Friday 5 May 2017 20:53, UK
We examine the Sky Bet League One play-offs as Scunthorpe, Fleetwood, Bradford and Millwall battle it out for a place in the Championship.
No competition does excitement and heartbreak like the play-offs. The thrills and spills of the end-of-season shootout begin this week in League One and you can watch every minute of every game live on Sky Sports.
Millwall face Scunthorpe and Bradford play Fleetwood for a place at the Wembley showpiece on Saturday, May 20.
The first legs will take place on Thursday, May 4 as Millwall (sixth) host Scunthorpe (third) and Fleetwood (fourth) travel to Bradford (fifth), with both games kicking off at 7.45pm. The second legs will then take place on Sunday, May 7 at 6.30pm.
Read on as we analyse each team's chances of play-off success...
Leg 1: Millwall v Scunthorpe - Thursday, May 4 (live on Sky Sports 5, 7.40pm)
Leg 2: Scunthorpe v Millwall - Sunday, May 7 (live on Sky Sports 1, 6.25pm)
Final position: 3rd (82 points)
Form: LWWWWW
View from the camp: Striker Ivan Toney: "I'm very excited [for the play-offs], but we've got to take things a step at a time. It's very important to go into the play-offs strongly. You want to be winning every game and doing well, and we've been doing that, so hopefully it can continue and we can put ourselves in a very strong position."
Key man: Murray Wallace - Despite Scunthorpe's impressive goal tally, it's at the back where the key to their success is found. Centre-back Wallace, who was snapped up from Huddersfield in the summer, won three awards at the club's Player of the Year ceremony, which speaks volumes of the influence he has on this talented side. Wallace started all 46 of Scunthorpe's League One matches.
Final position: 6th (73 points)
Form: WDWLLW
View from the camp: Sean Hutchinson: "We will be full of confidence ahead of the match with Scunthorpe because we have beaten them recently and we're in good form. To be honest, they will be more worried of us then we are of them. Our league season ended on a high and now it's about carrying that through to the play-offs and seeing what happens."
Key man: Lee Gregory - A man for the big occasion, especially in the play-offs. Millwall's 17-goal striker scored in both legs of last year's play-off semi-finals as the Lions roared past Bradford.
Leg 1: Bradford v Fleetwood - Thursday, May 4 (live on Sky Sports 1, 7.30pm)
Leg 2: Fleetwood v Bradford - Sunday, May 7 (live on Sky Sports 3, 6.15pm)
Final position: 4th (82 points)
Form: WLWWWD
View from the camp: Fleetwood Town boss Uwe Rosler: "After 46 games we have 82 points, 31 more than last year. That is a real achievement for the players and staff, and I thank them. Now we have something to look forward to."
Key man: Cian Bolger - The defender swept the awards at the club's end-of-season do, winning both the supporters' and players' player of the year. The centre-back has flourished under Rosler and his progress is even more remarkable considering his first start of the season only came in the 2-1 home win over Gillingham at the end of November. With Bolger at the heart, Fleetwood kept a league-high 20 clean sheets this season.
Final position: 5th (79 points)
Form: WWWLWD
View from the camp: Bradford boss Stuart McCall: "This is a great position for us to be in - we have a 50 per cent chance of making it to Wembley. That has been the carrot for the players all season. The message to the players now is simply to go out, grab your dream and make it a reality."
Key man: Romain Vincelot - Along with Tottenham, Bradford are the only team in the English leagues that are unbeaten at home this season. One of the reasons for that impeccable record is their strong defensive shape. They've conceded just 17 goals at Valley Parade and Vincelot's leadership and influence makes it very hard to opposition attackers to create chances.
Watch all the League One play-offs live on Sky Sports.
