This weekend’s EFL Championship action begins with an East Midlands derby between Derby County and Nottingham Forest on Friday night, a brilliant way to start three day’s of excellent second-tier football. On Saturday we have a clash at the other end of the table as promotion chasing Bournemouth and Watford clash at the Vitality Stadium. Another big game between play-off hopefuls sees Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough welcome Mick McCarthy’s Cardiff City to the Riverside Stadium. We have some great games to enjoy and hopefully our Championship betting tips will allow you to enjoy the football and land a winner or two!
Derby County v Nottingham Forest
19:45, Sky Sports, Pride Park
On Friday night, rivals Derby and Nottingham Forest lock horns at Pride Park. This duo are currently 18th and 16th respectively, so it is safe to say this campaign has not gone to plan for either. That said, with both teams in good form right now, this East Midlands derby could go either way.
The Rams have been excellent under Wayne Rooney, winning six of their last eight in the Championship. Forest are also in fine fettle, with Chris Hughton’s boys losing only two of their previous 14 league games. These two bosses have very different levels of Championship managerial experience and as players could not have been more different but both are doing good jobs. This game looks evenly poised and we fancy this derby to end all square at Pride Park, with the draw and both teams to score nicely priced at chunky odds of 7/2.
Bournemouth v Watford
12:30, Sky Sports, Vitality Stadium
Saturday’s early kick off sees Bournemouth and Watford meet in a huge fixture at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries lost their place in the play-offs in midweek after a home defeat to Cardiff City, while Watford picked up another three points. That leaves the Hornets sitting pretty third and very much in the mix for an automatic promotion spot. The hosts are 11 points further back and realistically the play-offs may be the best they can hope for as they bid to make in instant return to the Premier League.
Xisco Munoz has made a solid start to life at Vicarage Road, and the Hornets head into this one having won each of their last four. The Cherries have lost back to back games and over the past few months have been very hit and miss. Take a punt on in-form Watford to win at the Vitality on Saturday at very nice odds of 8/5.
Barnsley v Millwall
15:00, Oakwell
Barnsley are having a superb season under the unheralded Valerien Ismael, with the Tykes just a point off the play-off places going into this round of fixtures. Given most expected them to be at the other end of the table they have really overachieved thus far and fans may even be dreaming of a return to the top flight. Can they seal a fifth win in a row when Millwall visit Oakwell on Saturday?
Both sides are in good form ahead of this one. Barnsley have won four on the bounce, while the Lions are undefeated in nine in the league (four wins, five draws). This is a tough one to call, so we fancy the draw at 12/5.
Birmingham City v Queen Park Rangers
15:00, St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium
Birmingham City and Queens Park Rangers meet at St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Blues have the worst home record in the league, collecting a mere nine points from a possible 48. With Rangers tending to struggle on the road, there will be some tempted to back the draw here but we think the visitors offer a shade of a value here.
QPR are in good form, winning six of their last eight in the Championship. Since a 1-0 home loss to Derby last month, Rangers have taken 13 points from 15 on offer and are now nine points better off than the Blues. We fancy QPR to pile more misery on Birmingham at the weekend. The away victory is priced at 31/20.
Blackburn Rovers v Coventry City
15:00, Ewood Park
Tony Mowbray’s Blackburn Rovers welcome Mark Robins’ Coventry City to Ewood Park on Saturday. Rovers have lost each of their last five in the Championship and have dropped down to 15th. If their poor run continues for much longer then there is a very real chance they will get sucked into the relegation battle, a war Coventry are already waging.
The visitors hover just five points above the drop zone, but we fancy the Sky Blues to get the points in Lancashire. This should be a close game but with Rovers really struggling we think it is worth backing the visitors to win by exactly one goal at the handsome price of 9/2.
Brentford v Stoke City
15:00, Brentford Community Stadium
After three defeats in a row, Brentford hit back with a massive three points in midweek. The Bees had surged to the top of the table after a fine run but now find themselves level with Watford, seven adrift of table-topping Norwich. They will be hoping to follow that win over Sheffield Wednesday up with a win against Stoke City at the Brentford Community Stadium this Saturday.
