League Two playoffs | free football tips and best bets

Free football tips and preview for the Sky Bet League two playoffs.

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Cheltenham to be promoted
1pt 3-1 Sky Bet

League Two playoffs preview

The spotlight is on Royal Ascot this week but Cheltenham could be in the news too as the Robins can gain compensation for missing out on automatic promotion by winning the Sky Bet League Two playoffs.

The decision to cut the fourth division season short and determine the final standings on a points-per-game basis was not universally welcomed and Cheltenham may feel they were denied a realistic chance of a top-three finish.

The Robins were four points behind Plymouth in fourth but had one game in hand and had suffered fewer league losses than any other team in the division with just six defeats in 36 matches.

The League Two playoffs can be difficult to predict at the best of times and this year's contest hasn't been made any easier by the fact that no competitive football has been played since March.

However, the fixtures will come thick and fast with the finalists set for three games across a hectic 11-day period and Cheltenham could be better prepared for the challenge than Colchester, Exeter and their semi-final opponents Northampton.

With no form to go on, recent meetings with playoff rivals and early-season results should be two factors considered and Cheltenham come out well on both.

Michael Duff’s men were unbeaten in five meetings with their fellow playoff teams, picking up four points from two games with Northampton, and they made a fast start to the season with eight points collected from their first five fixtures.

It is also worth noting that Cheltenham won five matches in the space of 18 days in February, so are proven performers with a quick turnaround and they have enough squad depth to cope with the challenge.

Duff prepared his team for the playoffs with a fixture against Championship side Cardiff and that should benefit them against Northampton, who opted for a different approach and are heading straight into the playoffs without playing a friendly.

The Cobblers were 19th in the table after their first five outings having endured three defeats and they boast the worst record against their playoff rivals with only one win from five attempts.

Exeter square up against Colchester in the other semi-final and the pair have identical records against playoff teams - one win, three draws and one defeat - after sharing the spoils in both their regular season meetings.

However, nobody started the season stronger than the Grecians, who won three and drew two of their opening five games, and it is understandable that they are favoured by the layers to topple a Colchester team who were seven points adrift of them in the table and failed to win any of their opening four fixtures.

But Cheltenham, who lost only four of their 30 league games since August, are a tough side to thwart and there is more juice in their playoff price than those of their three challengers.

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