This is one of the matches on Championship final day where both teams are fighting for something, in this case it is that both Coventry and Middlesbrough are aiming to be in the top six by the end of play.

Coventry have the better hand at the beginning of the game, knowing that they start in 6th place, but even a draw for the Sky Blues doesn’t necessarily guarantee their place in the play-offs because Millwall and Blackburn could still leapfrog them with wins.

Therefore, both teams should go for the win here. Middlesbrough know that a win is the only way that they can get into the top six, and so, at least to begin with, caution should be thrown to the wind in trying to score goals.

History shows that on the final day, in the Championship at least, the highest scoring matches are ones where at least one of the teams is playing for something. In this case, both teams are, which should also help the goal tally.

Coventry have scored in eight consecutive matches at home in all competitions, albeit they have also kept a clean sheet in three of their last four at home as well.

As always on final day, situations can change a lot during the day in terms of how other results can affect other matches, however, in this case, no matter what happens with Millwall and Blackburn, and Bristol City for that matter, either one or both of these clubs will need to get something from the game, which why this is a good situational bet for goals.

One of the trends that is often a profitable one to follow on final days in the Championship, but also in other competitions, is when an already-relegated side is away from home on the final day.

This has happened on 10 occasions in the Championship in the last decade, and nine out of the 10 relegated away teams have lost the match.

Jack Wilshere is in charge of Norwich for, probably, the final time here and it feels likely that he will want to make a statement of some kind in this match, while Borja Sainz has finally lost his top goalscorer crown to Joel Piroe just before the end of the season, this is something that he would surely like to take back if possible.

Norwich aren’t the most reliable team, but this scenario favours them, and it makes logical sense as well. Cardiff are a relegated team, who don’t need to put on a display in front of their home fans, who got relegated in front of their home fans last weekend, and have very little confidence and spirit within the group. After all, players are only human, and many will have been considering their future all week rather than concentrating 100% on the preparation for this match, which, in effect, has no bearing on their future or their seasonal outcomes.

Norwich’s only victories since February have come at home.

Leeds have wrapped promotion up in the style that many people had expected far earlier, and have steamrollered their last two opponents by barely letting them out of their half and banging in 10 goals against them in the process.

This match is something of a dead rubber, Plymouth require an unattainable 14-goal swing with Luton and still need Hull to not win on top of that to manage escaping the bottom three. It is a shame in a way because under Miron Muslic, the Pilgrims have demonstrated a level of performance far and above what they were producing under Wayne Rooney in the first half of the season.

This uptick in performance, and especially the form of Mustapha Bundu in the Plymouth attack, means that a goals angle here brings added value not just from the way that Leeds are taking teams apart at the moment, but also the threat that Plymouth provide on the break.

There have been 76 goals at Home Park this season, an average of 3.45 goals per game, and all of Plymouth’s last five home matches have gone over 2.5 goals. Leeds, as detailed already, are in great goalscoring form, having scored 10 in their last two, and scored in each of their last nine matches altogether.

The market has Hull as strong favourites for this match, but there are a couple of reasons that the value is actually to oppose the Tigers here.

Motivation is clearly stronger for Hull than it is for Pompey, but motivation isn’t enough to win football matches, especially in the Championship. Having done the research over the last decade of final day results in the Championship, when a team that is “playing for something” faces a team that is “playing for nothing”, the win percentage is 51% for those playing for something. While this is higher than average, it is not a slam dunk, and there are still form, confidence, and ability factors to take into consideration.

In all of those factors, there are causes for concern for Hull. Portsmouth will be encouraged by a jubilant atmosphere at Fratton Park on the back of their confirmed survival and another season in the second tier. Confidence is high in the Pompey ranks, especially going forward with Josh Murphy looking excellent and hard to stop, and Colby Bishop being one of the division’s sharpest strikers since returning from poor health.

Portsmouth have won or drawn 17 of their 22 home matches this season, whereas Hull have won only seven of their 22 away matches, albeit that is more points than they have won at home. Hull have only scored more than once away from home on three occasions this season as well, but haven’t done so in eight away matches.