Brentford have been strong in their new home this season, losing just twice in the league. However Stoke have won two of their last three and in 10th place are not out of the promotion picture yet with 13 games to go. On balance though we have to think class will tell and Brentford should come out on top in this one. You can get 15/8 for the hosts to be winning at half time and full time.
Luton Town v Sheffield Wednesday
15:00, Kenilworth Road
Luton Town and Sheffield Wednesday go head-to-head in a vital Championship game at Kenilworth Road on Saturday. The Hatters are in 17th spot, while Wednesday are second from bottom, three points adrift of safety.
Luton have had a decent season so far, but Nathan Jones’ boys have picked up just one win in eight league and cup games. This is the sort of game they need to win and we think they can do just that. The Owls have lost their last three and have looked very poor at times. The Luton win here is available at 13/10 and that is more than fair.
Middlesbrough v Cardiff City
15:00, Riverside Stadium
Middlesbrough entertain Cardiff in a tasty fixture at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday. The Bluebirds have bulldozed their way into the play-off spots after six wins in a row and the controversial appointment of former Ireland boss Mick McCarthy is looking like a shrewd one.
Boro have been in poor form in recent weeks, losing five of their last six at the Riverside under former Cardiff boss Neil Warnock. In contrast, since McCarthy took over in South Wales, Cardiff are unbeaten in eight, winning six and drawing two. There isn’t much between these two in the table, just three points, but momentum is with the Welsh side. This could be close, but we fancy the away side to nick a narrow victory in North Yorkshire. Check out the 2-1 Cardiff win at massive odds of 10/1.
Preston North End v Huddersfield Town
15:00, Deepdale
Preston North End, usually so strong at home, have failed to win on their own patch since the turn of the year, losing three and drawing two of their last five at Deepdale. Huddersfield Town are the visitors this weekend in this war of the roses derby.
After a stunning 4-1 win over promotion chasing Swansea City, the Terriers were beaten at Derby on Tuesday, which was their third defeat in four. Both sides are in poor form, but we can see the hosts nicking it at Deepdale. The home win is priced at 13/10 and against a team that are very hit and miss, that seems more than fair.
Rotherham United v Reading
15:00, New York Stadium
Paul Warne’s Rotherham United and Veljko Paunovic’s Reading do battle at the New York Stadium on Saturday. This is a huge game at both ends of the Championship table, with the hosts occupying the last relegation spot and the visitors in fifth, hanging on to a play-off spot.
Rotherham have slipped into the bottom three after four straight defeats. As for the Royals, they lost to bottom side Wycombe Wanderers last time out. The Millers will be desperate for a win on home turf, but we are backing Reading to bounce back with a big three points on the road. There is good value in the away win to nil at 3/1.
Swansea City v Bristol City
15:00, Liberty Stadium
Nigel Pearson takes charge of his first Bristol City game this weekend. The Robins picked up an excellent win at Middlesbrough last time out, but a trip to Swansea is just about as tough as it gets in the Championship. The Welsh side may be fourth but with two games in hand they will hope to move second and could move to within two points of leaders Norwich if they win them both.
After last weekend’s humiliating loss at Huddersfield, the Swans battled to a 1-0 home win over Coventry on Wednesday. Swansea’s last two home wins have been by a goal to nil and Pearson’s sides are never easy to play against. Take a punt on the 1-0 home win here at the generous odds of 11/2.
Wycombe Wanderers v Norwich City
12:00, Sky Sports, Adams Park
Championship leaders Norwich have to wait until Sunday for their next fixture, as Daniel Farke takes his side to Adams Park to face Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe. The Canaries are the clear favourites in this one and in a clash of top and bottom there can only be one winner, right? The Championship is nothing if not unpredictable but these teams were two divisions apart as last summer and it shows.
Norwich are back in form after four wins on the bounce and they should make it five here to stay well clear at the top. Wycombe picked up an excellent win over Reading in midweek, but City should ease to victory at Adams Park. We like the look of the away team to be winning at half time and full time at the fair price of 6/5.