Championship Predictions > Oct 23rd & 24th

[StevieDay1983]

[StevieDay1983]

Check out the latest odds and ratings for the weekend matches in the Championship. Hit us with your predictions for these games in the replies down below! 

[StevieDay1983]

Cardiff vs Middlesbrough

OK, so we still lost but the 2-0 defeat to Fulham offered a number of more positive signs for Cardiff. It's Middlesbrough who await us in this 12:30pm BST kick-off on Saturday lunch-time in the Championship at the Cardiff City Stadium and, dare I say, I'm not feeling as pessimistic as I was previously provided Mick McCarthy doesn't balls it all up by reverting back to a five man defence again.

Cardiff might well have delivered on my tip to lose by 2 goals in midweek but the overall performance was arguably one of our better ones this season. The Bluebirds switched to a 4-2-3-1 and it had an immediate improvement on our play. It's a shame that it took an emergency meeting with our board to force him to play that way and does beg some more searching questions about how our club is run. Still, it's now 7 defeats in a row in the league plus 9 defeats from our last 10 games in all competitions and the club have dropped down to 21st in the table. We are now just 2 points above the relegation zone. Ironically, we face the manager who could be one of the only people to dig us out of this mess this weekend. It's been a long time coming as I've said on here almost all season. Even when we were winning we were dog awful. The fact we've failed to score in 6 of our last 7 league games shows the issue. The team still lacks balance but if McCarthy persists with the back four and the likes of McGuinness, Ng, Giles, and Evans then there's hope.

Middlesbrough haven't quite managed to evolve into the Championship tour de force that many, including myself, predicted them to become under Neil Warnock. The former Cardiff manager has undoubtedly improved Boro with the club in 10th place and only 3 points outside the play-offs but you feel they still have more leg work to do in order to break into that top six come the end of the season. 3 wins from their last 3 home league games shows how they are slowly turning the Riverside Stadium into a fortress but on the road is a different issue. It's now just 1 win from their last 6 away league games and 3 defeats from the previous 4 league games on the road. The team have failed to even score in 4 of their away league games this season. They are typically earning a reputation of not being the most entertaining side with 9 of their last 10 matches seeing under 2.5 goals scored.

It's hard to see this one being a classic. Two teams going up against it who prioritise a more direct style of play. McCarthy versus Warnock is Championship brutality at its ugliest but it's a shame that both managers are clearly past their peak and neither side is exactly setting the division alight. I can see a battle of attrition and with the last two meetings ending in a draw I wouldn't be surprised to see the same happen here.

Draw @ 3.30 with Novibet

Total Goals Scored Under 2.5 @ 1.69 with Novibet

[yossa6133]

Coventry have been excellent at home and while Derby have done better than expected I think they are due some losses. 

QPR are another in form team and should be too good for Peterborough.

Both hovering around evens and a small stakes double is just better than 3/1 with Novibet.