away from home have seen both teams get on the scoresheet. 

Barnsley may have finished ten points behind Sheffield Wednesday but they did the double over them. They won 2-0 at Hillsborough and then beat them 4-2 at home in late March. Barnsley went 2-0 up in 12 minutes in that latter match but were pulled back to 2-2 in the second half. Two late goals gave The Tykes the win. In the play-off semi-finals, they beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 on aggregate. They took the lead in the away first leg but returned home with a 1-1 draw. The job was finished off in the home second leg with a 1-0 victory. That win ended a run of four games without a win. Now they are just one game away from making an immediate return to the Championship. Five of the last away games played by the Colliers have seen both teams score. We believe that stat will come up again in what should be a fiercely fought final.