Big Kick-Off: Npower Championship Betting Tips

The Football League season in England is back under way this weekend. Teams in the Championship will be looking to get themselves off to the best possible start.

It’s been a busy summer for most of the clubs in the division, with incoming and outgoing players aplenty, most notably David James moving from Portsmouth to Bristol City.

Favourites to win the league are Middlesbrough. Gordon Strachan’s policy of only bringing in Scottish players will be put to the test this season. Boro are aiming to become the third club of the Old Firm by the looks of things. The signings of Kris Boyd and Kevin Thomson from Rangers look to be shrewd purchases, and they arguably have the strongest squad in the division. They can be best backed at 13/2 (bwin) for the title.

At the other end of the spectrum, Scunthorpe United are favourites for the drop. Manager Nigel Adkins has done a terrific job at Glanford Park, and they did extremely well to stay up last season. The loss of star striker, Gary Hooper, to Celtic is a huge blow, and without his goals, they will struggle to avoid relegation this time around. They are at a best price of 6/5 (Coral, Stan James) to be relegated.

As for the opening weekend of fixtures in the Championship, there are some interesting ones to look at.

Burnley, who will be looking to bounce back to the Premier League after last season’s relegation, face a tough game at home to Nottingham Forest. The Clarets have kept most of their squad together apart from the loss of Steven Fletcher to Wolves. Forest missed out on promotion in the play-offs last season, and they too haven’t altered their squad much over the summer. I fancy this game to be a tight affair, and 12/5 for the draw (Stan James) looks good value.

Leeds United against Derby County could also be a tasty fixture. Following their promotion from League One last season, Leeds will be looking to make it two in a row and continue the momentum. They have made some solid summer signings in goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and striker Billy Paynter. Derby haven’t made major inroads in the transfer market this summer, with full-back Gareth Roberts the pick of their five summer buys. At 11/10 (Bet365), Leeds are excellent value and with the Elland Road crowd behind them, Derby could be in for a tough afternoon.

Championship top tips of the weekend:

• Leeds to beat Derby @ 11/10 (Bet365)
• Burnley v Nottingham Forest, correct score 1-1 @ 11/2 (Blue Sq, Ladbrokes, SkyBet)
• Sean St Ledger – first goalscorer (Preston v Doncaster) @ 25/1 (Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, SkyBet)

Npower Championship Fixtures

6 August 2010

• 19:45 [TV] Norwich (11/13) v (13/5) Watford (4/1)

7 August 2010

• 15:00 Bristol City (Evs) v (5/2) Millwall (7/2)
• 15:00 Burnley (5/4) v (12/5) Nottm Forest (12/5)
• 15:00 Coventry (11/8) v (23/10) Portsmouth (12/5)
• 15:00 Crystal Palace (7/4) v (23/10) Leicester (7/4)
• 15:00 Hull (13/10) v (23/10) Swansea (5/2)
• 15:00 Middlesbrough (10/11) v (5/2) Ipswich (7/2)
• 15:00 Preston (5/4) v (23/10) Doncaster (12/5)
• 15:00 QPR (8/11) v (11/4) Barnsley (9/2)
• 15:00 Reading (4/7) v (3/1)  Scunthorpe (6/1)
• 17:15 [TV] Leeds (11/10)  v (12/5) Derby (3/1)

8 August 2010

• 12:35 [TV] Cardiff (15/13)  v (12/5) Sheffield Utd (13/5)

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