The Championship: Final Day Betting

The final day of the regular Championship season is upon us and remarkably 9 of the 12 fixtures have significance to the promotion or relegation battles. We preview matters from a betting perspective. All games kick-off at 12.45 on Saturday.

Bolton v Blackpool:

The Trotters will secure a play-off spot with victory, assuming Forest don’t win by a four-goal greater margin. Blackpool have nothing to play for and lost their last away game 6-1 to Brighton, another play-off contender. The 3/5 (BetVictor) on the home win is pretty flimsy; a Bolton win by three or more may be more appealing at 7/2 (Skybet).

Brighton v Wolves:

The Seagulls will finish 4th in the table no matter what but will want to enter the play-offs by extending their unbeaten run to 9 matches. Wolves need a miracle; they must win and hope Peterborough and Barnsley lose with a goal difference swing in their favour. It won’t happen and there’s no need to look past the Evens (Bet365) offered on the home win.

Crystal Palace v Peterborough:

The Eagles have choked and spluttered their way towards the finish line having failed to win any of their last 9. Amazingly a 4th draw in a row would still suffice for the hosts in their play-off bid and at 11/4 (BetVictor) it looks value. The Posh start outside the drop zone on goal difference. They could lose and stay up or draw and go down.

Derby v Millwall:

The Rams are the ultimate mid-table team in this division and have somehow managed to never remotely look like going up or down. No easy feat in the Championship! Only a catastrophic set of results can relegate Millwall now and they might just grind out a 4th 0-0 draw in 14 matches at best odds of 21/2 (BetVictor).

Huddersfield v Barnsley:

Things are so tight down near the basement that a win for the Tykes would elevate Barnsley from the relegation zone to above Huddersfield, currently 18th, on goal difference. Town have finished with a flourish after 3 wins in their last 4 outings and surely will be safe regardless. Barnsley have had three commendable away draws in a row and a 4th may or may not be enough, but at 12/5 (Bet365) it looks on.

Hull v Cardiff:

It’s first against second on the final day and the newly crowned champions will have a major say in who joins them in the top flight. If Cardiff beat or hold Hull then Watford can snatch automatic promotion from the Tigers. The Welsh club have drawn 5 of their last 6 while Hull have choked badly against the teams currently occupying the bottom three (D1 L2). I think there will be another nervy draw here at 5/2 (Skybet).

Forest v Leicester:

An East-Midlands derby that could see one of these great rivals sneak into the play-offs. The hosts are only outside the top-6 on goal difference and gave themselves hope with victory at Millwall last time out. They are the more likely victors at 6/4 (BetVictor) while Leicester (2/1 Betfred) have surely blown it after 1 win in 12 outings.

Wednesday v Middlesbrough:

The Owls are another one of the teams hoping that their own result doesn’t matter as a slip-up by either Peterborough or Barnsley will see them safe. But Wednesday really should win (20/23 BetVictor) against a disinterested Boro side who have slid right down to mid-table after 1 win in 10 matches and no away triumph throughout 2013.

Watford v Leeds Utd:

The Hornets suddenly have all the momentum in the battle for automatic promotion with Hull, after a 2-1 victory at Leicester followed a 4-0 thumping of Blackburn. Leeds are safe, just, and one suspects they can’t wait for the season to end so that Brian McDermott can start the rebuilding work. I wouldn’t be surprised if Watford ran riot here and won by 3 goals at a best price of 11/2 with PaddyPower.