Football Bet of the Day: Oviedo target play-off final

Wednesday’s international football action mainly takes place in the early hours, as clubs from South America and the Caribbean round off this international break. However, by the time you are reading this, those fixtures will have already taken place - so it’s time for us to turn our attention back to the club game for the Football Bet of the Day.

I was initially drawn to Finland’s cup competition, but in complete honesty I couldn’t be bothered trying to spell Kuopion Palloseura or Seinajoen Jalkapallokerho more than once. So instead, this lazy writer is taking a look at the second leg of the Spanish Segunda Division play-off semi-finals. 

Real Oviedo vs UD Almeria Odds

After a thrilling first leg that ended in a 2-1 away victory, Real Oviedo will welcome UD Almeria to the Estadio Carlos Tartiere on Wednesday night (19:45). Holding a one-goal lead could prove crucial as they bid to make it to the play-off final, where they will face either Racing or Mirandes in a two-legged final.

Oviedo have been one of the strangest teams at this level for a couple of years, but they haven’t yet been able to crack promotion to La Liga. They’ve now been at this level for 10 years, after climbing up from the fourth tier following their drastic and painful drop down the leagues from La Liga at the start of the century. 

In 2012, after geting into financial trouble, for as little as €10.75, anyone and everyone around the world could buy a share in the team. Now they are 40% fan-owned, and their remarkable recovery story seems destined to end with promotion to the top flight. 

Last season, they looked like they had almost cracked it, as they held a 1-0 lead over Espanyol heading into the second leg of the play-off final. However, their fans were left heartbroken as they lost the second leg 2-0, and their dreams of promotion evaporated. 

But they’ve gone again this season, finishing third in the league, just two points away from an automatic promotion spot. Having beaten Almeria away, I believe they can do the same thing on home soil, for a number of reasons. 

First of all, Almeria have been handed an almighty and almost unfair blow ahead of these play-off matches. Luis Suarez - not that one - was their top goalscorer this season with a whopping 27 goals in 41 appearances, but more than that, he was their focal point for everything going forward. 

Football Odds

However, he’s not available to play in these games, as he’s been called up by Colombia for the first time since 2022. He came off the bench against Peru, and they face Argentina at 01:00 on Wednesday morning, so even if he does somehow get a flight back in time, he certainly won’t be in a good state. 

Oviedo finished six points above Almeria and have been on a cracking run towards the end of the season, with their last defeat coming on March 22. That’s 11 games unbeaten while Oviedo have also won 14 of their 21 home matches this term. 

I think they have enough to not only get over the line, but win this game outright on Wednesday night. If they do, they will be just one game away from completing their long-term goal, and returning to La Liga. 

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

Click here for the latest Football Odds

You can read all our latest Football Bet of the Day offerings at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.