Palace and Watford set to contest Championship play-off final thriller

Crystal Palace and Watford have already served up two highly entertaining contests this season and their forthcoming Championship Play-Off final meeting at Wembley could continue the trend of goal-laden encounters.

The pair’s previous ten ties have averaged nearly four goals per game, with 38 strikes finding the back of the net during that period.

Nine goals have been scored in this season’s match-ups – a 2-2 draw and a 3-2 win for the Hornets – and the 4/6 for both teams to score appears to be a no-brainer.

Palace have the edge if examining the previously mentioned ten game trend though, with five wins, two draws and a couple of defeats in that sequence since the 2008/2009 campaign.

And the Eagles are an enticing 18/5 in the total result market to win and for over 2.5 goals to be scored in the match, while a Watford victory combined with the same goals scenario is priced at 17/4.

Meanwhile, having finished two places and five points higher than their opponents in the Championship table, Watford are 4/6 to win the play-offs with Crystal Palace the 11/10 underdogs.

However, given recent trends and with the unpredictability of such an intense one-off game, placing your faith in a flurry of goals could represent the best route to punting success.

Fortunately, Ladbrokes’ host of net busting markets cater for a variety of eventualities.

Ian Holloway’s south London outfit have opened proceedings in five of their seven previous ties against Watford and are 11/10 to do so again.

And in keeping with the most recent contests between the two, the 2/1 for there to be over 3.5 goals in the game is certainly viable.

Bettors searching for a more leftfield option though should be aware that 15 of the 26 strikes registered in the team’s last seven games against each other have come in the second-half, with 21/20 for that outcome another value pick.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publication