The Championship is looking as closely fought as most people expected before a ball was kicked, with only 14 points separating play-off places and the relegation zone. Any team putting together a good run can catapult themselves up the table, so which teams are set to be celebrating on Saturday evening…….
Preston v Leicester
Preston are really struggling this season and Phil Brown has a task on his hands to turn things around. Take a look at the strikers each respective team has brought in this week – Sven has persuaded Yakubu to drop down to play for Leicester, while Brown has got Nathan Ellington from Greek side Skoda Xanthi.
Leicester are a growing force, they beat Swansea a fortnight ago before drawing with Manchester City in the FA Cup. You would expect Sven’s boys to have too much and take all three points to add to Preston’s misery (Leicester are Evs to win the game).
Swansea v Crystal Palace
New Palace boss Dougie Freedman faces a tough trip to South Wales, as Swansea are riding high in the table and bounced back from their defeat to Leicester by beating Colchester 4-0 in the FA Cup last time out. The Swans (4/7 to win the game) have lost some consistency in recent weeks, but Scott Sinclair remains a striker in form capable of hurting a leaky defence – something which Palace possess.
Brendan Rodgers has the perfect motivation for improvement and that is the fact Swansea could overtake second-placed Cardiff if they win and Norwich do them a favour – something that could happen as Paul Lambert’s side are riding high themselves this season. (Norwich 5/4 to beat Cardiff)
Bristol City v Middlesbrough
Both these teams need to put some results together to help them begin to climb the Championship table and lower league opposition in the FA Cup last weekend beat both. The statistics for this game show that Bristol City are inconsistent at home and Boro are terrible on the road, but Tony Mowbray’s side have struggled to score goals on the road. All pointers suggest a draw in this clash at 23/10.
Burnley v QPR
Managerless Burnley face a tall order against top-of-the-table QPR on Saturday, but the loss of Jamie Mackie could have a large impact on Neil Warnock’s side. Nevertheless, you would expect the attacking flair of Rangers (7/4 for the win) to be too much for a Burnley side, who seem to follow a win with a loss, according to their recent form.
The Best of The Rest
Across the rest of the games, Leeds (1/2 to win) should get their season back on track following a faltering period by beating a struggling Scunthorpe side, who are short of real firepower.
Ipswich will be on a high after their Carling Cup win over Arsenal and the ‘new manager syndrome’ should be enough to get them at least a draw at Millwall – priced at 12/5.
Doncaster (7/5 to win) play host to Reading and the home side should come out on top, while another home victory in Yorkshire seems on the cards as Hull face Barnsley at the KC Stadium (Hull 4/5 to gain the points).
Sheffield United (11/5 to win) have only won once on the road all season, but could add to that when they travel to an inconsistent Coventry.
Watford (20/23) will beat Derby and continue the plaudits for Malky Mackay, while Nottingham Forest (8/11) should boost their promotion chances with a win over struggling Portsmouth.
Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.