Saturday Championship Tips: Entertaining 90 minutes expected at Kenilworth Road

Entertaining 90 minutes expected at Kenilworth Road

Luton2.526/4 v Blackburn 3.1511/5; The Draw 3.412/5

Luton returned to winning ways in midweek as they edged past Bristol City at Kenilworth Road. The Hatters have now won four of their last six and although they still remain six points adrift of the play-off spots, there appears to be plenty of optimism within the squad. With 40% of their victories having arrived since the beginning of December, they will be in confident mood this weekend, despite facing one of the division’s in-form sides.

Nathan Jones has outlined the importance of Elijah Adebayo and with his striker having been responsible for 12 of the club’s 38 goals this season, the Welshman has admitted that he must manage his fitness carefully throughout the remainder of the campaign. Although they possess decent away form, they are far more free-scoring in front of their own fans and have found the net on 22 occasions so far.

Having upset Bournemouth here a fortnight ago, they will be confident of taking something from this encounter. They’ve suffered just a single defeat when hosting top half opposition with Fulham, Huddersfield and Middlesbrough all having failed to secure maximum points in Bedfordshire.

Blackburn were victorious on Monday night and Tony Mowbray will have been delighted to see his side bounce back from a disappointing reverse in Humberside. Rovers have been in terrific form this season and sit just five points off top spot.

Although the absence of Ben Brereton-Diaz is an obvious concern, Rovers do still have plenty of firepower within their squad with Monday’s hero Sam Gallagher and loanee Reda Khadra likely to lead the line.

The visitors have kept three clean sheets in their last four away matches, however, they looked shaky at the back against Hull and with Luton having netted in six of their last seven home fixtures, there should be goals at both ends of the pitch.

Recommended Bet: Back BTTS in Luton vs Blackburn @ 1.9110/11

Parker’s men to squeeze past hapless Tykes

Barnsley 5.39/2 v Bournemouth 1.824/5; The Draw 3.711/4

Things are looking a little bleak for Barnsley. The Tykes were soundly beaten by Nottingham Forest in midweek and now find themselves nine points adrift of safety. Poya Asbarghi hasn’t been able to inject much confidence into this squad, and although his side have clearly tightened up at the back, their record in the final third is exceptionally poor.

With a home xG of just 0.87 this season, they clearly aren’t creating enough chances and have failed to find the net in three of their last four matches at Oakwell.

Despite losing 50% of their home matches, the Tykes tend to remain competitive in South Yorkshire and have conceded just 15 times here. Their home matches have averaged just 1.92 goals per game and only two sides have notched 3+ goals at Oakwell.

Bournemouth are having yet another mid-season wobble. Scott Parker has been unable to get the best out of his talented Cherries squad in recent weeks, however, this appears to be the perfect opportunity to restore some much-needed confidence. They’ve won just one of their last six away games and although I expect them to take all three points back to Dorset, they are unlikely to do it in a swashbuckling fashion.

Recommended Bet: Back Bournemouth Win and Under 3.5 Goals @ [5/4]

BTTS at the Riverside

Middlesbrough 2.1211/10 v Coventry 3.814/5; The Draw 3.412/5

Middlesbrough suffered their first Championship defeat since late November at Ewood Park on Monday night and Chris Wilder will be hoping that his side can bounce back on Saturday afternoon. Boro have been unstoppable at home since the former Sheffield United manager arrived in Teesside and with a strong January transfer window, they look set to continue their fine run of form over the coming weeks.

The hosts have kept six clean sheets in their last ten home matches and their style of play has made them much tougher to breach. However, Boro gave up a few chances against Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day and both Reading and Blackburn have managed to find a way past Joe Lumley in recent weeks.

Coventry have put their poor run of form firmly behind them and have won two of their last three outings. Mark Robins’ side edged past Stoke in midweek and will take plenty of confidence into this weekend’s clash. The Sky Blues have a 3-5-4 record on the road and have recently taken points off Bournemouth and Huddersfield. They are tough to beat on their travels and have found the net in six of their last seven away games.

Recommended Bet: Back BTTS in Middlesbrough vs Coventry @ 1.9420/21

Swans to edge past in-form Tigers

Hull 2.77/4 v Swansea 2.9215/8; The Draw 3.39/4

Grant McCann has been sacked by Hull’s new owners with Shota Arveladze set to take over ahead of this weekend’s clash with Swansea. Although the former striker is unlikely to be in the dugout for this contest, he will be sitting in the stands and should be able to get an idea of his squad’s capabilities.

Understandably, Acun Ilicali is keen to have his own man in charge, however, the decision to sack McCann amidst the club’s best run of form is a curious one and may have a significant effect on morale. The players were believed to have developed a decent relationship with the Northern Irishman and were clearly enjoying working under the former midfielder.

