Football betting tips: EFL
Portsmouth vs Oxford (Monday, 12:30)
2.5pts Oxford double chance at evens (General)
1pt A red card in the match at 15/2 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt Both teams to get a red card at 66/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power, Sky Bet)
Bristol City vs Sheffield United (Monday, 15:00)
0.5pt Bristol City to win from behind at 13/1 (BetVictor)
In the EFL, 21 sides are looking to take maximum points from this bumper Easter weekend of action.
At the top of the Sky Bet Championship, Coventry beat Derby 3-2 on Saturday evening to move 12 points clear of third spot. If results go their way and the Sky Blues beat Hull on Monday, they could get promoted to the Premier League against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. It's very unlikely but possible.
The main story in the second tier came at the Riverside though where Millwall came from behind to beat Middlesbrough and moved ahead of them into second spot.
Blackburn were the only side in the bottom six to win as they moved six clear of the drop.
In Sky Bet League One, Lincoln all-but-secured promotion to the Championship with a late win over Wimbledon. Officially though, the Imps need a point against Reading on Monday.
In League Two, none of the top four won, basement boys Harrogate won at Grimsby but the big story was at Newport where Colin Kazim-Richards’ Crawley won the big relegation six-pointer to move four clear of the drop.
That’s the whistle stop tour of Good Friday’s action over, onto Monday’s action.
Portsmouth vs Oxford
- Kick-off: Monday, 12:30 BST
- TV: Sky Sports Main Event
- Live odds, form and stats
This is a relegation six-pointer if ever I have seen one.
OXFORD are 23rd, Portsmouth 22nd with the latter three from safety but with a game in-hand on all the sides around them. Coincidently, both sides drew 1-1 on Good Friday and both went a goal behind.
The U’s have improved under Matt Bloomfield, eventually. Across their last eight games, they have only lost twice at Stoke and Southampton, taking 12 points over that period.
Hosts Portsmouth are winless in their last seven games, losing their last four of the season at Fratton Park and this poor home form is worth examining.
It was the cornerstone of Pomey’s survival last season but this campaign only two Championship sides have taken fewer points on their own patch than John Mousinho’s men (W6 D4 P9).
Last season, they averaged 1.7 points at home and but it's dropped to 1.2 in the current campaign.
At the prices available, I want to be on the visitors' WIN-OR-DRAW DOUBLE CHANCE.
The card market is also worth a look. Referee Josh Smith has been on top form recently.
He awarded seven yellows and a penalty in his last appearance, five yellows and a red the game before and eight cards in the Steel City derby at the end of February. He also dished out six cards in Derby’s clash with Ipswich.
So, across his last five second tier appearances, he's brandished 25 yellows, four reds and pointed to the spot three times.
Naturally, the prices about A RED CARD IN THE MATCH and BOTH TEAMS TO GET A RED CARD are getting touted given the context of this clash.
Bristol City vs Sheffield United
- Kick-off: Monday, 15:00 BST
- TV: Sky Sports+
- Live odds, form and stats
I highlighted Sheffield United’s recent tendency to let leads slip on Good Friday’s edition of This Week’s Acca.
The Blades have only won one of their last seven games - they’ve scored first in six of those.
Chris Wilder’s game management, or lack of, is what's getting the blame. Either he makes the subs too late or they are the wrong ones - sometimes both.
Anyway, United took the lead against Swansea on Friday and were 3-1 up heading into the final 15 minutes, only to draw 3-3.
Wilder’s side took the lead against Wrexham the game before and went on to lose 2-1. The same thing happened at Carrow Road and in the Blades' home game with Coventry at the end of February.
The Blades also dropped two points against West Brom from a winning position in this sample.
In 50 years of management, Roy Hodgson has never lost against a Charlton side. https://t.co/LNlKXFu3Yg pic.twitter.com/CEv6RMqPcA
— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) April 3, 2026
Naturally, backing BRISTOL CITY TO WIN FROM BEHIND is the bet on Monday.
Roy Hodgson got off to a winning start at the Robins with a 2-1 victory at Charlton and I am hoping he makes it two from two in more dramatic fashion here.
Odds correct at 12:45 BST (04/04/26)
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