Fierce rivals to produce a goal-fest

12Feb 2013

England - The Championship

There's three highly significant fixtures in the Championship tonight and Boro fan Mike Norman believes the best bet is to bank on goals as his beloved club welcome a fierce rival to Teesside...

While much of the midweek focus is understandably on the Champions League knock-out stage, tonight's three Championship games are hugely significant in terms of promotion to the Premier League.

All six clubs in action this evening still hold aspirations of being a top-flight club next season, and all are either already in the play-off places or within touching distance of the top six. It promises to be a tense evening as the race to the finish line begins.

Brighton 2.18 v Blackburn 3.75; The Draw 3.6

Quite typical of the Championship, Brighton lost to relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday the weekend before last, and then proceeded to beat promotion-chasing Hull on Saturday. That defeat to the Owls however remains their only reversal in their last six league fixtures.

Blackburn have also lost just the one game in six league outings, but their current 'good run' is slightly deceiving given the fact that they've played away from Ewood Park in the league just once in 2013! Five of their last six Championship encounters have been in front of their own fans so it's hard to gauge their form away from home under new boss Michael Appleton.

We can gauge the form of Rovers striker Jordan Rhodes however. And put simply, it's blistering. Opta tell us that Rhodes has notched seven league goals in his last seven games, and he also scored in the FA Cup victory over Derby.

My dilemma then is two-fold. Can Rhodes keep his hot streak going, because without him hitting the back of the net I'd fancy Brighton strongly. And how well are Blackburn playing away from home? It's a tough call, but as I don't fancy anything else in this match, a home win is my marginal preference. But with not great confidence I must add.

Recommended Bet: Back Brighton to win @ 2.18

Hull 1.96 v Derby 4.3; The Draw 3.75

Cardiff City apart perhaps, you'll find the current form of Hull pretty much in keeping with clubs chasing promotion at present. The Tigers' last six league games read two wins, two draws, and two losses, but oddly enough, in this division eight points from a possible 18 doesn't take you backwards.

Neither does it help us punters when trying to determine an outcome of a game, especially when the opposition's form is almost identical (two wins, three draws, one loss for Derby from their last six league games).

At first glance, this is another extremely hard game to call, but there are a few stats in Hull's favour to make them the selection.

Opta tell us that Steve Bruce's men have a good record against the Rams, winning four of the last five meetings. Hull have also got one of the best defensive records in the division (10 clean sheets this season), while Derby's three away wins this term is amongst the lowest tally in the Championship. Ability wise and with home advantage, Hull should win, and these stats just add a bit more confidence.

Recommended Bet: Back Hull to win @ 1.96

Middlesbrough 2.16 v Leeds 3.7; The Draw 3.65

It appears that Middlesbrough have completely fallen off the rails, but being a Boro fan I've seen enough of them recently to honestly say that they haven't performed too badly - Ipswich apart that is.

The fact is though that Tony Mowbray's men have now lost five on the spin, and whether they've been unlucky in some of those games or not, confidence at the club surely has to be diminishing. The problems are simple. Boro have stopped scoring frequently, and at the other end they are being punished for some ridiculous defensive errors (see Barnsley's second and third goals from the weekend if any proof is needed).

The visit of Leeds gives Boro a chance to forget about current form however as this is the game that all the home fans have been looking towards all season. There's a fierce rivalry between Boro and Leeds, and that rivalry will ensure that this game will be played at a cup-tie pace.

The two things in the home side's favour are that they always score at the Riverside - 17 consecutive games this season to be exact - and the fact that Opta tell us Leeds have yet to keep a clean sheet away from home. Back goals in this encounter then because Boro really are struggling defensively at the moment. Over 3.5 Goals is available to back at 2.98 and that makes a lot of appeal.