Bolton vs Oxford Prediction and Betting Tips: Back Aaron Collins to open the scoring
A place in The Championship is up for grabs on Saturday as Bolton Wanderers take on Oxford United in the League One Playoff Final at Wembley.
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Bolton overcame Barnsley in their semi-final, winning 5-4 on aggregate. The Trotters secured a 3-1 away win in South Yorkshire in the first leg, with a brace from Dion Charles and a Randell Williams goal in the 95th minute. That late strike proved an important one as Ian Evatt’s men were beaten 3-2 in the second leg, but they remain the favourites to lift the trophy here at 2/5.
The other League One semi-final wasn’t quite as goal-heavy as Oxford overcame Peterborough 2-1 on aggregate. Elliott Moore scored the only goal of the game at The Kassam Stadium to give the U’s an advantage heading into the second leg. Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough could only manage a 1-1 draw on home soil, meaning Oxford now have the chance to make it to the second-tier of English football. For those who fancy Des Buckingham’s side to make it a season to remember, 7/4 is on show.
Bolton vs Oxford Tips
Bolton missed out on automatic promotion by just five points and I’m backing them to get the job done and return to the Championship by winning the game in 90 minutes. I’ve also added in Under 3.5 goals, which takes us from 17/20 in the standard result market, to a very backable 8/5.
Last season Bolton showed they have an appetite for the big occasion when they travelled to Wembley to take on Plymouth in the EFL Trophy final. A repeat of the scoreline that day would be very welcome after they came out 4-0 that day and with quality players such as Dion Charles, Victor Adeboyejo and Ricardo Santos, they are the deserved favorites in my eyes.
These two sides last met in March at the Toughsheet Community Stadium Bolton came out 5-0 winners, and even though Oxford have improved considerably since that day, I’m siding with the Trotters.
Play-Off Finals can often be nervous, tight and rather low scoring. In fact, all of the last seven League One play-off finals have featured under four goals, so adding in Under 3.5 in the match on Saturday looks a wise option.
Aaron Collins has scored nine goals in his last 14 league appearances for Bolton and I think he’s worth a punt in the First Goalscorer market at 5/1. Collins has consistently been testing goalkeepers in recent weeks, hitting an average of 2 shots on target per game across his last nine matches.
Since the start of April, the 26-year-old has scored the first goal of the game on three occasions. It may be a sole strike that secures the win here and I fancy Collins to be the man to do so and take the Trotters back to the Championship for the first time since 2019.
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