Sky Bet Championship: Big guide with preview, best bets and promotion race assessed ahead of season restart
With the Sky Bet Championship returning this week, we've put everything you'll need in one place ahead of the restart.
The season resumes after a three-month stoppage with Fulham's clash against Brentford kicking things off, a game that could have a significant impact on the automatic promotion race.
As ever, sportinglife.com will provide highlights of every Championship fixture alongside exclusive content with those involved at both ends of the table.
This page will be updated as the week progresses with our latest articles and features, including our weekend preview which will be published on Thursday.
Click on the image to read that article.
Returning day preview
We take a look at the two televised games on Saturday and pick out our best bets.
The promotion picture assessed
The battle for the Premier League remains competitive and the teams involved in the race will be hoping that they can hit the ground running as they look to secure their spot in the top-tier of English football.
Leeds and West Brom hold a significant advantage over the rest with a comfortable margin between themselves and third. Fulham will be hoping to close that down over the next nine fixtures; with a crucial clash at Elland Road included in their run-in.
Elsewhere, anyone from Preston in sixth and QPR in 13th has a chance of securing a play-off spot; although it should be said that the Rs are 22/1 for a top-six finish.
Continuing our series from February and March, Tom Carnduff looks at the full promotion picture in the Championship.
Our predictions for the final nine games
Fulham taking on Brentford is the perfect clash to welcome back football in England's second tier. Two of the promotion hopefuls meeting in a game that could go either way; with anything but a home win having a significant impact on the automatic promotion race.
Leeds sit top of the pile and sit seven points clear of third; West Brom's gap to the play-offs is six points. Both are heavily fancied to go on and reach the Premier League. Leeds are 1/20 for promotion; West Brom find themselves at 1/16.
It's hardly a surprise. The current top two have occupied their spots, with some changing around, since gameweek 17. Crucially, they won't play each other at any point between now and the end of July.
We'd expect Leeds and West Brom to achieve automatic promotion, although there is some caution given the results we have seen in Germany and Spain. Much has been made of the success of away teams in the Bundesliga; while Valencia and Real Sociedad failed to win at odds-on prices in the returning weekend of LaLiga.
The Championship always provides surprise results and the chances of that increases based on the circumstances. Essentially, it won't be a massive shock to see a team at the bottom beat a team at the top; although a single result shouldn't be used to define the remainder of a season.
The Team of the Season (so far)
With the Championship resuming in the coming days, we put together our Team of the Season (so far).
Lining up in a 4-3-3 formation, including the man pictured above in Leeds star Kalvin Phillips, we make the case for eleven players who have shone in their position across the 37 games.
Alongside that, we've aimed to compile a team who would work together on the pitch, as opposed to selecting players just for the sake of their inclusion.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know by Tweeting @SportingLifeFC.
Opening weekend Opta match stats
The team at Opta have provided all the necessary stats and figures for each of the 12 matches on the returning weekend of the season including:
- Fulham have won just one of their last 18 home games against Brentford in all competitions (D10 L7), a 1-0 victory back in April 1990.
- Derby have won just one of their last 12 away games against Millwall in all competitions (W1 D5 L6).
- West Bromwich Albion are unbeaten in seven matches against Birmingham in all competitions (W5 D2) since a 2-0 defeat in October 2006.
- Leeds have taken just one point from their last four league games against Cardiff (D1 L3), drawing 3-3 having been 3-0 up in the reverse fixture this season.
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Responsible gambling
We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
Sky Bet's responsible gambling tools are detailed here and if you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.
Further support and information can be found at GamCare and gamblingtherapy.org.
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