On Tuesday night’s round of fixtures, the focus is largely
on the battle to beat the drop. Charlton could go five points clear, with games
in hand on those in the relegation zone with a win over fellow strugglers
Yeovil. Barnsley and Millwall look to keep their survival hopes alive, but they
both have unenviable opponents, playing Burnley and Wigan respectively. Reading
could cement their play-off place with a win at in-form Bournemouth, but a win
for the Cherries would see them move just two points off sixth place. Here’s a
preview of the action.
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| Keith Treacy |
Barnsley drew 0-0 at home to Brighton on Saturday. Despite
having far less possession than the visitors, they created more chances and
limited Brighton to few shooting opportunities. The suspension to right-back Kelvin
Etuhu will not be too much of a blow for Barnsley. In Jack Hunt they have a
full-back who, though at times defensively vulnerable, likes to move forward
and get the ball into the box quickly. That is the type of player they need.
Burnley were behind for the vast majority of their match against Watford, but
ended Saturday having gained a point on QPR and Derby, both of whom lost. Given
Burnley’s ten point cushion, their injury problems are actually a good opportunity
for fringe players Keith Treacy, Ross Wallace and David Edgar, to play for
their places in the Premier League. Those three have struggled for game time
this season, due to Sean Dyche’s preference for a consistent first eleven, so
now is the time for them to prove their worth. 0-1.
Blackburn vs. QPR
If QPR had Jordan Rhodes in their team, they would be much
closer to Burnley. The Scottish striker has scored more goals for Blackburn
this season (23), than QPR have away from home (19). Going into the play-offs
next month, QPR fans may be boosted by the return of Charlie Austin, who made
his first appearance since January, as a substitute in the 2-1 loss at
Bournemouth. Interestingly, Austin was put on fifteen minutes before Bobby
Zamora, which suggests Harry Redknapp believes he can make an instant impact. Austin’s
form and fitness will be a key factor in QPR’S play-off chances. Blackburn are
unbeaten in six, scoring sixteen goals in the process. QPR may have more of the
ball, but at the moment, it is the hosts who possess more in-form players,
capable of making the difference. 2-1.
Bournemouth vs. Reading
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| Daniel Williams |
There are a cluster of sides five points below Reading at
this stage, but of those, Bournemouth are the only in-form side. A draw will
serve the Royals quite nicely, whereas Bournemouth are so close to the play-offs,
they will be thinking “we’ve got nothing to fear, we might as well go for this”.
Eddie Howe’s side naturally play on the front foot too, and this is a factor
which could feed into Reading’s hands. They were strong on the counter attack
once again on Saturday, nicking a 1-0 win at Charlton, thanks to a late goal
from Daniel Williams. Nigel Adkins had left the American out of the side for
much of March, but a man of the match performance on Saturday suggests he has
benefitted from that exclusion. If Reading get a result here, it is hard to see
any other side getting that final play-off spot. 1-2.
Charlton vs. Yeovil
The fixture list has been kind to Charlton, who have six
home games this April. Although they lost the first to Reading on Saturday, the
next two are against relegation rivals Yeovil and Barnsley, and the following
three Valley visitors will be midtable sides with little to play for. However,
Charlton do face the possibility of Yeovil Town going level on points with them
with a win on Tuesday night, albeit having played two games more. The Glovers
picked up a 2-1 win at Blackpool on Saturday, winning despite the absence of
Ishmael Miller, who refused to play for the manager. Gary Johnson says that
Miller’s personality was not ‘conducive’ to the environment he wanted to
create, but the problem is, Yeovil would already be goners were it not for
Miller’s goals. Without that attacking quality, I cannot see Johnson keeping
them up. 2-0.
Doncaster vs. Bolton
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| Joe Mason |
Doncaster fell to a rare home defeat on Saturday. Their 3-1
loss against Birmingham was their first at the Keepmoat since Boxing Day. James
Husband had began to look more solid for Rovers in recent weeks, but it was his
sloppy play in the box which led to Birmingham’s equalizer, while the defending
for Birmingham’s second was simply a collective failure to keep shape. This was
uncharacteristic of Doncaster, because before that match, they had only
conceded seventeen goals in their last seventeen games. Bolton are looking a
solid outfit themselves, having kept five clean sheets since mid-February. They
did it again on Saturday when they won 1-0 at Huddersfield, thanks to a late
goal from Joe Mason, his fifth goal in just eleven starts for the Trotters. Bolton
to extend their unbeaten away run to six games with a draw, leaving Doncaster
in need of one more win to be sure of safety. 1-1.
Huddersfield vs. Ipswich
Huddersfield are in poor form, having taken just three
points from their last seven matches. Their U21s are top of their league by
some distance, and you wonder if Mark Robins will be tempted to cherry pick one
or two younger players from the Development Squad, just to shake things up. Yes
they had plenty of the ball against Bolton, but the chances they created were
either from set pieces, or from looping, hopeful crosses. Nahki Wells aside,
Huddersfield are lacking pace and guile in the final third at the moment. Ipswich
lost 2-0 at Blackburn on Saturday, with Christophe Berra looking largely at
fault for the opening goal. However, the centre-back has been a key player for
the Tractor Boys in recent weeks, and was arguably unlucky to miss out on March’s
Player of the Month award to Ravel Morrison. Ipswich might grind out a narrow
away win. 0-1.
