The National League play-offs begin on Tuesday as Barnet face Boreham Wood. Tom Carnduff picks out his best bets.
Football betting tips: National League
1pt Barnet to beat Boreham Wood in 90 minutes at 17/10 (Betway)
The National League play-offs begin on Tuesday - a packed schedule that concludes just 11 days later. It's an intense period of the season with six teams involved and little time to recover.
Naturally, it favours Chesterfield and Notts County who play one game less. That doesn't guarantee success though - Hartlepool and Grimsby the two most recent examples of those who have been successful after three fixtures.
A 46-game campaign could be decided in just 90 more minutes for one of these two sides. Given their record throughout the season, Boreham Wood could already be on the back foot.
Little separates the sides in the odds, with a range of prices available across the bookmakers. However, studying the regular season records may give us an indicator of how it will play out.
A point I made in the recent preview of Boreham Wood's trip to Wrexham remains true here - they have struggled to win games against those around them in the table.
In 12 contests against those who finished in the top-seven, they won just once, that being the 1-0 home victory over Chesterfield. Five of the other 11 ended in defeat.
On the other side, Barnet went unbeaten in their six home games against the promotion contenders with three of those ending in victory. A point of interest is that they all came against sides who will be involved in the play-offs.
With this in mind, BARNET TO WIN provides the appeal with a best price of 17/10 available.
While they weren't winning many in the run up to the conclusion of the campaign, they weren't losing much either. Only two of their final 11 finished with them empty-handed.
Compare that with a Boreham Wood side who lost five of their final ten and it's clear to see their struggling form. Two of their three wins came against sides who were relegated.
Either of these two teams could provide a tricky test for Notts County in the semi-final depending on their approach. Considering what we saw in the regular season though, BARNET are the best of the three options in the outright market.
Barnet v Boreham Wood best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Barnet to beat Boreham Wood in 90 minutes at 17/10 (Betway)
Score prediction: Barnet 1-0 Boreham Wood (Sky Bet odds: 15/2)
Odds correct at 1220 BST (01/05/23)
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