There is another big week of EFL Championship football to get stuck into as the season continues towards its climax, with action in midweek and at the weekend. On Tuesday night, Bournemouth and Swansea City clash in a tasty fixture at the Vitality Stadium, while league leaders Norwich City travel to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday with the visitors looking to maintain their momentum as they propel themselves back to the top flight.
Cardiff City v Stoke City
19:00, Sky Sports, Cardiff City Stadium
Mick McCarthy’s Cardiff City and Michael O’Neill’s Stoke City clash at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday evening. The Bluebirds will be hoping to bounce back from last weekend’s gut-wrenching defeat as they still harbour hopes of finishing in the play-off positions.
Cardiff suffered their first loss under McCarthy last weekend, shipping at the death to lose 2-1 at home to Watford. Nevertheless, Stoke are in poor form and Cardiff should strike back with maximum points on Tuesday. The home win is priced at odds of 11/10 which looks decent enough value to tempt us in.
Derby County v Brentford
19:00, Sky Sports, Pride Park
Thomas Frank takes his Brentford side to Pride Park on Tuesday to face Wayne Rooney’s Derby County. The Rams have improved in recent months, but Rooney’s boys are without a win in five games and are still not completely safe from the threat of relegation.
Since suffering three straight defeats, the Bees have got back on track by taking nine points from the last 12 on offer. Brentford, who won 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers last time out, should nick another narrow away victory in midweek. An automatic promotion place is not out of the question for Brentford and they’ll be doing all they can to get the victory with that goal in mind. We’ll be backing the visitors to win by one goal at odds of 11/4.
Luton Town v Coventry City
19:00, Sky Sports, Kenilworth Road
Nathan Jones’ Luton Town and Mark Robins’ Coventry City square off at Kenilworth Road in midweek. The Sky Blues are in 20th position in the table ahead of this round of fixtures, six points above the bottom three. They could really do with putting space between themselves and the drop zone.
Luton, who are in 16th place as things stand, have blown hot and cold of late. After posting two league wins (against Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest), Town have suffered back-to-back losses to Norwich and Swansea City. Coventry picked up a 1-0 home win against Derby last time out, but Robins’ men have not won on the road since 2nd January. With neither side exactly flying at the moment, we fancy this one to end in a draw, which is available to back at odds of 11/5.
Middlesbrough v Preston North End
19:00, Sky Sports, Riverside Stadium
Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough entertain Alex Neil’s Preston North End at the Riverside Stadium in Championship action on Tuesday. Can Boro make it back-to-back home wins or will the visitors raise their game to cause an upset?
Preston have struggled for wins in 2021, picking up just three Championship victories since the turn of the year. Boro have taken four points from their last two at home and they look decent value for the home win on Tuesday at a fair price of 10/11.
Rotherham United v Watford
19:00, Sky Sports, New York Stadium
Paul Warne’s Rotherham United are back in Championship action on Tuesday night. Xisco Munoz’s in-form Watford make the trip to the New York Stadium as they attempt to maintain their position in the automatic promotion places (which they currently occupy courtesy of goal difference).
Rotherham remain in the bottom three in the table, but the Millers have four games in hand on the team directly above them (Birmingham). The Hornets left it late to win at Cardiff on Saturday, which was their seventh victory in eight but it will have given them a boost that could help them get this one wrapped up earlier. Back Watford to win with a -1 goal handicap in South Yorkshire at odds of 11/5.
Bournemouth v Swansea City
19:45, Sky Sports, Vitality Stadium
One of the standout matches in midweek is the Bournemouth versus Swansea affair on Tuesday night. The Cherries will be hoping to hit back from last weekend’s disappointing home defeat to Barnsley, while the Swans will want to make it 13 points from 15 since losing to Bristol City.
Bournemouth dropped five points behind Barnsley in the race for the play-offs after a 3-2 defeat to the Tykes last time out. That is no disgrace, however, as Barnsley are really playing well at the moment and are good value for their position in the table. Swansea, meanwhile, are bang in form, and we fancy Steve Cooper’s men to leave the English coast with all three points. There is good value in the away win and both teams to score in this match at odds of 13/2.
Nottingham Forest v Norwich City
19:00, Sky Sports, City Ground
Leaders Norwich make the trip to the City Ground to play Nottingham Forest on Wednesday. Three points for the visitors would be a ninth Championship win in a row and one more step back towards the Premier League.
Norwich are storming their way to the Championship title as the Canaries are 10 points clear at the top with ten games to play. City should secure another routine victory in midweek and we’ll be backing Daniel Farke’s boys to be winning at half time and full time in this one at a nice price of 11/5.
Queens Park Rangers v Millwall
19:00, Sky Sports, Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium
Mark Warburton’s Queens Park Rangers entertain Gary Rowett’s Millwall at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Wednesday. Who will come out on top in this intriguing all-London Championship encounter?
QPR have been in excellent form of late, but the R’s crashed to a disappointing home defeat to Huddersfield Town last weekend. Millwall have also picked up in 2021, so we fancy this to end all square in the capital. The 1-1 draw is standing out to us at odds of 5/1.
Wycombe Wanderers v Barnsley
19:00, Sky Sports, Adams Park
Bottom club Wycombe Wanderers host in-form Barnsley at Adams Park on Tuesday. Valerien Ismael’s Tykes have been the surprise package in the Championship so far this season. Could they continue their fine form to make it to the play-offs?
Since starting 2021 with three straight league losses, Barnsley are unbeaten in 11 games in the Championship, winning eight and drawing three. Last Saturday, Ismael’s men picked up a stunning 3-2 win against promotion rivals Bournemouth. You can get a nice price of 3/1 for Barnsley to win and both teams to score in this one, which looks well worth grabbing.
Birmingham City v Reading
19:45, Sky Sports, St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium
Aitor Karanka’s Birmingham City have the worst home record in the Championship. Can Reading leave the St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium with all three points on Wednesday night or will the home side find some form on their own patch?
Veljko Paunovic has had an excellent first year at the Madejski Stadium until now. The Royals have been in the top six all season, winning 18 of 36 league matches along the way. Back Reading to win this one at odds of 23/20.
Blackburn Rovers v Bristol City
19:45, Sky Sports, Ewood Park
Tony Mowbray’s Blackburn take on Nigel Pearson’s Bristol City at Ewood Park on Wednesday. Despite winning only one of their last 10 league games, Rovers are the bookies’ favourites in this one.
Bristol City have won three of their last five matches in the Championship but the Robins have suffered nine league defeats since the turn of the year. Blackburn are priced at 11/4 to win by one goal and that’s the bet for us here.
Sheffield Wednesday v Huddersfield Town
19:45, Sky Sports, Hillsborough
Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town do battle in a big game at Hillsborough on Wednesday night. The Owls will be desperate to avoid an eighth straight defeat as their position towards the foot of the table gets evermore desperate.
Huddersfield picked up a rare away win last time out, beating QPR in west London. The Terriers are priced at 19/10 to win on the road again, but we fancy the draw in this one at odds of 11/5.