AFC Wimbledon vs Walsall prediction: Saddlers to punch League One ticket | OneFootball

AFC Wimbledon and Walsall face off in the final EFL Play-Off match of the weekend as they look to secure their place in League One for next season.

At the start of the year, Walsall were 12 points clear at the top of the League Two table and looked to be coasting towards promotion back to League One.

They won nine games in a row from the beginning of December to the middle of January and sat 15 points clear of then fourth-placed Wimbledon.

But just two wins from their next 20 games meant they had to sit by and watch as Doncaster, Port Vale and Bradford City went up automatically.

The bizarre thing was that despite that form, a win at Crewe on the final day, while Bradford were being held by Fleetwood, meant they were moments away from achieving automatic promotion.

Antoni Sarcevic’s goal six minutes into added time gave Bradford a last-gasp win and left the Saddlers to pick themselves up and take on the play-offs.

They beat Chesterfield 4-1 over the two-legged semi-finals, while Wimbledon beat Notts County 1-0 both home and away to set up Monday’s match.

AFC Wimbledon vs Walsall betting tips: Saddlers to sneak it

Just four points ended up separating the two sides in the League Two table and there was little to split them over their two meetings.

The first match at the Cherry Red Records Stadium was won 1-0 by Walsall, with Nathan Lowe on target. That was one of 18 goals scored by the striker who spent the first half of the season on loan from Stoke City, and their huge dip in form coincided with his return to the Bet365 Stadium.

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The return match, at the end of March, ended 1-1 after a late strike from Taylor Allen cancelled out Omar Bugiel’s opener to secure the Saddlers’ seventh draw of 2025.

Football betting sites are also finding it hard to separate the two sides, with Wimbledon the narrow favourites at 9/5, while you can get 2/1 on a Walsall win and 21/10 on a draw after 90 minutes.

This is only the third time that Mat Sadler’s side have reached a play-off final, and they have won promotion on the two previous occasions.

They beat Reading at the Millennium Stadium in 2001 and Bristol City back in 1988, winning promotion to the second tier on both occasions.

Wimbledon have only appeared in the Play-Offs once, since they were founded in 2002, and they have a 100 per cent record winning promotion to League One back in 2016, beating Plymouth Argyle 2-0 at Wembley.

Both sides have won their last three games, and if Walsall can rediscover any of their early-season form, then they should be the ones celebrating - but their confidence is fragile after their fall from grace, so that first goal could be vital.

Walsall striker Jamille Matt has plenty of play-off experience and will be hoping that counts for something on Monday.

The 35-year-old finished second top scorer at the club, after Lowe, with 15 goals, but he has struggled since his strike partner returned to his parent club.

He has managed just three goals since Lowe’s last match, which incidentally was a 5-1 win over Tranmere Rovers at the Bescot Stadium, but he will make life difficult for the Wombles' defence.

He was part of the Fleetwood team that beat Burton Albion 1–0 in the 2014 Football League Two play-off final, and watched on injured as Blackpool beat Exeter 2–1 in the 2017 League Two play-off final.

He has also tasted defeat, losing the 2019 League Two play-off final, when Newport County were beaten 1–0 by Tranmere after extra time.

Betting sites have him at 13/2 to score first or last, or you can get 14/5 on him scoring at any time.

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