Álvaro Hernández
Dailysports's expert
On May 15, The Valley will host the second leg of the League One play-off semi-final, where Charlton Athletic will face Wycombe Wanderers. For this match, I suggest betting on goals, cards, or the winner.
Charlton Athletic
The club is quite well-known, primarily thanks to the Curbsihley era, when at the turn of the century they were genuine contenders for a place in European competitions. On the other hand, they haven’t been back to the Premier League, or even the Championship, for a long time. Now, they’re a solid League One mid-table side. Last season, after collecting 53 points, they finished a modest sixteenth in the standings.
On the positive side, their manager is Nathan Jones, who, of course, is remembered for his struggles at Premier League level. But at lower tiers, the young coach has proven relatively successful. There were hopes for direct promotion, but Birmingham and Wrexham claimed those spots. Still, finishing fourth secured a play-off berth. The first leg away ended in a goalless draw.
Wycombe Wanderers
This team played in the Championship not too long ago. However, they failed to establish themselves there and were relegated, ending last season in League One in just tenth place. Last summer, Lomtadze, a new investor active in Kazakhstan, took over the project. He clearly wants quick and tangible progress.
Interestingly, their main rival in League One turned out to be one of the newcomers, Wrexham. They went neck and neck for a long time, knowing that one promotion spot to the Championship was all but guaranteed for the outright favourite and leader, Birmingham. It was Birmingham who finished second. Wycombe’s chances were hurt by their rivals’ dips in form, exacerbated by frequent managerial changes. Yet, the decisive stretch at the end of April and early May saw them lose three straight games. Unsurprisingly, they finished the season in fifth place. The play-offs started with a goalless draw at home, so now they have to win—and score—away from home.
Match facts
- Charlton have won just one of their last three matches
- On average, Athletic score 1.43 goals and concede 0.91 per game
- Wycombe are winless in their last four matches
H2H
Both regular season meetings before the play-offs ended with Athletic victories.
Charlton Athletic vs Wycombe Wanderers prediction
The bookmakers favour the hosts. It’s worth backing them to win, but with a "0" handicap (draw no bet), at odds of 1.6.
