Blackburn Rovers

Wins for the 9/2 favourites in the Championship outright betting against Hull, Leicester and Barnsley on home soil already means this represents a big ask for Tony Mowbray’s men and a poor record on the road, carried over from last season, suggests it is difficult to build a case for the away win even at a not-too-shabby price.

Boro have lost against Barnsley, Millwall and, last time out, Blackpool away from the Riverside Stadium and only won 10 out of 23 road trips in the Championship last season.

Steve Kean’s side proved they can win from behind on Tuesday when recovering from a Jacob Mellis goal to collect maximum points with efforts from marquee signing Jordan Rhodes and Nuno Gomes five minutes from the end, although the outcome could have been different had Marlon Harewood not missed a fine chance for Barnsley with the score locked at 1-1.

It means it is the club’s longest unbeaten run at the start of a campaign since they won the Premier League in 1994/95, when they went seven games without a loss.

Scotland sharp-shooter Rhodes has now scored three goals in three games for his new club and should not be ignored in the Anytime Scorer market.

Boro make the trip to Lancashire having been spanked 4-1 by Blackpool, the 7/1 second favourites in the Championship outright betting, on Tuesday and Mowbray has demanded a “reaction”.

He said: “If we can win at Blackburn then that would be better than drawing two games – which happened at times last season.”

Injuries to key players and new signings struggling to find their feet have made for a difficult start to the new season for Mowbray, although the club’s impressive home form negates this argument.

Boro, sat in 11th, are just two points off Huddersfield Town in the last play-off place and yet just four points above Charlton in the final relegation spot, such is the tight nature of the Championship, and they have scored in two out of three away games in the league.

If they can click they could easily find themselves climbing the table and the way to go here might be to take the both teams to score option.

Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Celtic

Neil Lennon’s men have won just one of 33 away matches in Europe but take on HJK Helsinki in the second-leg of a Champions League third round qualifying clash with a 2-1 lead from the first leg in Glasgow.

The Bhoys – overwhelming 1/40 favourites to win the Scottish Premier League – have only managed to score in 10 out of their last 22 European road trips and their approach to this return fixture is intriguing. The fact that Celtic do not have to win this game to progress makes it even more difficult for punters.

HJK Helsinki can be backed at 13/8 to win in 90 minutes, while a rare away win is quoted 11/8, but the evidence suggests the draw could have legs at 11/5 and this would see the visitors progress.

Backing teams who do not need to win is always a minefield and it may be that Lennon decides to pack his midfield and frustrate the home side.

Key to their hopes will be the fitness of combative midfielder Scott Brown, who has a hip injury, and whether Lennon decides to try protect his side’s advantage or go for the kill.

James Forrest is battling to recover from a groin problem, Charlie Mulgrew makes his returns from his weekend suspension and Georgios Samaras has recovered from a face knock.

The Finns returned home seething at Czech referee Miroslav Zelinka for allowing Celtic to take the corner that led to the winner while HJK were making a substitution and have their own motivation to send the Scottish champions packing.

The home side will have the edge in terms of match sharpness given that their domestic campaign is past the half-way point and can boast a proud home record of having not lost at Finnair Stadium since August 2010 in the Veikkausliga.

This time last year in the same competition the Finnish champions put 10 past Bangor City without reply and last month walloped Icelandic title winners KR Reykjavík 7-0.

The wheels have started to come off in recent weeks and it needed a goal on 82 minutes from Mika Vayrynen to salvage a 3-3 draw against VPS last time out. This followed a 1-0 defeat away to Honka in which Antti Muurinen’s men were reduced to nine men on a day to forget.

Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.