Saturday’s round of Championship matches sees the division’s top three sides, Southampton, West Ham and Cardiff, all face winnable but potentially tricky trips against teams scrapping it out at the wrong end of the table and we assess their chances of picking up maximum points.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST V SOUTHAMPTON (3pm)
We start our treble for the weekend at the City Ground where Nigel Adkins takes his league leaders looking for three points which would keep their noses just in front in the battle for promotion to the Premier League, with the Saints 4/6 with Totesport to go up in April.
The Saints have struggled over the past two months with their five-point lead being whittled down to a goal difference advantage over West Ham following just two wins in eight, while Cardiff and Middlesbrough are just two points behind them.
Adkins will be boosted by the return of first-choice goalkeeper Kelvin Davis, right-back Frazer Richardson and strike duo Guly do Prado and David Connolly, but defender Jose Fonte is a doubt and Richard Chaplow is definitely out.
Forest defeated Ipswich 3-2 at Portman Road in their last league outing to leave them in the third relegation place and two points adrift of safety.
Boss Steve Cotterill, who should have striker Dexter Blackstock and midfielder Paul Anderson in contention to play, will hope that win will boost his side going into the match and count on Forest’s good home record against the Saints, who they have not failed to score against at the City ground for 26 years, to stand them in good stead.
But, four straight league defeats at home and no goals in front of their fans since mid-November means the Forest players will have to work hard to reverse that shocking run this weekend.
However, with Southampton on a poor run of late and Forest boosted by their win at Ipswich, we fancy a possible result of sorts for the hosts.
Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 12/5
Value Bet: Draw 1-1 Correct Score @ 11/2
PORTSMOUTH V WEST HAM (3pm)
Sam Allardyce takes his high-flying Hammers to Fratton Park for a tough clash against a Portsmouth side which has dragged itself clear of the relegation battle under new boss Michael Appleton.
Pompey are now seven points clear of the bottom three and go in search of a fourth win in seven league matches and fourth on home soil since Appleton replaced Steve Cotterill as boss.
Portsmouth’s plans have not been helped by injury doubts over Ricardo Rocha, Hayden Mullins and Luke Varney.
West Ham arrive with the best away record in the Championship with 24 points gained and only 11 goals conceded from 13 outings.
However, their recent form has dipped with just two wins in six league games and a 1-0 FA Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.
Allardyce should have a strong squad to select from as only Guy Demel and midfielder Matt Taylor are absent due to injury.
The two sides have won 14 games each from their previous 34 meetings and drawn the other six so games between them usually have a winner.
But with Pompey being strong a home and the Hammers not firing on all cylinders of late it is difficult to pick one above the other on this occasions.
Prediction: Draw 90 Minutes @ 23/10
Value Bet: Portsmouth/Draw HT/FT @ 14/1
DONCASTER V CARDIFF (3pm)
Like the Forest-Southampton affair, this is another bottom versus top encounter at the Keepmoat Stadium which should see third-placed Cardiff City come out on top, but might not be a foregone conclusion.
Dean Saunders’ Rovers find themselves second-bottom in the table and four points adrift of safety, although they have won four of their last seven league games – three of them at home against strong opposition in the shape of table-toppers Southampton, Leicester and Barnsley.
Rovers should also be boosted by the availability of new signing Damien Plessis, while fit-again trio Herald Goulon, Martin Woods and John Oster should also be in the running to feature.
Cardiff arrive on the back of successive away defeats in the Carling Cup and FA Cup, but chasing a third successive league win.
Malky Mackay’s side have only lost one Championship game in 13 – against Middlesbrough on December 17 – and have seven draws on their travels which is more than any other side in the league.
However, despite being without injured duo, defender Kevin McNaughton and striker Rudy Gestede, they boast a good record against Rovers.
Three successive wins and nine goals in their recent matches not to mention 16 wins from their 31 league encounters over the years to Doncaster’s five suggests the Bluebirds have the Indian sign over their hosts.
And, with a chance of going to the top of the table up for grabs depending on other results, the men from South Wales should have too much for Rovers.
Prediction: Away Win 90 Minutes @ 21/20
Value Bet: Miller K 1st Goal Cardiff To Win 2-0 Scorecast @ 28/1
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