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Aston Villa or Derby?  Who will win the Championship Final

Aston Villa or Derby? Who will win the Championship Final

23 May 2019 - 00:56

It’s that time of year again. The regular season has finished, Championship fans are elated that they’ve made it through the semis and within days one of the biggest- and most exciting- matches in English football is set to take place at Wembley, the home of English football.

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  • Will it be second time lucky for Aston Villa as they return to the national stadium in search of glory for the second successive year? Or will Lampard’s team seal their place in the Premier League next season?

    There are good arguments for why both could go up and all will be revealed soon enough but in this post we assess the hopefuls and look at the reason why (or why not) each contender will go up:

    Aston Villa

    Narrowly, if deservedly beaten in last year’s final against Fulham, Villa will be desperate to return to the topflight following a humiliating relegation campaign a few years back that still doesn’t sit right with a club that big.

    However, a lot has changed at b6 over the last couple of years. No longer is Steve Bruce and his Jurassic-inspired football leading the squad, but life-long Villa fan Dean Smith is now in the hot seat having just led the club on a record-breaking run to see Villa surge into the end of season showcase.

    The type of play and momentum garnered over the last few months is very ‘Fulham-esque’ if we compare stats to last year and the style of football villa are now embracing has been a joy to behold on many occasions over the last few months.

    With Abraham, Grealish, Mcginn and Mings at the back, Villa have a spine that on paper should be too good for this league but over 90 minutes can their quality show and can Smith out-fox Lampard?

    Plenty has changed off the pitch after the Villa Park outfit were on the brink of financial ruin before being saved by wealthy investors last year too- so it’s fair to say the claret n blues have had their fair share of woes recently- could it be their time?

    The one thing you can almost guarantee when Villa turn up is goals, which is why if you glance at any of the well-known football betting apps you’ll see short prices in terms of Villa to bag at least one but they can be vulnerable themselves, despite tightening up at the back dramatically since Smith’s arrival.

    On paper, Villa probably have the stronger squad and having beaten Derby comfortably both 3 and 4-0 respectively already this season, the obvious choice is Villa but this is a final and previous meetings have little relevance.

    However, if you do like your omens, of the eleven teams that have reached a second successive play-off final, after losing the first one, nine of those teams won promotion via their next playoff attempt.



    Derby County

    For all Villa’s form and quality, Lampard’s men will be fearless having pulled off some stunning results in big matches this season so far, including at Old Trafford so don’t write them off, even if history suggests the odds are against them.

    Lampard’s men stunned Leeds at Elland Rd to make it to Wembley and Lampard should receive all the plaudits after doing a really good job in his first season in management.

    The East-Midlands outfit also have threats themselves, particularly in the form of Jack Marriot who came off the bench to score twice against Leeds and secure their place in the final.

    Harry Wilson, Tom Lawrence and Curtis Davies provide a nice blend of youth and experience and Lampard will be even more pumped to beat his old Chelsea teammate and good friend John Terry who will take his position in the opposition dugout.

    On their day Derby can beat anyone but you have to feel that the movement, pace and the fact that Villa have experience playing a play-off final as recently as last year just makes them favourites.

    Whatever happens it will be an intriguing game with so much on the line and both teams giving it all.


    Written by Ketan Patel











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