We look to be at the stage of the Championship season, where
the teams down at the bottom start fighting desperately for points. All four of
the bottom teams who played on Saturday won, and will be looking to build on
that with another three points this week. Millwall will be hoping to draw out-of-form
Blackpool into the relegation scrap with a win at Bloomfield Road, and Barnsley
want to build on their win over Forest but have an unenviable game against
runaway leaders Leicester. Higher up the league, Brighton are aiming to break
into the play-offs, as they host QPR, who are looking unlikely to gain
automatic promotion. Here is our preview of all the matches.
Barnsley vs. Leicester
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| Dale Jennings |
Leicester are now thirteen points
clear of third place, with a game in hand on Derby, and their promotion is a
foregone conclusion. On the other hand, Barnsley are fighting to save their
Championship status. Thanks to a winner from Dale Jennings, the Tykes got
arguably their most important result of the season, a 1-0 victory over Nottingham
Forest. After everything that happened at Huddersfield; a 5-0 defeat, awful defending
and players dissenting at angry fans; Barnsley needed that kind of result. Complacency
could creep into the Leicester camp. They do not have the best record away to
the lower teams, as previous defeats at Charlton, Doncaster and Sheffield Wednesday
suggest. Barnsley will battle for a point. 1-1.
Brighton vs. QPR
People say Brighton need to
improve their home record, but one defeat in their last ten at the AMEX is reasonable
progress, with only five goals conceded. A home draw against Reading on Saturday
was, ultimately, not a bad result. They played half of that match with ten men,
after centre-back Gordon Greer was sent off, and none of the teams around them
won. They have not lost any ground. QPR came out 2-0 winners at Birmingham on
Saturday, with Ravel Morrison scoring his first goals for the club and putting
in a man of the match performance. The problem with both teams is that they do
not score enough, so the game could be decided by the odd goal. 0-1.
Derby vs. Bolton
 |
| Andre Moritz |
In the space of a week, Derby lost
six points on Burnley and now with an eight point gap, their automatic
promotion hopes have evaporated. As with QPR, the remainder of their season
will be a case of preparing for the play-offs. Bolton are finding some form.
The Trotters scored nine goals in their last two games, beating Blackburn and
Leeds 4-0 and 5-1 respectively. In both of those games, their goals came from all
different goalscorers, as the likes Andre Moritz and Neil Danns are starting to
play with confidence from midfield. With neither side having too much to play
for, this is likely to be an entertaining, high-scoring affair. 2-2.
Doncaster vs. Watford
Last week, Billy Sharp marked his
return from suspension with a goal against Huddersfield. At home, Doncaster have
already kept seven clean sheets this season, so a proven goalscorer coming back
into the team should give them a boost. Watford are masters of the clean sheets
themselves, having kept five out of a possible seven since the start of
February. Their only problem is winning games away from home. The Hornets have
not won on the road since early October, although eight out of those ten away
games ended in draws. Strikers Troy Deeney and Mathias Renegie bagged a brace
each in a 4-0 home win over Watford on Saturday, Renegie netting his first goals
for the club on just his second start. Doncaster might grind out a win here –
the Rovers have a bit more to play for. 1-0.
Leeds vs. Reading
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| Royston Drenthe |
Prospective Leeds owner, Massimo
Cellino, launched a scathing attack on the Leeds players, after the 5-1 defeat
to Bolton. Those comments will have done little to ingratiate himself with the
team, and it seems the wrong thing to say, considering he does not own the club
yet. That will unsettle the players, and it is possible that Leeds’ form will
fall away towards the end of the season. Reading’s away record is quite good as
well. The Royals have taken ten points from their last five on the road,
although they failed to take advantage of an extra man at play-off rivals
Brighton on Saturday. Royston Drenthe scored his first goal for the club in
that match, and keeping him fully fit for the remainder of the season will be
important. Reading can get an eighth away win here. 1-2.
Middlesbrough vs. Nottm Forest
Middlesbrough finally ended their
seven game goal drought, with a 2-0 win over Ipswich. Aitor Karanka has clearly
built a strong defence at the Riverside, with an impressive eleven clean sheets
from the nineteen games they’ve played under him. If Danny Graham can build on
his brace on Saturday, they should be able to pick up more points towards the
end of the season. Nottingham Forest fell to a third consecutive defeat at
Barnsley. Their next three home games are against teams down at the bottom, but
that is not necessarily going to be an advantage, because a lot of them will be
fighting desperately for points. Forest do not have an in-form striker at the
moment, and they do not look like they will trouble the Boro back-line. 1-0.
