Charlton Athletic vs. Wycombe Wanderers: League One 2024-25 Play-Offs Tips

For the final place at Wembley in League One, Charlton will host Wycombe Wanderers, with the score level after the first leg.

Ben's Bets for Charlton Athletic vs. Wycombe Wanderers

At the time of writing this, the lineups were not available to us, so I have tried to make some assumptions about the lineup, whilst only tipping players I think will start. It is worth stating here that I would not advise placing any bets until the lineups are out for both teams.

Play-off games are so difficult to call, so there is still a higher level of risk with each selection. However, I've ran through the trends from the season and feel rather confident with our choices here.

So, without further ado, let's dive into my reasoning.

Draw at Half Time

We backed this selection in the first leg, and there were no worries at all with the game failing to deliver much real excitement. So, I'm going to go the same route here, and take a draw again here.

This season, Wycombe have been drawing 60% of their games at half-time including two games now against Charlton - though in the other they were two goals down. Whilst Charlton averaged 51%, with only Wrexham drawing a higher percentage at 57% (of course, sitting behind Wycombe).

At Evens, it certainly is a little bit of a risk, but I don't think we'll see much life in the first half.

Charlton To Win

I am also going to back Charlton to win again, considering the Addicks have the best home record in the league behind Birmingham in their past six games. Whilst Wycombe's away record is not kicking up any trees.

Furthermore, in the past seven fixtures between these two at The Valley, the Chairboys have only gotten a result twice - a draw in March 2023, and a 1-0 win in January 2022. Barring that, it is a string of Charlton wins, and I wouldn't be surprised if Nathan Jones' side add to that here.

Over 1.5 Goals in Second Half

Sticking with my first half draw pick, I think that we are going to see a lot of action in the second half - which certainly would not be a surprise at all.

Both teams score more goals in the second half, with Charlton picking up 61% of their goals this season in the second period, whilst Wycombe's record stands at 64%. Additionally, both teams concede slightly more in this period, Charlton conceding 26 of their 46 in this time (58%), and Wycombe conceding 53% of their goals.

The stats point in the direction of the second half having more goals, and I would not be surprised if the tie was decided in the final 45 minutes of the 180.

Wycombe Goalkeeper to make 3.5+ Saves

Charlton will be the aggressive team in this tie, and I cannot see Nathan Jones sitting back against Wycombe, especially not at home. So, I expect there to be a lot of traffic in the visitors box, with shots a given.

In their games this season, the Addicks have had 3, 7 and 3 shots on target, and I can only see that number increasing in a game of this magnitude.

It is worth looking at Nathan Jones' last play-off campaign with Luton Town, where his team averaged around 3.8 shots on target in the league season, but had 6 in the second leg of the semi final against Huddersfield after a draw in the first leg.

Jones will look to attack this game, and I think Wycombe's goalkeeper will be busy. If you are not looking for as much risk, to make 2.5 saves instead is still a decent enough price.

Luke Berry To Be Carded

My final pick is for Luke Berry to be carded, something which I am shocked did not happen in the first leg with him making three fouls. However, I am going to look to capitalise on this here.

I can only see Jones asking for aggression in his midfield again, and Berry can disrupt things from the front, which will only be a good thing. So, with his price being rather nice, I'm going to take a chance on him here.

Averaging 1.83 fouls per game, he is the biggest offender for fouls in the regular Charlton squad and as one of the more senior players in the squad, he will understand when a foul is required to break up play.

Finally, he has made seven fouls against Wycombe this season, proving he is a massive perpetrator for challenges on the edge, and I would be shocked if he isn't heavily involved here.