Home of football statistics and historyBrentford and Swansea City are set to trade tackles at Wembley Stadium in the Sky Bet Championship Play-off final on Saturday afternoon. If you are betting on the ‘most lucrative game in football’, you should see the Bet365 bonus codes available at https://bet-bonuskoodi.com/ for an easy entry into betting on this game.
Like it was the case last season, Brentford rekindled their Premier League bid with a stunning second-leg comeback against Bournemouth in their semi-final tie.
After succumbing to a narrow 1-0 first-leg defeat at the Vitality Stadium, the Bees came from behind in the rematch to pick up a 3-1 win and progress to the Wembley showpiece.
Elsewhere, Swansea managed to hold onto a slender 1-0 first-leg lead to dump Barnsley 2-1 on aggregate in the other semi-final.
The Swans are now looking to exact revenge on Brentford following a 3-2 aggregate elimination in last year’s Championship play-off semi-finals.
Brentford vs Swansea City head-to-head
Both meetings between Brentford and Swansea in the regular 2020/21 Championship season yielded the identical 1-1 scoreline.
The Championship record-breaking scorer Ivan Toney put the Bees in front before Andre Ayew helped the Swans to walk away from the Brentford Community Stadium with a point back in November 2020.
Brentford broke the deadlock in their second encounter of the season through Tarique Fosu, but Conor Hourihane pulled one back for Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
The sides also met in last season’s Championship play-off semi-finals. Thomas Frank’s men overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit with an overwhelming 3-1 victory in the rematch on home turf.
Swansea’s victory in the abovementioned first leg remains their solitary success in their last six league matches against Brentford (D2, L3).
Each time the Wales-based outfit lost during that six-game sequence, they conceded precisely three goals.
Brentford preview
Brentford dropped more points from winning positions versus Swansea than against any other side in the regular season. Ahead of the kick-off, they have won all five previous league fixtures after scoring the opener.
A 2-1 defeat to Fulham in last year’s Championship play-off showpiece means the Bees have lost all seven major finals in all competitions.
In fact, no side has lost more Football League play-off finals than Brentford (four), with three of those reverses coming in the 21st century.
Having reached the Championship play-off final for the second season running, Frank’s team will be desperate to avoid becoming the first team to lose back-to-back second-tier play-off finals since Leicester City in 1992 and 1993.
Seeking their first top-flight appearance since 1946/47, Brentford could secure a top-tier promotion for the first time since 1934/35. Indeed, it has been 86 years since they last managed such a feat.
Swansea City preview
Swansea have come closest to returning to the Premier League since suffering relegation in 2017/18, having finished tenth and sixth in the last two seasons, respectively.
A fourth-place finish in the regular season saw them end up a whopping 11 points adrift of runners-up Watford, with Steve Cooper’s team claiming just one win in the last five games ahead of the play-offs (D2, L2).
Contrasting Brentford’s finals hoodoo, Swansea were victorious in their only previous Championship play-off final appearance, thumping Reading 4-2 in the 2010/11 showpiece under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers.
The Swans have found the net in each of their last seven fixtures against Brentford away from home. After netting 2+ goals three times in a row, they have now scored precisely once in each of their last three such games.
Given the importance of the encounter, low scoring could well be a theme at Wembley, which has been the case in four of Swansea’s last six league matches.
Brentford vs Swansea City players to watch
Brentford: Ivan Toney
Ivan Toney is Brentford’s go-to man when it comes to scoring, with the 25-year-old shattering the Championship record for goals netted in a single campaign with 31.
The prolific striker has maintained his free-scoring form in the play-offs, converting a spot-kick to initiate a comeback in Brentford’s 3-1 second-leg win against Bournemouth.
Including the final stage of the regular season, Tony has hit the net in three of his last four Championship outings.
Furthermore, the Englishman has taken part in 42 goals in 47 Championship appearances this season, play-offs included.
Swansea City: Andre Ayew
Andre Ayew has been Swansea’s most productive player this season with 17 strikes in the Championship, play-offs included.
A trip to Wembley should evoke some fond memories for the 31-year-old, who has scored twice at this venue during his time at West Ham United.
Like his Brentford counterpart Toney, Ayew was also on the scoresheet when the sides met earlier in the season.
Additionally, the experienced forward has been directly involved in four goals in his last five Championship starts for Swansea, scoring twice and laying on two assists.
Brentford vs Swansea City predicted line-ups
Brentford (3-4-1-2): David Raya; Ethan Pinnock, Pontus Jansson, Henrik Dalsgaard; Tarique Fosu, Vitaly Janelt, Mathias Jensen, Mads Roerslev Rasmussen; Emiliano Marcondes; Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney.
Swansea City (4-3-3): Frederick Woodman; Jake Bidwell, Marc Guehi, Benjamin Cabango, Kyle Naughton; Conor Hourihane, Matt Grimes, Jay Fulton; Jamal Lowe, Andre Ayew, Liam Cullen.
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