The Championship season gets under way on Friday night with two promotion hopefuls going head-to-head. Jake Osgathorpe previews the game, selecting a best bet.
The Sky Bet Championship is back. And so are the fans.
It cannot be understated the impact fans have on football, even more so in the competitive lower leagues, where they appear to be as close to the pitch as possible.
We are at the Vitality Stadium to kick things off this season, and I am expecting it to be bouncing for what should be a thrilling encounter between two promotion favourites.
Kick-off time: 19:45 BST, Friday
TV Channel: Sky Sports Football
Bournemouth start the new season with a new manager after a play-off semi-final defeat last term, and in Scott Parker they have a coach who has been promoted from this division before with Fulham.
Parker is an upgrade on Jonathan Woodgate – the interim coach who guided them to the play-offs – and he inherits a squad that is as good as his Fulham one that earned promotion in 2019/20.
The Cherries were the fourth best team based on expected goals (xG) in last season’s Championship, so not much needs changing for them to contend. I think they will, as discussed in my Championship outright preview.
Their team looks very well-balanced from back to front, but they face another promotion favourite who we could say the same things about in this opener.
West Brom also start the new campaign with a new manager, prizing away Valerien Ismael from Barnsley after failing to persuade Sam Allardyce to stay at the club.
Ismael did the unthinkable with Barnsley last season, getting the outsiders to the play-offs, highlighting his ability in the dugout.
This time around. he has a squad of players who won promotion from this league just two seasons ago, and they will be up and amongst it as well, boasting a starting XI with some serious quality.
I’m expecting this opener to be a tight one, with very little between these sides in my book. For that reason, the DRAW appeals at the biggest price in the 1X2 market.
There will be plenty of quality on show in this game, but I’m finding it difficult to separate the two.
Bournemouth v West Brom best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Bournemouth and West Brom to DRAW at 5/2 (bet365)
Score prediction: Bournemouth 1-1 West Brom (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct at 1500 BST (04/08/21)
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