The eagerly-anticipated Championship playoff semi-finals kick off this week and with tensions certain to be high at Ashton Gate and The Coventry Building Society Arena, tempers should flare and tackles should fly. With mayhem likely, we’ve put together a 2/1 card market double for Bristol City’s tussle with Sheffield United and Coventry’s skirmish with Sunderland.
Bristol City vs Sheffield United – Over 3.5 cards
8/13 at Fitzdares
Three of last season’s four fixtures in the double-legged Championship playoff semi-finals featured at least four cards, and we expect the match officials to be just as busy in this year’s iterations.
Seven cards were brandished across Bristol City and Sheffield United’s two encounters during the regular Championship campaign, so recent history is on our side here.
The Blades also rank sixth for total cards collected (97) in the division since August and with the visitors leading the charge, a target of over 3.5 cards should be beaten at Ashton Gate.
Coventry vs Sunderland – Over 4.5 cards
6/5 at Fitzdares
Meetings between Coventry and Sunderland earlier this season were on the spicey side with three and seven cards handed out in the teams’ encounters respectively.
Those fiery face-offs also averaged a mammoth 42 tackles and 23 fouls per 90 minutes, highlighting the depth of ill-feeling between the clubs even further.
With so much riding on Friday’s first leg, we expect challenges to be robust again and with prices on Championship betting sites attractive, backing over 4.5 cards to land could be the way to go.
