A weekend of high drama is in the offing courtesy of the Championship, League One and League Two Playoff Finals, which take place on Saturday, Monday and Sunday respectively.
Scroll down for our best bets in each match, followed by the analysis which led to our selections.
EFL Playoff Finals 2023 betting tips
Coventry vs Luton – Draw @ 21/10
Barnsley to beat Sheffield Wednesday @ 23/10
Stockport to beat Carlisle @ 29/20
Bet on the latest football odds at Betzone
Richest match in football set to go the distance
Luton Town drew the joint-most games of any Championship team in the regular season, sharing the spoils in 17 of their 46 outings. Coventry, meanwhile saw 16 of their 46 league games end with honours even.
Predictably the sides fought out draws in both of their previous meetings this season, with a 2-2 Kenilworth Road tussle in September followed more recently by a 1-1 February result in the Midlands.
Both sides have proven extremely hard to beat in recent times. Luton’s 2-1 playoff semi-final first leg loss to Sunderland is the sole reverse they’ve suffered in 16 matches. The Sky Blues have lost once in their last 19.
In a match with so much on the line, these evenly-matched outfits with a propensity for draws look destined to play at least 120 minutes in search of a victor.
Best bet: Coventry vs Luton – Draw @ 21/10
Underdog Tykes value to prevail in all-Yorkshire duel
Sheffield Wednesday pulled off a comeback for the ages in their semi-final against Peterborough by overturning a 4-0 first leg deficit to win through to Wembley on penalties in front of a scarcely believing Hillsborough.
However, there must be a possibility that their emotional roller-coaster route to the promotion decider has had a negative effect on their chances of lifting themselves to go again against Barnsley.
Regardless of the extra minutes in Wednesday’s legs, Barnsley have every right to feel aggrieved that their Yorkshire neighbours have been priced up as 23/20 favourites here.
Michael Duff’s men look decent value at north of 2/1 to win, having beaten the Owls home and away in regular season action, ending lengthy unbeaten runs for the Steel City side on both occasions.
The Tykes’ 2-0 win at Hillsborough in September was the hosts’ first home loss since February while their 4-2 win at Oakwell in March called a halt to their visitors’ 23-match unbeaten league run.
Best bet: Barnsley to beat Sheffield Wednesday @ 23/10
Strong finishing Stockport can see off Cumbrians
Stockport won just three of their first 13 league games this season but finished the campaign with the best record in the division over the final 12, winning six, draw six and conceding just six during that last dozen outings.
Carlisle by contrast have taken a more faltering path towards Wembley. They were very much in the automatic promotion reckoning in mid-March but won just two of their remaining 11 games.
The goals have dried up for the Cumbrians’ top scorer Kristian Dennis too with the 32-year-old marksman notching just three times in his last 18 outings.
Stockport have lost just twice in their last 22 fixtures and saw off an extremely game Salford side to reach this decider. They will be very difficult to beat and look the more likely side to find victory within normal time on recent evidence.
Best bet: Stockport to beat Carlisle @ 29/20
