Hull 1.80 v Birmingham 5.30; The Draw 3.50
Gary Rowett's men sit second in the table following four straight victories, three of them without conceding a single goal. And anyone who has read this column regularly for the last few seasons will know that Birmingham away from home have been a fantastic betting proposition.
The early signs are that backing Rowett's men away from home is going to prove highly profitable again this time around. Brum are unbeaten on the road in the league this season, winning four and drawing two, yet they seem to be improving even further, winning their last three away games all without conceding.
Of course, a trip to Hull is arguably their toughest test to date and they'll do extremely well to come away with all three points, but should a side sitting second in the table, on a four-game winning streak with exemplary away form, be 5.30 against a side that has won only two of their last five games?
My answer is no, and therefore I'll definitely be putting up Birmingham as my win selection.
It's purely a price-based wager however as I have huge respect for Steve Bruce's men at this level. They're a very talented side and will definitely be in the promotion shake-up at the end of the season. And even if Birmingham were priced at around the 4.00 mark - the price I believe they should be - that would still mean Hull would be strong favourites to win the game.
But I have to take a flier on the away side here, just don't be scared to lock in any profits should they take the lead, or if you prefer, cover the draw also.
Recommended Bet
Back Birmingham to Win @ 5.30
Nottm Forest 2.44 v Ipswich 3.20; The Draw 3.50
Forest and Ipswich are separated by just three points in mid-table but it's been a downward slide for both clubs in recent weeks following a poor run of form.
Both clubs are now on runs of five games without a win, most of which have been low-scoring affairs, and in the hope that confidence isn't great, and that both managers will be putting an emphasis on not losing the game rather than winning it, then Under 2.5 Goals look quite a generous price at 2.00.
All of Forest's last four games have witnessed two goals or less with Dougie Freedman's men clearly struggling to find the back of the net. Only once in the last two months - a run stretching 10 games - have they scored more than once in a single game.
It's a similar story for Mick McCarthy's men with Ipswich failing to find the back of the net in four of their last five outings. A few of their games have witnessed at least three goals but that was all down to the opposition with the likes of Manchester United, Hull, and Reading recording impressive victories over the Tractor Boys.
But Forest are nowhere near as good as those sides mentioned, and on current form the hope is that both these goal-shy teams cancel each other out.
Recommended Bet
Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 2.00
Wolves 3.40 v Middlesbrough 2.36; The Draw 3.50
I'm loathed to recommend backing against the team who I support but the beauty of being a football supporter is that you will generally know a lot more about your own side than the punters in terms of how they are actually performing.
I'm not definitively saying that's the case here but based on Middlesbrough's performances in recent weeks there's no way they should be such strong favourites away to a very decent Wolves side.
To be quite frank, Aitor Karanka's men have been extremely poor for a while now. Incredible as it may sound but one of the worst performances I've seen in a long time from Middlesbrough was against Leeds last month, yet Boro won that game 3-0!
But go and take a look at the stats - 59% possession to Leeds, 41% to Boro, 12 shot for Leeds, six for Boro, six shots on target for Leeds, two for Boro. That's correct, two shots on target for Middlesbrough yet they scored three times! That's how much a helping hand they got from Leeds that day and unfortunately that poor form has carried over to subsequent weeks.
Karanka's men were simply outplayed by Reading in a 2-0 loss, registering just a single shot on target. They then failed to beat Fulham on home soil, again failing to find the back of the net. And they registered another blank in midweek at Cardiff with yet another below-par performance.
True, there's some fantastic talent in the Middlesbrough squad and they are capable of turning this poor run of form around at any time, but purely going on what the heads says and not the heart then I have to fancy Wolves to prevail here.
Kenny Jackett's men lost at home in midweek but prior to that they thrashed Huddersfield at Molineux, that following a very impressive 3-0 away win at Fulham. For me Wolves are in better form, they're scoring goals, and it's impossible for them not to be playing better football than Boro right now.
Recommended Bet
Back Wolves to Win @ 3.40
To emphasise how difficult wagering
in the Championship is proving to be this season, out of all 24 teams
playing this weekend the one priced biggest of all - and therefore rated as the most likely team to lose - is Birmingham City.
