Championship betting tips: Leeds to bounce back, Blackburn’s struggles to continue
It feels like a lifetime has passed since we had Championship football on our screens, but that wait is finally over as the dreaded international break recedes into memory.
We have well and truly entered clutch time in the league season and focus now shifts to who will rise to the occasion and who will falter at the final hurdle.
Sports News Blitz Championship tipster Ethan Pitts selects four tips which will help you cash in with the bookies this weekend.
Norwich City vs West Brom
We start off in East Anglia where play-off hopefuls West Brom take on a dejected Norwich City side.
West Brom come into the fixture unbeaten in their last six, albeit with four of those games seeing just a point gained for Tony Mowbray’s side.
Norwich, on the other hand, are winless in their last four encounters, with a play-off push now looking highly unlikely for Johannes Thorup and his players.
While they have lost at home on just four occasions this season, only three sides in the league have more draws at home than the team from Norfolk’s seven.
Adding to that, West Brom sit right at the very top for draws away from home, having accumulated a ridiculous 10 draws from 19 away fixtures.
When these two clashed in November, neither team could be separated as the match concluded in a 2-2 draw.
As a result, I’m backing a draw here at some very pretty odds.
Suggested bet: Match to be drawn at 12/5 (Ladbrokes and Coral)
Leeds United vs Swansea City
After some recent struggles away from home, Leeds United return to Elland Road to face Swansea City.
Leeds never make it easy for themselves, and this season has not proved an anomaly in that regard.
Five points from their last four matches has halted what seemed like a romp to the Championship title for the Whites.
However, as much as their away form can be questioned, Elland Road is a fortress, with Leeds averaging just under 2.5 goals per home game, the highest in the division.
Swansea come into the game on a perilous run of away form, only winning once on the road since the 10th of December.
The Swans are also in the top half of the table for away goals conceded per game, which does not bode well for this weekend.
For these reasons, I expect Leeds to dominate.
Two weeks’ rest will also have done some good for Farke and his side, and they will surely come out to play with a reinvigorated hunger for promotion come Saturday afternoon.
Suggested bet: Leeds to score in both halves and have the most corners at 5/4 (Bet365)
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Portsmouth vs Blackburn Rovers
Next up, Blackburn Rovers travel down to Fratton Park as Valerien Ismael hopes to secure his first win as Blackburn manager.
Portsmouth have been one of the Championship’s success stories this term.
Many predicted that they would be sat in pole position to return to League One by this stage, yet John Mousinho and his staff have done an excellent job.
The past two games have unfortunately pulled Pompey back into the relegation dogfight, but there is simply no better chance to pull away again than Saturday afternoon’s fixture against Blackburn.
Rovers, it must be said, come into the match in perilous form.
Since the sudden departure of John Eustace, the club has not registered a win in five games.
Ismael has so far failed to have the impact needed to push Rovers into serious play-off contention, and I can’t see that changing this weekend.
Moreover, despite sitting in 17th, Fratton Park has been somewhat of a fortress for Portsmouth this season.
They currently sit 10th in the home results table and have accumulated 32 of their 42 points in front of the home faithful.
A win on Saturday could end up ensuring another year in England’s second tier for the hosts, and I think that will be the case.
Suggested bet: Portsmouth to win at 13/10 (Betfair)
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Middlesbrough vs Oxford United
Concluding this week's fixtures, we see Middlesbrough take on an Oxford United side in desperate need of some points.
The Championship is a funny old league, and the stories of these two sides reaffirm the assertion that it is ‘the most competitive on the planet’.
Unfortunately for Middlesborough and Oxford, their seasons are currently being defined by one terrible run of form.
Middlesbrough’s form from mid-January to mid-February could well be the reason they miss out on the play-offs, which would be a dramatic underachievement for a squad blessed with so much talent.
As for Oxford, their recent defeat of Watford was their first win since 21 January.
That poor run has left them just four points above the drop zone in a position that no Oxford fan would have envisioned at the start of the new year.
Accordingly, Saturday’s game is massive for both clubs, and I’m expecting a very nervy 90 minutes with a lot of defensive mistakes throughout.
The last time these teams met, it finished 6-2 to Middlesborough in what was a goal frenzy.
You can expect to see more of the same this weekend as I’m confident that it will be a game jam-packed with goals from two teams who are in the bottom half for goals conceded.
Suggested bet: Over 3.5 goals to be scored at 9/4 (UniBet)
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