Peterborough United vs Wycombe Wanderers: Betting Odds & Prediction
(Featured image: Alamy Images)
Peterborough United and Wycombe Wanderers are set to contest the 43rd EFL Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Peterborough wil be looking to win the competition for the first time since 2014, whereas Sunday's match will be Wycombe's first appearance in the final. Kick-off is set for 4:30pm UK time.
Recent Form
Peterborough United
Peterborough come into the game on the back of a 2-1 away win at Leyton Orient on Easter Monday. The victory saw them return to winning ways after suffering back-to-back defeats against Carlisle United and Portsmouth respectively.
Darren Ferguson's side currently sit fourth in League One and have won three of their last five league matches overall. In the EFL Trophy, 'the Posh' have won six of their seven matches in total. Five of these games occurred on home soil, with Peterborough winning all five, though they have lost one of their two away outings in the competition.
Peterborough currently stand as the highest scorers in League One with 77 goals (averaging 1.93 per game), and have registered an average expected goals (xG) tally of 1.77 so far. Their good form in front of goal has carried over in the EFL Trophy; their 16 goals so far has seen an average of 2.29 per game, though their xG is slightly lower than in the league, sitting at 1.47.
They have not fared as well in defensive quarters, though; only Barnsley have conceded more than Peterborough's 50 goals shipped in the division's top six. Nevertheless, they have only conceded four goals in this competition so far, though they've averaged an expected goals against (xGA) of 1.41 across their seven matches.
📸 @BristolStMotors Trophy Final ready! ✅@theposh 🤝 @wwfcofficial #EFL | #BristolStreetMotorsTrophy pic.twitter.com/xjPYO1hp0c
— Bristol Street Motors Trophy (@BSM_Trophy) April 2, 2024
Wycombe Wanderers
Matt Bloomfield's side also come into the match having won three of their last five league matches, though they most recently played out a 0-0 draw at Blackpool. Wycombe currently sit 13th in League One and have won all seven of their fixtures in this competition so far.
They've bagged 13 goals on the road to the final (averaging 1.86 per game), and have scored three or more goals in 40% of these fixtures. They've not replicated this success in league matches though, with Wycombe failing to score in 13 games in League One so far.
Nevertheless, their four goals conceded in this competition is impressive, at an average of 0.57 per game, and is much better than the 1.3 average goals they've conceded in league football.
Prediction
It's hard to ignore the respective positions of both sides in League One when attempting to pick a winner in this one. Peterborough have been by far the better side of the two, hence their position in the play-off positions, and will be confident of boosting their promotion push by adding a trophy this weekend.
While Wycombe have defended well in EFL Trophy matches, their overall defensive statistics this season are a concern, and when combined with their goalscoring struggles this term, Peterborough remain the sensible pick on the moneyline.