Leicester vs. Brighton
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| Oscar Garcia |
Leicester are over the promotion line, but they still have a
couple of things to play for. They are yet to wrap up the title, and they will
be hoping to hold onto their unbeaten run. The Foxes are undefeated in an
impressive twenty-one league games, and their last loss actually came against
Brighton, a 3-1 defeat at the AMEX back in December. Seagulls fans will be
forgiven for not joining in with the “let’s all have a disco” chants. Oscar
Garcia’s side are without a win in five games, losing three of them, meaning
they are five points off sixth place Reading. Leicester will be playing Premier
League football next season, and the way things are looking, Brighton are
unlikely to join them. 2-0.
Middlesbrough vs. Birmingham
If only home form counted, thirteenth-place Middlesbrough
would be two points off the play-offs. If only away form counted,
eighteenth-place Birmingham would be in the play-offs. Middlesbrough have only
lost three games at the Riverside, just four teams in the Championship have
lost fewer home encounters. Meanwhile, Birmingham have won a remarkable nine
times on the road, and only Leicester and Reading have won more. Both teams
come into this game off the back of a weekend win, too. A Nathaniel Chalobah
goal saw Middlesbrough beat Derby on Saturday, while a brace from Federico
Macheda helped Birmingham on their way to three points at Doncaster. Both
managers will feel confident of getting a result. 1-1.
Nottm Forest vs. Sheff Wed
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| Gonzalo Jara |
Nottingham Forest’s winless run showed no signs of ending
when they lost 2-1 at home to Millwall, with Gonzalo Jara at fault for both
goals. He is clearly not a natural right-back, with tendencies to stay on his
feet and hold position, which are more suited to a sitting midfield role. The
problem is, a host of injuries in the centre-back area has meant regular
right-back Greg Halford has had to move, so Jara has been forced to fill in the
gaps. The worrying thing for Forest is that Sheffield Wednesday’s left side is
very strong, particularly with Michail Antonio back fit. On his return from
injury, the two-footed winger scored at Leicester, and won the man of the match
award. Him, and possibly the energetic Jeremy Helan at left-back, can combine
to cause Jara problems. After Saturday’s defeat, I cannot see Forest getting
back into the play-off race. 1-2.
Watford vs. Leeds
Despite being talked about as play-off contenders at various
times this season, Watford and Leeds are ten and sixteen points respectively off
sixth place. Watford’s chances next season will be boosted if Troy Deeney can
replicate his twenty-one goal haul. Arguably the most underrated striker in the
Championship, Deeney netted his seventh goal in seven games against Burnley on
Saturday. Leeds’ chances are dependent on off-field issues, as much as on. It
looks as though the takeover of Massimo Cellino will go through, and given the
Italian businessman’s legal convictions, the future of Leeds United could be in
jeopardy. At the moment though, a lot of Leeds fans are happy that the deal is
going through, and it might give the players a boost on a short-term basis.
They will need it, after four straight defeats. 1-1.
Wigan vs. Millwall
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| Martyn Waghorn |
At no point this season have Millwall wanted Yeovil to get a
result, but that is their best hope of them catching Charlton. In the very
plausible scenario that Charlton win and Millwall lose on Tuesday, they will be
five points off safety having played two games more. Lions fans were singing
non-stop in the win at Nottingham Forest, which suggests they still believe
their side can stay up, but you suspect that Millwall have left themselves too
much to do. Wigan managed to grind out a 1-0 win over Leeds on Saturday, thanks
to a first half goal from Martyn Waghorn. The Latics need ten more points to guarantee
a play-off place, but that’s under the extreme assumption that two sides below
Reading take maximum points from their remaining games. In truth, Wigan have done
enough already. 2-1.
Blackpool vs. Derby
The reverse fixture back in December saw Derby run out 5-1
winners at Pride Park, in front of the Sky cameras. In the run up to Christmas,
they were scoring at will, but since then the goals have dried up to some
extent, and the Rams have failed to net five times since the start of March.
Blackpool are not the most efficient goalscorers themselves. Despite 59%
possession against Yeovil on Saturday, the Tangerines had just three shots on
target, and did not create enough decent chances. That result means Blackpool cannot
quite consider themselves out of relegation trouble. These two teams have
scored a combined total of just thirty goals from thirty-four games since the
turn of the year, so a goalless draw might be on the cards. 0-0.
Last week…
On Saturday, Gabriel had one of the worst ever prediction weeks.
No correct scores, and just two correct results out of a possible twelve. The right calls were Leicester to beat Sheffield Wednesday, and Wigan to beat Leeds,
but late goals for Burnley, Middlesbrough and Bolton meant that none of the other
predictions came off.
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