Barnsley vs Sheffield Wednesday Predictions

• Sheffield Wednesday have won five of their last six games
• Barnsley edged through the semi-final having won just one of their final five regular season games
• The Owls struck first in 70% of their League One games and were brilliant at staying ahead
• The Tykes have scored only six goals in games in which they’ve conceded first this season

Yorkshire battle at Wembley

The third and final EFL playoff final of the campaign brings a South Yorkshire takeover to the capital, as Sheffield Wednesday meet Barnsley. The Owls caught the eye with their incredible semi-final against Peterborough, where they raced back from 4-0 down after the first leg to win the tie on penalties.

Barnsley eased into the final with a 2-1 aggregate win over Bolton and the Tykes were at Wembley over the weekend to soak in the atmosphere ahead of this vital game. While they won both regular-season meetings between the pair, Barnsley could struggle to complete a hat-trick on Monday.

Wednesday on a high

Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore was under huge pressure coming into the season and he wasn’t in a great spot after missing automatic promotion and losing 4-0 to Peterborough. However, that result now looks like a huge outlier following their 5-1 comeback in the second leg, which was a fifth win in six for the Owls.

Meanwhile, Barnsley finished the season with the handbrake on, going into their clash with Bolton with just one win in their previous five games. The Tykes eased off with little chance of them getting automatic promotion, which allowed the Owls to open up a 10 point gap between the sides. While Barnsley at their best are right there alongside Wednesday, it’s worth noting that they took the same approach in the Championship playoffs two years ago and found it incredibly difficult to get back to their best.

The Owls are favourites heading into this one on current form and they can take control of the clash early on.

Owls can take control

Something which stands out when looking back at their respective campaigns is that during the 46-game season, Sheffield Wednesday scored the opener in 32 of them – which is 70% of their matches. They conceded just nine equalisers over the whole season, defending the lead at a rate of 76%.

Meanwhile, Barnsley conceded first on 14 occasions and they scored only six goals in games in which they conceded first, losing 12 of those and winning none. They aren’t the kind of side to battle back if they go behind, while the Owls showed how they deal with adversity in their brilliant semi-final comeback. That fact that Sheffield Wednesday hit significantly more goals after conceding first – 19 in 12 games – suggests they can rally in this clash if needed.

One key factor for the Owls is that they have the highest scorer across both teams, with Michael Smith in form coming into this one. He scored 18 times in League One this term and he’s notched five goals across his last four appearances, so the striker can fire Wednesday back to the Championship.

Back Wednesday to control this clash, with the Owls well priced in the match betting. They conceded 10 goals fewer than the Tykes over the course of the regular season, so I’m backing them to claim a 2-0 victory against a Barnsley side who struggled to get back into games before reaching this huge occasion.

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