Championship play-offs: who'll win EPL ticket?

After a pulsating season, with so many ebbs and flows, we have hit that time of year again – the dramatic lottery of the English Championship football play-offs to reach the English Premier League.

Swansea, Cardiff, Reading and Nottingham Forest will battle it out to join automatically promoted Queens Park Rangers and Norwich for a place in the English Premier League, with the chance of pitting their wares against the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal.

The first semi-final sees Swansea square off against Nottingham Forest, in what should be a very attacking encounter.

Over the past few seasons Swansea has received rave plaudits for its cultured style of football, which started under current Wigan manager Roberto Martinez and was continued by Paulo Sousa.

Once Sousa left for new pastures at Leicester, the burning question was would this style of football continue?

Enter Brendan Rodgers – a man highly regarded by Jose Mourinho for his work at Chelsea’s Academy.

Rodgers came to the club with major question marks over his managerial ability, following spells at Watford and fellow play-off aspirants Reading where he won only six of the 23 matches he took charge of, before resigning.

But to his credit, he has matured significantly as a manager and has guided the club to a playoffs berth, when all indications were the club may have slid down the table.

A key plank in the success has been summer signing Scott Sinclair, who Rodgers worked with at Chelsea.

The England under-21 winger has been in blistering form this campaign, living up to his potential by scoring 18 goals. The Swans have also shown some real sturdiness at the back, conceding just 42 goals, with only QPR conceding less.

Nottingham Forest will be hoping for a change of fortune this time around. Last season, it suffered a devastating play-off defeat to Blackpool after entering as heavy favourites.

Manager Billy Davies did not bring in many reinforcements, which may have contributed to its slow start this campaign. However, an upturn in form coincided with its sensational run of results on home soil, having gone 36 games without defeat, before losing to Hull City 1-0 in March.

It edged out Leeds United for the final play-off berth following a 3-0 victory away to Crystal Palace on the final day of the season.

Much of Forest’s hopes will depend on the performances of Northern Ireland international keeper Lee Camp and top scorer Lewis Mcgugan, who is deadly from set pieces.

The one thing in their favour is Billy Davies, a man who knows what it takes to do the job in the play-offs following promotion with Derby County in 2007.

Both sides split their corresponding league fixtures this campaign with home victories. Forest is at home in the first leg and will need to use that to their advantage.

However, Swansea has good quality up front, through the likes of Sinclair and Fabio Borini and it should be enough to earn a potential decider with its bitter Welsh rivals Cardiff City.

Prediction: Swansea City 4-2 Nottingham Forest

The second semi-final sees attacking-minded Cardiff City take on a Reading side that has snuck under the radar.

The Bluebirds suffered Wembley heartbreak last summer, when they lost a cracking playoff final to a Charlie Adam-inspired Blackpool. Since then, manager Dave Jones, via the backing of the club’s Malaysian owners, has signed several new players in an attempt to go one step further. The biggest being veteran striker Craig Bellamy on loan from Manchester City, who has helped form the league’s deadliest strike force alongside Jay Bothroyd and Michael Chopra.

Bothroyd is Cardiff’s top scorer with 18 goals and one senses he will play a major role in the tie, having scored in both matches between the sides this season. The one issue that continues to linger is in defence, which ultimately cost the team victory at Wembley and as shown in the recent 3-0 home defeat to Middlesborough still needs to improve.

Last season, the Royals just fell short of a playoff berth, despite a blistering finish to the campaign. Many pundits expected them to fall off the pace this time around, due to the sale of their two best attackers Kevin Doyle to Wolves and Gylfi Sigurdsson to Hoffenheim. But, through an injection of youth, manager Brian McDermott has his side playing cohesive football.

It starts from the back where Socceroo Adam Federici has had a fine season in goals, continues in defence through evergreen veteran Ian Harte and Captain Matt Mills and finishes off in attack where Shane Long has continued where his fellow Irishman Doyle left off with his 21 goals. They are a team that gives very little away and I would expect them to have a defensive approach, particularly away from home.

All the pressure will be on Cardiff to finally get the job done and qualify for the Premier League. While everyone in Wales will be looking forward to a potential all-Welsh final. This suits Reading down to the ground as many will have written them off. If it takes a lead from the first leg to Cardiff, the pressure will increase and if they can stop Cardiff’s much vaunted attack they can win.

Prediction: Cardiff City 1-2 Reading

Match times (AEST) – All games to be shown on Fox Sports

Swansea v Nottingham Forest

1st Leg: City Ground, Nottingham, Friday 13 May 4.45 am
2nd Leg: Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Tuesday 17 May 4.45 am

Cardiff v Reading

1st Leg: Madjeski Stadium, Saturday 14 May, 4.45 am
2nd Leg: Cardiff City Stadium, Wednesday 18 May 4.45 am