MORECAMBE were a point away from automatic promotion yet it is Newport County AFC that have been priced as the favourites for the play-offs by the League Two sponsors.

The Exiles get the semi-finals under way when they host Forest Green, who had the better of the regular season head-to-head, on Tuesday (kick-off 8.15pm).

Tranmere Rovers entertain Morecambe on Thursday before the ties are settled on Sunday, May 23.

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Michael Flynn’s side have been priced as 9/4 favourites by Sky Bet to triumph at Wembley while Morecambe and Tranmere are 5/2 and Forest Green are 3/1.

There is little to choose between four well-match sides, although the Shrimps racked up 78 points this season with the other three all totalling 73.

Morecambe had a record of 23 wins, 9 draws and 14 defeats while County, Forest Green and Tranmere had identical records of 20 successes, 13 draws and 13 losses.

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Yet the Shrimps fare the worst in the mini-league between the quartet in the regular season after bagging just four points from six meetings against play-off rivals.

Forest Green lead the way with 11, County bagged 10 and Tranmere notched 9.

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PLAY-OFF MINI-LEAGUE

Morecambe results: W1 D1 L4 - 4 points
Morecambe 1 Forest Green 2
Tranmere 0 Morecambe 1
Newport 2 Morecambe 1
Morecambe 0 Tranmere 1
Forest Green 2 Morecambe 2
Morecambe 1 Newport 3

County results: W3 D1 L2 - 10 points
Newport 1 Tranmere 0
Forest Green 1 Newport 1
Newport 2 Morecambe 1
Newport 0 Forest Green 2
Tranmere 1 Newport 0
Morecambe 1 Newport 3

Forest Green results: W3 D2 L1 - 11 points
Morecambe 1 Forest Green 2
Forest Green 1 Newport 1
Tranmere 3 Forest Green 2
Newport 0 Forest Green 2
Forest Green 2 Morecambe 2
Forest Green 2 Tranmere 1

Tranmere results: W3 D0 L3 - 9 points
Newport 1 Tranmere 0
Tranmere 0 Morecambe 1
Tranmere 3 Forest Green 2
Morecambe 0 Tranmere 1
Tranmere 1 Newport 0
Forest Green 2 Tranmere 1

When it comes to form, nobody has dropped like a stone and neither has a side made a late charge from mid-table.

Rovers are the team with the most iffy recent results – no doubt a factor in the shock dismissal of manager Keith Hill on Tuesday – after falling out of contention for automatic promotion in March and April.

However, they took eight points from their last six - LDWWLD.

Morecambe are in fine form after a late charge that had Bolton sweating - WWWLWW.

The Shrimps won five of their last six, with the sole loss a costly one to the Wanderers after Kelvin Mellor's 23rd-minute red card.

County finished the campaign strongly to hold onto their top-seven spot.

They are unbeaten in five since the unlucky loss to promoted Cambridge, with a tally of 11 points from six fixtures - LWDWWD.

That is a figure shared by Forest Green, who responded to their loss against Barrow by beating Tranmere and Oldham to claim sixth - WDDLWW.

As ever in the play-offs, tight tussles lay ahead with sides looking to hold their nerve in the final 270 minutes, and possibly more, of a long season.