Charlton and Sunderland meet at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, competing for a Championship spot in the 2019/20 campaign.
League One has been home to some of England’s biggest clubs in recent years. Charlton and Sunderland, who averaged over 32,000 home attendance in 2018/19, are another pair on that list.
It is a division of mismatch more than any other, with teams recently in the Conference meeting sides not far removed from the riches and fame of the top flight.
Sunderland were the preseason favourites for automatic promotion. The Black Cats have been in turmoil over the last few seasons, but their sheer stature was expected to be enough to get them over the line.
Instead, they slumped as the campaign ended, finishing down in fifth. Sunderland are now priced at 17/20 to get promoted in 888sport’s football betting odds ahead of Sunday's encounter.
Luton Town and Barnsley occupied the top two spots. Sunderland took two points from their final four league matches to drop like a stone out of the automatic race, making the season a disappointment.
The pressure as they make the long journey south to Wembley is immense. Victory for the Jack Ross’ side is a necessity.
Sunderland were involved in an ugly two-legged tie with Portsmouth to get this far. A first leg home victory put the northeast club in the box seat, but the second leg down on the south coast was a difficult watch.
There was more interest in off-the-ball confrontations than creating goal scoring chances.
Sunderland and Portsmouth had faced each other on four previous occasions this term, which obviously contributed to the atmosphere, but we could expect a similarly feisty performance at Wembley. The cards market could be of interest.
Charlton, in stark contrast, finished the season on a high. Climbing up to third, the London club won five of their last six, and played out a thrilling playoff semi-final against Doncaster Rovers.
If the Addicks adopt a similar approach here, both teams to score at 3/4 might be the best of the League One betting tips.
Sunderland only failed to score once this season, and the Charlton attack will cause the Black Cats plenty of problems if they can replicate their attacking football from the semi-final.
Over 2.5 total goals at Evens is decent value, and there could be some interest in over 3.5 at 11/4 from those fancying a Charlton victory.
Lyle Taylor put in an epic performance in the second leg against Doncaster, earning himself man of the match honours. Having found the net 21 times this season, Taylor will get a lot of backing to score on Sunday.
He’s 33/20 to score anytime, which is a solid price. Considering nine of his goals came in the first half an hour of matches, though, the 17/4 to open the scoring is probably better value.
There’s no doubt that Charlton head to Wembley with the much-discussed, unknown quantity of momentum.
Lee Bowyer’s side will have been on cloud nine after knocking out Doncaster, and the form book points in their favour. At 19/10 to win in 90 minutes, Charlton are a good price.
Charlton to win and Taylor to open the scoring is 15/2, possibly the best option for this match.
It’s hard to know which Sunderland we will see. They led League One in both teams to score percentage (72%), but the two legs with Portsmouth were the other end of the footballing spectrum.
If you’re backing a Sunderland win, the 29/20 in 90 minutes might seem a little short considering their recent form. The 4/1 on Sunderland to win and both teams to score is the way to go.
TIP: Charlton to win and Lyle Taylor to score (15/2 with 888sport)
PREDICTED SCORE: Charlton 3-1 Sunderland (20/1 with 888sport)
*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*
