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A spot in the Championship is at stake when Bolton take on Oxford United in Saturday’s League One play-off final.

Having finished third in the table, Bolton were the favourites to earn promotion to the second tier ahead of the semi-finals but were handed a late scare by Barnsley in the second leg of their tie. Ian Evatt’s side eventually held off Barnsley’s resurgence to earn a spot at Wembley.

While Bolton are aiming to return to the Championship for the first time since 2019, Oxford Utd are vying for the first second-tier berth in their history.

Oxford rode their luck somewhat in the semi-finals against Peterborough having finished the League One season in fifth, seven points adrift of the Posh. The U’s require a vastly improved performance from their previous meeting with Bolton if they are to secure a historic result on Saturday.

Oxford were beaten 5-0 at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in March.

Here’s 90min’s preview of the 2024 League One play-off final.

Bolton vs Oxford Utd H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

There are unlikely to be any changes to the Bolton team that progressed past Barnsley in the semi-finals.

Carlos Gomes, Jon Bodvarsson, Caleb Taylor and Daniel Nlundulu all miss out due to injury.

Bolton predicted lineup vs Oxford Utd (3-5-2): Baxter; Jones, Santos, Toal; Dacres-Cogley, Maghoma, Sheehan, Thomason, Williams; Charles, Collins.

There are doubts over the statuses of Joe Bennett and Tyler Goodrham, both of whom were forced off with injuries against Peterborough last week.

However, the two players are expected to be fit for Saturday’s final.

Oxford Utd predicted lineup vs Bolton (4-1-4-1): Cumming; Stevens, Moore, Brown, Bennett; Brannagan; Dale, Goodrham, Rodrigues, Murphy; Harris.

This is unfamiliar territory for Oxford, who are playing in just their second play-off final ever. Bolton, meanwhile, haven’t featured in such a fixture since 2001.

Despite their second-leg defeat to Barnsley in the semis, Bolton are favoured to triumph at Wembley and understandably so. They finished seven points clear of Oxford in the League One table having battered them 5-0 in their most recent head-to-head duel.

Play-off finals are typically cagey and Bolton are unlikely to blow Oxford away, but it’d be a surprise if Evatt’s side didn’t earn promotion to the Championship.

Prediction: Bolton 2-0 Oxford Utd

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NYCFC take the pitch this weekend to play host to rivals New York Red Bulls in the latest edition of the Hudson River Derby.

The Boys in Blue have managed to turn what appeared to be a train wreck of season around with five wins out of their last six MLS matches played. Head coach Nick Cushing has been under pressure to deliver results since the start of the campaign, and we just might be seeing his ideas come to fruition as NYCFC sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, just three points behind Red Bulls.

Cushing has primarily stuck his with 4-2-3-1 system that’s helped propel NYCFC to inside the top four of the East. With the likes of Santiago Rodriguez, Julian Fernandez and Agustin Ojeda, NYCFC will look to cause problems for the RBNY backline.

Here’s how NYCFC could lineup against their in-state foes at Citi Field.

GK: Matt Freese – Freese is coming off yet another brilliant showing in between the sticks for NYC. Despite conceding one goal against Philadelphia Union, his four saves were vital as the team went on to win 2-1 win at Subaru Park.

RB: Tayvon Gray – With Mitja Ilenic playing the full 90 Wednesday night, Gray returns to the XI after seeing out the closing stages vs Philadelphia.

CB: Thiago Martins – NYCFC’s club captain anchors the backline once more and won’t get the chance to catch his breath after starting vs the Union.

CB: Birk Risa – The 26-year-old Norwegian partners Martins in the heart of defense, looking to build off his decent performance in the middle of the week.

LB: Kevin O’Toole – Cushing doesn’t really have any other left-back options to rotate and could give O’Toole his 13th start of the campaign.

DM: James Sands – The young midfielder returns to the mix after not featuring against the Union. Cushing looks to have chose to rest Sands in preparations for the rivalry match.

DM: Keaton Sands – Parks is set to keep his place in the lineup and could have his work cut out for him with the talented NYC attacking department.

RM: Julian Fernandez – As Hannes Wolf managed the full 90 on Wednesday, Fernandez slots back into Cushing’s XI and will face off against John Tolkin in a key individual battle.

AM: Santiago Rodriguez – NYCFC’s No. 10 hopes to continue his excellent run of form this term to give his side a chance of victory.

LM: Agustin Ojeda – One of the newest Blues takes up shop on the left-wing, looking to build off his one goal scored in 2024.

ST: Monsef Bakrar – After coming off the bench for the last two matches, the Algeria international gets the starting nod up front and center.

The latest showdown between bitter rivals New York Red Bulls and NYCFC is on the horizon with the two going head-to-head this weekend at Citi Field.

Red Bulls have been of the most entertaining and efficient teams so far in the 2024 Major League Soccer season. Under first-year boss Sandro Schwarz, RBNY sit fourth in the Supporters’ Shield race and third in the Eastern Conference table with 23 points collected from 13 matches played and just two defeats on the season.

Schwarz has relied heavily on his preferred 4-4-4 setup to pick up points this term, and you can expect him to stick with his formation this weekend. The likes of Serge Ngoma and Peter Stroud will both miss out due to respective knee and ankle injuries, but Schwarz more or less has most of his squad available for selection.

