Championship Betting Preview

Championship | Betfair | December 28, 2009 at 11:15 am

Betfair’s Richard Walker picks the best bets from Monday’s programme of Championship fixtures

My Boxing Day bash at English football’s most melancholy division ended up with two wrongs and a postponement which probably saved me from a hat-trick of dud selections.

I had a hunch Newcastle wouldn’t win at Sheffield Wednesday so left them out. But I made Cardiff City my good things at home to Plymouth Argyle and what happened? Well, what happened is that the Championship was up to its usual tricks; preying on those without 20:20 foresight.

Here we go again – undeterred, naturally – for another festive-sized course of 12 matches, all at 3pm except the Sky live late game: Newcastle United v Derby County.

However it’s to the north-west, not north-east, that I suggest you turn initially. Blackpool’s 6-3-1 home record won’t be tested too harshly against relegation candidates Sheffield Wednesday. The 1.8 looks too good to be true (and will probably prove that way, given my recent form!) for a Seasiders’ success.

Make it your day’s banker. Sure, Sean Macualey’s Owls will be boosted by that draw at home to runaway league leaders Newcastle on Boxing Day, but Blackpool – with a 2-0 win at Derby under their belts – will be feeling on top of the world after regaining a top-six spot.

There’s not a team in better form than Billy Davies’ Forest, however for them it’s about an unbeaten run, not necessarily a run of successive wins.

I was at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day and saw Nottingham Forest extend their unbeaten run to 15 matches with a goalless draw against Watford. It’s easy to see why they’re up there: an array of strikers to choose from and a game-plan built on a great mix of youthful movement and experienced heads.

Dele Adebola and David McGoldrick started the game, before Nathan Tyson, Dexter Blackstock and Rob Earnshaw all appeared from the bench as the match wore on. Okay none of them hit the net – they were well repelled by the Hornets, in fact – but at home against Coventry City it’ll be a different matter. Back Forest/Forest in the HT/FT market at around 2.44.

Lay of the day comes at Oakwell where I can see the in-form Barnsley – unbeaten in seven and with a few extra days’ rest after their postponement at Preston – preventing Middlesbrough registering a second victory in three days.

Gordon Strachan has hardly ignited matters on Teesside yet. A home win against lowly Scunthorpe United would hardly have got The Riverside faithful into a frenzy, and their form beforehand was three straight defeats.

Lay the Boro to a 2.72 liability and, if you’re feeling brave and are perhaps looking to put some of those Kauto Star winnings in play, have a little interest on 1-1, at about 7.0, for the kind of correct score I can see neither hosts nor visitors being happy about.

It’d be unfair not to at least mention Plymouth Argyle before closing. The team that took my banker down in big style on Boxing Day by winning away at Cardiff City, they’ve got every chance of extending their run of wins from one-in-a-row to two when playing host to Reading.

Off the bottom with their unlikely 1-0 success at the Bluebirds, Argyle are 3.05 to back against a club in the doldrums just four points outside the drop zone. That’s my long shot for another bumper Championship fixture programme that, I just hope, returns us a few quid for our hard-earned staking. Good luck.