The significant thing about this is that Brum are the Championship's most in-form side!Gary Rowett's men sit second in the table following four straight victories, three of them without conceding a single goal. And anyone who has read this column regularly for the last few seasons will know that Birmingham away from home have been a fantastic betting proposition.
The early signs are that backing Rowett's men away from home is going to prove highly profitable again this time around. Brum are unbeaten on the road in the league this season, winning four and drawing two, yet they seem to be improving even further, winning their last three away games all without conceding.
Of course, a trip to Hull is arguably their toughest test to date and they'll do extremely well to come away with all three points, but should a side sitting second in the table, on a four-game winning streak with exemplary away form, be 5.30 against a side that has won only two of their last five games?
My answer is no, and therefore I'll definitely be putting up Birmingham as my win selection.
It's purely a price-based wager however as I have huge respect for Steve Bruce's men at this level. They're a very talented side and will definitely be in the promotion shake-up at the end of the season. And even if Birmingham were priced at around the 4.00 mark - the price I believe they should be - that would still mean Hull would be strong favourites to win the game.
But I have to take a flier on the away side here, just don't be scared to lock in any profits should they take the lead, or if you prefer, cover the draw also.
Recommended Bet
Back Birmingham to Win @ 5.30
Nottm Forest 2.44 v Ipswich 3.20; The Draw 3.50
Forest and Ipswich are separated by just three points in mid-table but it's been a downward slide for both clubs in recent weeks following a poor run of form.
Both clubs are now on runs of five games without a win, most of which have been low-scoring affairs, and in the hope that confidence isn't great, and that both managers will be putting an emphasis on not losing the game rather than winning it, then Under 2.5 Goals look quite a generous price at 2.00.
All of Forest's last four games have witnessed two goals or less with Dougie Freedman's men clearly struggling to find the back of the net. Only once in the last two months - a run stretching 10 games - have they scored more than once in a single game.
It's a similar story for Mick McCarthy's men with Ipswich failing to find the back of the net in four of their last five outings. A few of their games have witnessed at least three goals but that was all down to the opposition with the likes of Manchester United, Hull, and Reading recording impressive victories over the Tractor Boys.
But Forest are nowhere near as good as those sides mentioned, and on current form the hope is that both these goal-shy teams cancel each other out.
Recommended Bet
Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 2.00
Wolves 3.40 v Middlesbrough 2.36; The Draw 3.50
I'm loathed to recommend backing against the team who I support but the beauty of being a football supporter is that you will generally know a lot more about your own side than the punters in terms of how they are actually performing.
I'm not definitively saying that's the case here but based on Middlesbrough's performances in recent weeks there's no way they should be such strong favourites away to a very decent Wolves side.
To be quite frank, Aitor Karanka's men have been extremely poor for a while now. Incredible as it may sound but one of the worst performances I've seen in a long time from Middlesbrough was against Leeds last month, yet Boro won that game 3-0!
But go and take a look at the stats - 59% possession to Leeds, 41% to Boro, 12 shot for Leeds, six for Boro, six shots on target for Leeds, two for Boro. That's correct, two shots on target for Middlesbrough yet they scored three times! That's how much a helping hand they got from Leeds that day and unfortunately that poor form has carried over to subsequent weeks.
Karanka's men were simply outplayed by Reading in a 2-0 loss, registering just a single shot on target. They then failed to beat Fulham on home soil, again failing to find the back of the net. And they registered another blank in midweek at Cardiff with yet another below-par performance.
True, there's some fantastic talent in the Middlesbrough squad and they are capable of turning this poor run of form around at any time, but purely going on what the heads says and not the heart then I have to fancy Wolves to prevail here.
Kenny Jackett's men lost at home in midweek but prior to that they thrashed Huddersfield at Molineux, that following a very impressive 3-0 away win at Fulham. For me Wolves are in better form, they're scoring goals, and it's impossible for them not to be playing better football than Boro right now.
Recommended Bet
Back Wolves to Win @ 3.40