Here’s how Red Bulls could lineup in their bid to make it four-straight unbeaten matches vs NYCFC.

GK: Carlos Coronel – The Paraguay international will have his sights set on keeping his third clean sheet of the campaign against a tricky NYCFC attack.

RB: Dylan Nealis – One half of the Nealis brothers returns to the XI after getting a breather in the win over DC United.

CB: Sean Nealis – The other Nealis brother anchors the backline alongside his younger brother. His experience will be tested against the likes of Julian Fernandez and Santiago Rodriguez.

CB: Noah Eile – Even though he’s coming off a 90-minute showing vs DC, the young Eile slots right into Schwarz’s lineup for the primetime contest.

LB: John Tolkin – The 21-year-old gets the starting nod and is all set to make his 114th appearance for RBNY.

RM: Dennis Gjengaar – Schwarz could opt to give Gjengaar some minutes due the quick turnaround.

CM: Frankie Amaya – The former FC Cincinnati player more than likely won’t receive a rest and could be thrown right back into the mix after playing the full 90 on Wednesday.

CM: Daniel Edelman – Edelman is key to Schwarz’s setup alongside Amaya, so there’s a good chance he won’t get the chance to catch his breath, either.

LM: Emil Forsberg – RBNY’s No. 10 will be eager to add to his seven goal involvements in 947 minutes played this term.

ST: Dante Vanzeir – Vanzeir returns to the XI after coming off the bench in the win over DC.

ST: Lewis Morgan – The former Celtic figure was on point once again last time out, registering his ninth goal of the campaign at Audi Field.

Inter Miami return to action this weekend to play host to the in-form DC United at Chase Stadium.

The Herons have been in exceptional form as of late, going on a six-match unbeaten run that includes five straight victories and a recent draw at in-state rivals Orlando City in which Lionel Messi didn’t feature due to a knock.

Miami boss Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino continues to stick with his reliable 4-3-3 system that’s propelled the south Florida side to first place in the Supporters’ Shield standings, one point ahead of FC Cincinnati. Martino will hope that Messi is fit for the weekend, but the Herons might have to make do without their superstar No. 10 for the second consecutive match.

Here’s how Martino could look to lineup against DC United.

GK: Drake Callender – Miami’s No. 1 was a huge reason the Herons kept a clean sheet last time out, as he proved his worth to the club with a few big-time saves.

RB: Marcelo Weigandt – Martino doesn’t really have another natural right-back in his squad, meaning Weigandt will more than likely feature from the jump.

CB: Tomas Aviles – The 20-year-old is coming off one of his strongest performances of the season against Orlando.

CB: Serhiy Kryvtsov – Nicolas Freire gets a breather while the veteran Kryvtsov slots into the backline alongside Aviles.

LB: Jordi Alba – The former Barcelona full-back made his first appearance off the bench in roughly one month against Orlando after recovering from injury. He’ll look to start at left-back after his 30-minute cameo vs the Lions.

CM: Julian Gressel – He might not be the flashiest player on the pitch, but the two-time MLS Cup winner is vital to Miami’s success.

CM: Sergio Busquets – Busquets leads to the midfield into battle once more and continues to deliver each week.

CM: David Ruiz – The Honduras international gets the starting nod in the middle of the park while Cremaschi starts on the bench.

RW: Matias Rojas – As Messi’s availability remains unknown, Rojas starts on the right-wing for the second straight match.

ST: Luis Suarez – The iconic No. 9 played just 64 minutes last time out and could feature in Martino’s XI vs DC.

LW: Robert Taylor – Since Rojas might be called to take up shop on the opposite wing, the Finland international lines up on his preferred wing alongside Suarez.

Arne Slot has already addressed the dangers of managers feeling “overworked”, before he has been officially appointed as Jurgen Klopp’s successor at Liverpool.

Slot will imminently make the switch from Feyenoord at the end of the season, with Klopp choosing to step down and take a break from management after nine relentless years at Anfield. Announcing his intended departure in January, the German said he was “running out of energy”.

Klopp isn’t the first to cite that as a reason. Pep Guardiola famously had a year-long sabbatical between leaving Barcelona in 2012 and joining Bayern Munich in 2013.

“I think that almost every trainer of a top club is on the edge of being overworked. Being a head coach is a very tough job,” Slot told Dutch publication Algemeen Dagblad.

“Especially at a top club with so many opinion makers in front of you every week. I really experienced this, as it turns out, last season at Feyenoord, [it] was tough.”

Crucially, Slot isn’t saying that he expects Liverpool to be any more demanding than what he is already used to in Rotterdam and the Eredivisie.

“That would also have been the case if I had stayed at Feyenoord,” he said. “Expectations at De Kuip are also high. People expect good football and good results. That has often been successful, but as a trainer you are constantly working on that.”

Slot hasn’t been shy in addressing his impending switch to Liverpool, representing a first move abroad in his career, and last Friday said that an announcement is a “matter of days” away.

“It takes more than a simple shopping list and going to the store,” he explained.

“These kinds of things have to be timed properly. It hasn’t been communicated yet, but don’t worry, it will undoubtedly happen soon.”

Feyenoord host Excelsior at De Kuip on Sunday as the Eredivisie concludes, which will be Slot’s last game in charge. Meanwhile, Klopp will be leading Liverpool for the final time that same afternoon when Wolves are the visitors to Anfield on the Premier League’s final day of 2023/24.

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