Yeovil vs. Ipswich
 |
| Gary Johnson |
Ipswich have only scored one goal
in their last four games and, although it is still possible, the Tractor Boys
are not really threatening to break into the play-off places. Away from home,
they have only taken two points from their last five, and have won just three on
the road all season. After a five match unbeaten run, Yeovil are starting to
believe they can beat the drop. Ishmael Miller grabbed his seventh goal for the
Glovers in thirteen games, with a brace against Sheffield Wednesday. In the
next two weeks, Yeovil have QPR, Wigan, and Leicester away, so they will need
to win this type of game. 1-1.
Blackpool vs. Millwall
The awful run of form Blackpool
are on means this match has become crucial. While some people might say this is
a ‘must win game’ for the Tangerines, it would be wrong for Barry Ferguson to
highlight this match as one they need to win. Although it would extend the winless run, a
few draws for Blackpool at this stage may not be such a bad thing. Ferguson just
needs to steady the ship, and the team must rebuild confidence gradually,
without falling deeper into the relegation mire. Millwall picked up a priceless
win at Derby on Saturday, without which they would have fallen to second
bottom. For that, they have Davide Forde to thank, because he pulled off a
string off very good saves to preserve the three points. Generally though,
Millwall have struggled to win away from home, so this might be a draw. 1-1.
Birmingham vs. Burnley
 |
| Jason Shackell |
You would get high odds for a
home win here. Birmingham have won the fewest number of home games in the
Championship, while Burnley have lost the fewest away. Only Barnsley and
Millwall have conceded more home goals than the Blues, who have again reshuffled
their back-line, as Lee Clark reverted to a three-man defence against QPR. Burnley on the other hand, have maintained a consistent side throughout the season, and Jason Shackell is an ever-present for them. They look likely to go up automatically with Leicester, as Sean Dyche’s men are
now eight points clear of third-place. It’s hard to see the Clarets dropping points
here, and you can expect Birmingham’s winless home run to be extended, to
thirteen games. 0-2.
Blackburn vs. Bournemouth
Blackburn’s home record against
the lesser sides is quite impressive. The Rovers have taken twenty-three points
from eleven games at Ewood Park, when playing the teams from midtable downwards.
The one positive from their defeat to Burnley, was a first goal in eight games
for Jordan Rhodes, and they could certainly do with him rediscovering his first
half of the season form. Bournemouth are a team performing well at the moment,
the Cherries built on their thrashing of Doncaster with a win at Blackpool. The
only two matches they have lost since mid-January, have been narrow defeats to promotion
chasing Leicester and Derby, and in both games the consensus was they were
unfortunate. I’d still back Blackburn to take three points. 3-1.
Charlton vs. Huddersfield
 |
| Chris Powell |
Chris Powell has been sacked by
Charlton. With such a short time span between his sacking and this match, it
will be tough for the players to prepare themselves quickly, in these
circumstances. Under Powell, scoring goals had been the problem, the Addicks
have failed to net in four of their last six league games. Huddersfield will
try to take advantage of the uncertainty at the Valley, but they have lost five
of their last six away games, and have not kept a clean sheet on the road since
Christmas. Then again, the other factor is Huddersfield’s midfield. With
Norwood and Clayton performing well at the moment, it looks stronger than what Charlton
have got, because they seem to be relying on inexperienced, unproven players. 1-2.
Wigan vs. Sheff Wed
Both sides have benefitted from a
change of manager. Under Rosler, Wigan fans could potentially have three trips
to Wembley this spring. They are now in the FA Cup semi-finals, after proudly
joining Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the club of teams to have
beaten Manchester City on their own turf. Sheffield Wednesday are ten points
clear of relegation, which represents fantastic work from Stuart Gray, when you
consider how much trouble they were in when he took over. The only problem for
Wigan is, there might be a slight ‘morning
after’ effect, having put all their energies into beating Man City on
Saturday. Sheffield Wednesday do not lose many away games, and they might take
a point here. 1-1.
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