Npower Championship Preview

Southampton hold a slender one point lead at the top of the Npower Championship and will face a real fight to stay there as they prepare to take on Leeds United at Elland Road.

The Whites are hoping that the arrival of manager Neil Warnock can inspire a late push for the play-offs and revenge will also be the order of the day after the Yorkshire club succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at St Mary’s on the opening day of the season.

Southampton bashed Watford at Vicarage Road in their last match and were very impressive throughout a crucial 3-0 win which helped them overtake West Ham United at the head of affairs.

Leeds may well provide a tougher test however for Martin Adkins’ men and a draw looks the right result at 23/10 as it is hard to make a really solid case for either side.

West Ham will look to get back to winning ways against Cardiff City and can land the odds at 17/10 despite being away from home. The Bluebirds are likely to still be recovering from their Carling Cup exploits and the Hammers can take all three points back to London.

Reading are waiting to pounce should Southampton or West Ham slip up but Millwall may prove to be a stumbling block for the Royals if they can reproduce the performance which sunk Burnley 1-3 at Turf Moor.

Kenny Jackett’s side have had an indifferent campaign but they are fancied to follow up at 15/8 and move further away from trouble.

Blackpool have been in great form of late and Ian Holloway’s men could spark an instant return to the Premier League if they can continue to pick up points.

Veteran Kevin Phillips has proved a major asset for the Tangerines in recent weeks and they can follow up a 1-3 success at Bristol City by beating Hull in the Friday night game.

Birmingham City were stunned during their last league fixture at home to struggling Nottingham Forest but the Blues can get back on track against Derby.

Chris Hughton’s men are only 8/13 to quickly return to winning ways however this is probably a good price considering how poor Derby have been since the turn of the year.

Down at the other end of the table, it is Nottingham Forest who will go into the weekend on a high and they can back up their scalp of Birmingham by beating Barnsley at Oakwell.

The Tykes were beaten in their last outing by basement boys Coventry City and their deteriorating form makes them vulnerable once more to another club fighting to save their Championship status. Forest are 2/1 to leave South Yorkshire with another win and boss Steve Cotterill can inspire his side to get the job done.

Meanwhile, bottom club Doncaster can build on a recent draw with Peterborough to beat Brighton at the Keepmoat, whilst Leicester look set to keep their faint play-off hopes alive by taking care of Coventry at the Walkers Stadium.

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26/02/2012     © Frixo 2024