Championship betting tips: Bristol City to continue play-off charge, Derby to edge closer to safety

Matchday 40 of the Championship season is upon us, and the stakes have never been higher.

From potential play-off deciding matches to a wide-open relegation battle still commencing, this weekend has it all.

Here, Sports News Blitz’s Championship tipster Ethan Pitts selects four tips which will help you cash in on the bookies this weekend.

Bristol City vs Watford F.C.

We start this weekend's selections off with a belter of a contest involving two play-off contending sides.

Bristol City have been on a spectacular run of form lately, which has led to a place just outside the play-offs.

With only seven games left, it is now sink or swim territory. Can this largely inexperienced side handle the pressure?

The Robins are unbeaten in nine out of their last 10 home fixtures. Liam Manning has made Ashton Gate a fortress and a difficult place for any team to play at.

Watford have enjoyed a relatively stable season so far, which is a huge testament to Tom Cleverley and his staff.

However, consistency has been a glaring issue for the Hornets for a number of years, and this season hasn’t exactly been an anomaly.

Cleverley’s side are currently two games without a win and have only won once in their last five outings in the league.

A loss on Saturday could well be an abrupt ending to their play-off hopes, which once seemed so bright.

In front of their home faithful, it's hard to ignore the credentials this Bristol side have shown since the turn of the new year, and for that reason, as well as Watford’s slight decline in form, I expect Bristol City to win and dominate the match throughout.

Suggested bet: Bristol City to win and have the most corners at 2/1 (bet365)

West Brom vs Sunderland

Moving on to our second selection of the weekend, we move onto another massive game involving the ongoing play-off race, as Sunderland travel down to the Midlands to face West Brom.

As it stands, the play-offs are currently in West Brom’s hands as they occupy a 6th place position.

However, they are going to need something special to get past an excellent Sunderland side, and who better to rely on than their recently acquired talisman, Adam Armstrong?

Armstrong’s arrival on deadline day has been a noticeable outlier to West Brom’s climb up the table in recent months.

Despite not reaching the heights he may have reached with Southampton last season, he is still a threat to any side on any given day.

Born and bred in Newcastle, Armstrong is a lifelong Newcastle fan and will be massively up for facing his club's greatest rivals.

In his last game against Sunderland, he managed to get one over the Mackem faithful, slotting it past Anthony Patterson to help Southampton in their promotion hunt.

If West Brom are to get the job done on Saturday, Armstrong will no doubt be the protagonist of it all, and I believe this will be the case.

Suggested bet: Adam Armstrong to score anytime at 13/5 (Unibet)

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Luton Town vs Leeds United

Moving on to our third fixture, we see Leeds United travel to Luton in a clash that could be detrimental to either side at opposite ends of the table.

Leeds United come into this game after a disastrous run of form.

Islan Meslier’s catalogue of errors last weekend meant they relinquished their position at the top of the Championship and are now at a huge risk of ending the weekend outside the automatic places.

Unlike Leeds, Luton look to have saved their best performances until the end.

A win away to Hull last week means that the Hatters are now only three points off Championship safety.

Recent weeks have shown that Daniel Farke and his side are, indeed, human.

Despite the abundance of talent they possess, you cannot argue that they aren’t currently a fragile side and Luton will have noticed this.

I expect Luton to come out strong at Kenilworth Road and put pressure on Farke’s team early on.

In games at Kenilworth Road, Luton statistically appear to be more in control of games, which ultimately leads to a large succession of corners.

In their last five home matches, Luton have had over 4 corners at an 80% hit rate. This is a statistic I can only see rising come Saturday afternoon.

Suggested bet: Luton to have over 4 corners at 1/1 (bet365)

Swansea City vs Derby County

Concluding this week's selections, we see Derby County travel to Wales, where a clash against Swansea City awaits them.

Swansea are in a pretty comfortable position as of right now. Barring a disastrous end to the season, it would appear that they might have done just enough to confirm their place in the Championship for another year.

Derby, on the other hand, are still right in the middle of a back-and-forth relegation battle.

However, the appointment of John Eustace has proven to be a masterstroke and has led to Derby accumulating 12 points from their last 12 available.

Despite sitting in 16th, Swansea have been unable to find consistency this season, especially in front of their home faithful.

They currently sit 20th in the home table, and I can’t see this improving come Saturday.

After Derby’s recent form under Eustace, it really is hard to ignore such lovely odds in front of the away side this weekend, and for that reason, I’m backing the Rams to take another step closer to their aim of Championship safety

Suggested bet: Derby to win at 3/1 (betfair and BetFred)

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