Football Championship Preview 31st Jan

With Leicester and Wolves meeting on Thursday night it is a good time to look at the Championship outrights as well as previewing the televised Midlands derby.

After some 28 games (a few teams have played 29) the Championship table has taken shape. Cardiff are the current league leaders and sit ten points clear at the top and are 4/7 (Skybet/ladbrokes) to win the title. The Bluebirds have let some strong positions slip in recent seasons though I would be amazed if they let it go this time. The race then is on to finish second and just three points seperates Leicester in second and Middlesbrough in sixth. Leicester are 2/3 (Coral) to get promotion, Hull 23/10 (boylesports), Watford 3/1 (general), Palace 10/3 (Skybet/sportingbet/Coral) and Middlesbrough are also 10/3 (general).

It is at the bottom though where we will look to find some betting value. In searching for value in the relegation market you have to ask yourself are the teams at the bottom showing enough signs of life to bring in other teams around them? In the Championship the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Bristol City have won their last two under manager Sean O’Driscoll while Barnsley have taken seven points from their last three games. This then leaves the question as to why Ipswich who are just four points from safety and have taken two points from their last four games are 8/1 (BetVictor) for the drop. This price is just simply too huge to ignore.

Moving back to the game Thursday night and bookmakers have Leicester as 8/15 (general) favourites to see off Wolves and you can not argue with that when you look at the current form of the two sides. Only Cardiff have taken more points than the Foxes at home in the Championship this season. Leicester have won their last four league games in a row scoring 12 and conceding just once in total. On the flip side Wolves enter the game in terrible form with no wins in their last six league games, losing four of these. Wolves fans may take some heart from the recent head-to-head record between these sides in which they are unbeaten in the last four meetings (including the reverse fixture this season). If you think Wolves can get something from this game then take the 7/2 (bet365/pinnacle) on the draw or 113/17 (pinnacle) the Wolves victory.

The first goalscorer market is headed by Chris Wood who has netted a remarkable ten goals in his last seven games and five in four games since his move to Leicester. Wood is the 7/2 (general) favourite to grab the opener and evens (general) in the anytime scorer market. The prices look about right and maybe the time to profit on Wood has gone. I think instead look to side with Wood at 5/1 (BetVictor) in the man of the match market. Wood is the flavour of the month at the moment (rightly so) and it might take just one strike from him to bag this award.

Another bet I like in this game is in the under 2.5 goals. I know Leicester have been firing them in at the moment however the last couple of games have shown that the goals might be ready to dry up with both games coming in under 2.5 goals. Wolves boss Dean Saunders has been trying to keep things tight in a bid to stop the bad run of form and just six goals have been seen in total in the last four Wolves games. The head-to-head record also suggests this with nine of the last 13 between these sides featuring under 2.5 goals. Take the 9/8 that is available with 188Bet.

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Ipswich to be relegated from the Championship at 8/1 (BetVictor)
SILVER: Under 2.5 goals in Leicester v Wolves, 9/8 (188 Bet)
BRONZE: Chris Wood to be man of the match in Leicester v Wolves, 5/1 (BetVictor)

Go To bet365

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31/01/2013     © Frixo 2026