The weekends Championship action

There 3 previews here but theres much more to come from various leagues so check back.

Preston V Watford

The odds on the away win appeal to me here. Preston are going through a rough patch, in fact their whole season could be described as a rough patch. Winless in the last 3 at home and worse still they were playing against Cardiff, Blackpool and Scunthorpe, 3 teams that don’t inspire confidence when playing away from home. With the exception of two games, in which they scored 3 against Hull and 5 against Southampton, Preston have found goals very hard to come by at home. They have been held scoreless in 7 home games so far and its stats like these that will probably have them playing in a lower division next year.

Matt Hill is suspended while Wayne Henderson, Bill Jones and Chris McGrail are all out injured. New signings Chris Brown and Richard Chaplow look set to feature at some point.

Preston’s last 5 home games

Preston 0 2 Charlton 24/11/2007
Preston 3 0 Hull 04/12/2007
Preston 0 1 Blackpool 08/12/2007
Preston 0 1 Scunthorpe 26/12/2007
Preston 1 2 Cardiff 29/12/2007

Watford are in a good position at the moment and im fully convinced they are the team to beat in the Championship. They have already gone through the “rough patch” that teams tend to go through yet they still are level on points atop the league. Their home form has been something of a mystery, at one point they looked unbeatable until West Brom beat them 3 – 0 at the start of November. Since then they have failed to win a home game and strangely enough look far more comfortable away from Vicarage road. Their away record makes for impressive reading and they have only been beaten twice picking up 29 of their 45 point tally. Top scorer Marlon King has been in impressive form and Watford recently turned down a £4 million bid for him from Fulham.

Watford’s last 5 away games

Barnsley 3 2 Watford 24/11/2007
Colchester 2 3 Watford 04/12/2007
Stoke 0 0 Watford 09/12/2007
Sheff.Wed 0 1 Watford 22/12/2007
Southampton 0 3 Watford 01/01/2008

Verdict
Its top v bottom here and everything points to a Watford win. Poor home record V excellent away record (best in the league) A team struggling to score against a team that has the 2nd highest goals tally in the league and the highest goals scored record away from home. Odds of 2.3 or so on the away side are attractive and odds of 1.65 or so on Watford also look good for the more cautious punter.



Cardiff V Sheffield Wed

Cardiff sit in 11th position in the table yet they playoffs are still within reach and they will be hoping to make it 4 wins on the trot at home. After some poor results early on Cardiff stopped the rot at home and started recording some decent results. Successive wins against Colchester, Sheffield United and Plymouth have now put them in a good position. They avoided a potential banana skin last week in the FA Cup defeating non-league Chasetown 3 – 1.
In general their home form reads as any other mid table team would. However it’s their recent form, especially against the other mid to low ranked clubs that im more interested in. They have hardly been prolific in front of goal but have scored in 19 from 26 games which always gives them a chance.
Kasper Schmeicel has finished his loan spell at the club and returns to Man City. Robbie Fowler is the top scorer but hasn’t appeared in a blues shirt for some time now. Jimmy Floyd Hasslebank has been restricted to appearances here and there as a sub. Otherwise Dave Jones has few other worries to contend with.

Cardiff’s last 5 home games

Cardiff 1 0 Ipswich 24/11/2007
Cardiff 0 2 Charlton 04/12/2007
Cardiff 4 1 Colchester 08/12/2007
Cardiff 1 0 Sheff.Utd 22/12/2007
Cardiff 1 0 Plymouth 01/01/2008

Sheffield Wednesday are coming into this game in 19th place and sitting one point above the relegation zone. Despite the low ranking they are still only 8 points away from Cardiff, an insight into how close the teams in this division really are. On the road they have collected 4 points from their last 6 games. Last weekend they went 2 – 0 up against Derby in the FA Cup before being pegged back and being held to a 2 - 2 draw.

Sheffield Wednesday will be helped by the return of Wade Small, Richard Wood and Steve Watson for Saturday's Championship encounter. Midfielder Yoann Folly has left for Plymouth Argyle with Ronnie Wallwork coming in from West Brom.

Sheff Wed’s last 5 away games

Q.P.R. 0 0 Sheff.Wed 24/11/2007
Southampton 0 0 Sheff.Wed 04/12/2007
C.Palace 2 1 Sheff.Wed 15/12/2007
Burnley 1 1 Sheff.Wed 26/12/2007
Hull 1 0 Sheff.Wed 30/12/2007


Cardiff City prepare to entertain Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon, looking to continue an impressive head to head record. The Bluebirds are clearly on top, having won 15 and lost only 6 of the 27 games.

Verdict
Recent form points towards a home victory here. Sheffield Wednesday are having trouble finding the net on their travels and this could really hurt them. Cardiff are a dogged side to play against and I feel they will have enough here to scrape a win. Cardiff –0 .5 are available at 1.95 @ canbet and well worth a bet


Hull V West Brom

Ok I may be going against a lot of people here but I believe that Hull can snatch this one, or at least prevent the Baggies from taking all 3 points.
Hull are in 9th place with the playoffs very much a realistic target. They are a typical championship side picking up most of their points at home allowing for a mediocre away record. They are unbeaten in 8 home games and have kept impressive 6 clean sheets in those matches. Two defeats all season, one of those an opening day blip against Plymouth shows they have kept their performances at a consistent competitive level.


Hull City’s last 5 home games

Hull 0 0 Bristol C. 27/11/2007
Hull 2 2 Cardiff 01/12/2007
Hull 2 0 Leicester 15/12/2007
Hull 2 0 Wolves 26/12/2007
Hull 1 0 Sheff.Wed 30/12/2007

West Brom are sitting on top of the pile on level points with Waterford and Bristol City and looking for a speedy return to the premiership. Their strength has been their home form though with 30 points taken from their tally of 47. On the road their spell of 5 games unbeaten was brought to an abrupt stop with defeats at Stoke and Ipswich. Last weekend they earned a replay after a 1 – 1 draw at Charlton. However they would have been out if not for an excellent display from Goalkeeper Dean Kiely.
Key players such as Kevin Phillips and Roman Bednar will return for the trip to Hull.

West Broms last 5 away games

Plymouth 1 2 W.B.A. 28/11/2007
C.Palace 1 1 W.B.A. 01/12/2007
Leicester 1 2 W.B.A. 08/12/2007
Stoke 3 1 W.B.A. 22/12/2007
Ipswich 2 0 W.B.A. 01/01/2008


Verdict
I haven’t came across one place yet that’s recommended the home win but in my opinion its not out of the question. Hulls recent form and general home record is too good to ignore. West Brom are coming off the back of 2 away defeats and will be keen to get back to winning ways but they may have their work cut out for them. Hull won’t lie down easy and both teams may have to settle for a point apiece.


PICKS
Watford win ( 2.3 pinnacle) 5 points

Cardiff -0.5 (2 @ canbet) 5 points

Hull V West Brom draw (3.3 @ totesport) 2 points