Prior to his sacking, McCann had guided his side to six wins from their last 11 games and they were also desperately unlucky not to take something away from Bloomfield Road on New Year’s Day.

Swansea took a hard-earned point from high-flying QPR in midweek and Russell Martin’s side have now kept consecutive clean sheets. Having taken points off top six opposition and beaten in-form Preston (who subsequently won at the Hawthorns), the visitors will fancy their chances of extending their unbeaten run here.

Recommended Bet: Back Swansea Draw No Bet (vs Hull) @ 1.9110/11

Another goal-fest at the Cottage

Fulham 1.321/3 v Blackpool 11.521/2; The Draw 65/1

There isn’t much more that we can say about Fulham. The Cottagers are now five points clear at the top of the table and and have netted on 73 occasions. Rivals West Brom and Bournemouth may be struggling to find the back of the net, however, Marco Silva’s men are having very few problems in that department and even without talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic, they’ve found a way to sweep teams aside.

Blackpool were the first side to beat high-flying Fulham this season and Neil Critchley’s will need to produce yet another defensive masterclass this weekend. The Seasider’s away games have been fairly entertaining affairs this season with an average of 2.67 goals per game. BTTS has landed in 75% of their away matches and although they’ve failed to score in two of their last three, they should play their part in an entertaining 90 minutes.

Recommended Bet: Back Over 2.5 Goals in Fulham vs Blackpool @ 1.68/13

Lilywhites to secure back-to-back victories

Preston 1.910/11 v Bristol City 4.84/1; The Draw 3.412/5

Many Preston fans described their side’s performance on Wednesday night as the best display they’ve seen all season. PNE slipped up against Swansea at the weekend, however, they provided the perfect response at the Hawthorns and will fancy their chances of securing their fourth victory since Ryan Lowe arrived at Deepdale.

Cameron Archer has already made an impression in Lancashire, however, the form of Liverpool loanee Sepp van den Berg has been the biggest positive in recent weeks. The defender is clearly benefiting from getting some regular game time and he will be tasked with keeping Bristol City’s lively forward line at arm’s length here.

The Robins have failed to win an away game since the beginning of October and they have picked up just a single point from a possible 21. Nigel Pearson’s side have undoubtedly improved their output in the final third and having scored five in their last three away games, they’ll fancy their chances of causing PNE problems.

Nevertheless, the Robins continue to be let down by their leaky defence and look set for another reverse on the road.

Recommended Bet: Back Preston to beat Bristol City @ 1.910/11

QPR to produce another professional home display

QPR 1.68/13 v Reading 76/1; The Draw 4.216/5

Although QPR were stifled by Swansea in midweek, it’s been an excellent month for Mark Warburton’s men. They may have received plenty of plaudits for their away form this season, however, their record at Loftus Road isn’t bad either and they have managed to keep four clean sheets in their last six.

The West Londoners have been defensively magnificant on their own patch and as a result, their home matches have been relatively low-scoring affairs. Their 3-2 victory over Preston on October 2nd was the last time that Over 2.5 Goals landed in one of their matches here.

Reading stuck three past Huddersfield last weekend, yet they still came away with nothing to show for their efforts. The Royals are struggling and will be hoping to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat this weekend.

Although their away form isn’t bad, they have failed to score in three of their last six matches on the road and they may not have enough creativity to find a way past the R’s rearguard. Nevertheless, the return of Lucas Joao does give them an advantage in the final third and the Portuguese is likely to give the home defence plenty to think about.

Recommended Bet: Back QPR to Win and Over 1.5 Match Goals @ 1.75/7

WBA’s problems to continue on the road

Millwall 43/1 v West Brom 2.166/5; The Draw 3.259/4

Millwall fans were unhappy with Gary Rowett’s negative approach and their side’s lack of creativity at the weekend as the Lions slumped to a 1-0 loss at Bloomfield Road. In Rowett’s defence, he has several key absentees with the likes of Jed Wallace, Sheyi Ojo and Tom Bradshaw all having spent time on the treatment table recently.

Luckily, the form of Tyler Burey has helped to inject some positivity into the side and the 21-year old may have done enough to merit a start this weekend. The hosts have only lost three times at the Den this season and have been defeated in just one of their last five.

Valerien Ismael continues to feel the pressure and Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Preston has simply intensified the calls for the Frenchman’s departure. His reported dispute with wantaway keeper Sam Johnstone also suggests that all may not be well behind the scenes.

With a 4-4-6 record on their travels, WBA’s away form is likely to prevent them from returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking and their failure to score in six of their last seven away games makes their price of 2.166/5 completely unbackable.

Recommended Bet: Back Millwall Draw No Bet (vs West Brom) @ 2.757/4

You can follow Jack Critchley on Twitter @jcritch7