Barnsley – Sheffield Wednesday

Third regular season team to go to the Championship

After Luton Town's dramatic win in the final of the Championship play-offs and the Hatter's historic relegation to the Premier League, Wembley will be the venue for less important English football, but no less important for the immediate participants in the match. Barnsley have become a veritable lift team between League One and the Championship in the last ten years. During that period, the club has changed places between these divisions four times. Barnsley were last relegated to the third division of England in the last Supplementary Division, becoming the last team to be relegated. Sheffield Wansday were still in the Premier League in the 1999/2000 season but since then they have been relegated. The Owls relegated to League One following the 2020/2021 season. Both seasons the team did well, finishing in the play-off zone twice. Last season, Sheffield Wansday lost in the semi-finals by a combined score of 1-2 to Sunderland, who then secured promotion in the final. Bookmakers have picked the visitors as favourites for the decisive match, offering odds of 1.58 to see them through. In the current League One draw, there were three clubs that stood out significantly in terms of their level of play over the other representatives. Two of them, Plymouth and Ipswich Town went directly to the Championship, the third was just three points short. That team was Sheffield Wansday, with an astonishing 96 points for third place. For example, the last play-off participant, Peterborough United, was beaten by nineteen points. It was with this club that Sheffield City competed in the semi-finals and played one of the most memorable play-off duels in the history of English football. After losing away to the opposition 0-4, the Owls scored the same in the return leg and took the lead on penalties. Sheffield Wansday are unlikely to let a defeat in the final devalue such a great comeback. Barnsley finished fourth in the regular season, ten points behind their upcoming opponents. In the play-off semi-finals, the team passed Bolton by a combined score of 2-1. Barnsley have beaten Sheffield twice this season, but the upcoming clash has a different level of responsibility. We're betting on Sheffield's more skillful players making it to the Championship.