Football Bet of the Day: Chesterfield can dominate again

An early penalty miss and a concession of a first-half goal saw Chesterfield lose the first leg of their semi-final with Notts County 1-0, and now they have work to do as they head to Meadow Lane on Friday night (8pm, Sky Sports+). 

Below you can find Friday's Football Bet of the Day, which comes from the East Midlands. 

Notts County vs Chesterfield Odds

Anyone who decided to watch Chesterfield vs Notts County on Sunday afternoon rather than the end of West Ham vs Arsenal is a true EFL nut, and credit to you. You’d have also been pleasantly surprised with the entertainment on show at the SMH Group Stadium, as Chesterfield made a roaring start to the game. 

Liam Mandeville weaved his way into the area and was clearly tripped by Lucas Ness, but from the resulting penalty, Lee Bonis crashed the ball against the post. It proved to be a pivotal moment in the game, as Jayden Luker forced the ball over the line at the back post to give County the advantage.

Despite coming under pressure, the away side held on and are now big favourites to make it to Wembley. However, Paul Cook is fairly confident heading into the second leg, despite the one-goal deficit. 

"I think it was always going to be like that [intense]. Probably didn't have the actual clear-cut chances in the game if truth be known.

"But it's half-time, I think a goal either way for any side, you can see by the quality of players on the pitch, that it will go into the second leg for sure.

"And we're still very much in the tie, that's for sure."

I’d agree with the experienced boss, and I also like the make-up of this tie now. Notts County know that a draw will be enough to take them to Wembley and while that is a benefit on paper, it also changes the logistics of the tie for them. 

They may be cautious going forward, whereas Chesterfield know they have to win on the night to stand a chance of qualifying. In the first leg they won the xG battle 1.45 to 0.24 and County only managed one shot on target. They were the better team on paper and so I’m expecting a repeat of that in this away game.

I’m only backing Chesterfield to win in 90 minutes and if they are up by one goal, that would force extra-time - which I also like. Both teams are also likely to be cagey if Chesterfield are winning by one, with extra-time on the horizon. 

It was the large number of draws that meant Chesterfield didn’t take a top-three spot, as they only lost nine league games out of 46. They are an elite side at this level and I’m liking the price on them to win in 90 minutes, even away from home.

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