Once again Southampton are proving that sides with momentum are the ones to fear and it’s up to Reading to try and halt the marching Saints on Saturday (Reading 7/4, draw 12/5, Southampton 6/4 in the match betting).
Manager Nigel Adkins has kept the positivity going around St Mary’s following promotion from League One last term, and now the south coast outfit sit five points clear at the top of the Championship table.
Southampton battled hard for a 1-0 victory over much fancied West Ham United in midweek and will be full of confidence going into this away trip to face the Royals.
Reading continue to struggle without their former striker Shane Long, who decided to move to the Premier League with West Brom in the summer.
There has been some improvements at the Madejski Stadium in recent weeks and the Royals were able to hold a strong Derby County outfit in midweek to a 2-2 draw.
However with the Saints full of confidence and their striker Ricky Lambert continuing to score goals, the visitors should come away with the three points.
Another clash at the top of the table sees third-placed Middlesbrough take on Derby, who currently hold fourth spot in a competitive Championship table (Middlesbrough 8/11, draw 5/2, Derby 4/1 in the match betting).
The Rams have made an impressive start to the season and will be boosted by the news in midweek that their manager Nigel Clough has signed a new deal at Pride Park.
With far less expectation than last season, Boro have thrived under Tony Mowbray and have looked like a competitive outfit this term, despite struggling to score enough goals.
A 2-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in midweek may have brought the side back to earth but they may well take the three points on offer at the Riverside, where visitors have struggled to pick up wins this season.
Leeds United make the trip south to face Peterborough United following a less than convincing performance against Coventry City at Elland Road (Peterborough 6/4, draw 12/5, Leeds 7/4 in the match betting).
The Whites dominated the first half put could not put the game to bed and conceded in the third minute of stoppage time to record a 1-1 draw with the Sky Blues.
Peterborough, like Southampton, have made a positive start to life in the second tier of English football and they proved their credentials with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Cardiff in midweek.
Saturday’s game against Leeds should have plenty of goals and Whites boss Simon Grayson and his men may make the journey back to West Yorkshire with a point.
After Forest got their first win under manager Steve Cotterill against Boro, they will be confident of going to Blackpool with the chance of taking all three points (Blackpool Evs, draw 5/2, Forest 13/5 in the match betting).
The two sides have had some thrilling encounters in the past, especially when they met in the Championship play-off semi-finals two seasons ago.
Blackpool came out on top over the two legs, but it is a relatively new look Tangerines side without the likes of DJ Campbell and Charlie Adam.
Forest look like they have turned a corner and should pick up a rare away victory at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.
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Southampton have once again proved how important momentum can be at the start of the Championship season, and they will hope to continue their impressive form so far when they cross the border to take on Cardiff City on Wednesday night (Cardiff 13/8, draw 23/10, Southampton 13/8).