THE FOUR FINALS – PART III

CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF FINAL
With so much at stake, this has all the makings of a cracking game and one that is likely to be filled with high drama. Swansea and Reading will do battle as they look to earn a place in the Premier League in a match worth approximately £90 million to the winners.

Many neutral fans appear to be backing Reading and seem to be against having a Welsh team in the Premier League. But I do not mind either way and believe whoever plays the best football on the day deserves promotion. Swansea have never been in the Premier League so it would be a breath of fresh air if they do come up, but, Reading have had a terrific second half of the season and would be a good addition to the top flight.

Swansea will be in confident mood having already beaten Reading twice this season – both games ended 1-0 in favour of the Welsh side. The two clean sheets are proof of how strong their defence has been this season as the Swans conceded just 42 goals during the regular season.

Brendan Rodgers has done a magnificent job since taking over at the Liberty Stadium last summer, leading the club to a third-place finish in the Championship. Rodgers lasted just over six months as manager of Reading, but has proved his credentials with a magnificent first season with Swansea. The signing of Scott Sinclair, who scored in the win at Madejski Stadium, was an excellent piece of business by Rodgers. The forward has been one of the stand-out performers in the Championship, and will certainly be one to watch in the final.

But, while everything is looking good for Swansea, Reading certainly cannot be underestimated. The Royals were 12th in mid-February, so it is even more remarkable that manager Brian McDermott managed to lead them into the top six. After a goalless draw in the first leg of their play-off semi-final against Cardiff, they were seen by many as underdogs as the second leg was away from home. Reading romped to a 3-0 success in Wales to show that they are a force to be reckoned with, especially with Shane Long up front and the excellent set-piece delivery of Ian Harte. The duo have netted 38 goals between them this season (two of Harte’s came during his time at Carlisle) and they will be key to Reading’s chances in this clash.

PREDICTION
It is yet another hard game to call and there is unlikely to be more than one goal between the sides at Wembley. I correctly predicted Swansea and Reading to win their semi-finals and I am going to stick with my gut instinct of the Welsh club coming out on top in the play-off final. I am predicting Scott Sinclair to be among the goal-scorers as Swansea record a narrow 2-1 win.