Championship Predictions > Jul 29th - Aug 1st

[StevieDay1983]

The opening weekend fixtures of the Championship have been announced and you can find the odds here. These may well change over the duration of the next month as teams add new signings to their squad or suffer departures but we're keen to hear your thoughts on these games! 

[malabgd]

Huddersfield vs Burnley

2022-07-29T21:00+02:00

 

Huddersfield

Doubtful: Matty Pearson (37/3 d)

Out (injuries/other):

Suspended:

(Players stats are from the last season.)

 

Burnley

Doubtful: -

Out (injuries/other): Maxwel Cornet (26/9 f), Matej Vydra (22/2 f)

Suspended: -

(Players stats are from the last season.)

 

Daily updated injuries and suspensions information from more than 100 football leagues and competitions worldwide at: www.injuriesandsuspensions.com

[StevieDay1983]

Cardiff vs Norwich

Ah, can you feel that? The fresh sense of optimism and excitement ahead of the new Championship season. I hope you all enjoyed the team-by-team Championship preview. We now get to stop the talking and see how each club is walking in this opening weekend of action. My first preview is my own Cardiff versus Norwich at the Cardiff City Stadium in a 3pm BST kick-off. I will be attending the game and hoping we get off to a brilliant start but who knows?

Cardiff have gone through a big summer of upheaval with a lot of high-earning deadwood released and new talent brought in on a limited budget. I'm not going to lie, the fans are absolutely buzzing with the business Steve Morison and his team have done this season. A lot of fans were sceptical when we lost the likes of Will Vaulks, Aden Flint, Marlon Pack, Josh Murphy, and Alex Smithies on free transfers. It's a lot of Championship experience. However, the arrivals have been unreal both in terms of potential and experience. The Bluebirds have signed 11 players on permanent deals including Ollie Tanner, Ryan Allsop, Jamilu Collins, Andy Rinomhota, Romaine Sawyers, and Sheyi Ojo plus the two loan signings of Cedric Kipre and Jaden Philogene-Bidace. The extension of Joe Ralls contract was also a bonus. Pre-season has been against limited opposition but the team have gone undefeated and the initial signs are encouraging. It's not far off being a sell out for this game and there is undoubtedly a feeling that Morison had a free hit last season but this is his team now so there's no excuses. Pundits may be writing us off as a low mid-table team but the target within the club and amongst the supporters is certainly a top half finish at least.

Norwich are once again back in the Championship and they are being tipped by many, including myself, to win the Championship title again... just as they have done on the last two occasions that they have been playing at this level. The big difference this time around is that they have Dean Smith at the helm and not Daniel Farke. The Canaries have tried to stick with the winning formula of previous Championship campaigns by largely retaining the squad they held from the previous season but they have had to endure a couple of departures including Christoph Zimmermann and Pierre Lees-Melou. Brazilian Gabriel Sara has been signed on in a hope to add some creative flair to the final third but it's a big gamble for a player who has never played outside of Brazil. The loan signing of Newcastle's central midfielder Isaac Hayden is also a big statement by a team that clearly have an immediate return to the Premier League on their mind. It's also easy to forget that Smith himself has vast experience of managing at this level during his time with both Brentford and Aston Villa. He did in fact earn promotion to the top flight from this division with the latter of those two.

I'm expecting a thrilling game here. Cardiff will be unrecognisable to rival fans who still think we're going to be playing a one-dimensional hoof ball style of football. I can assure you those days are long gone. The fluidity of our play is still lacking at times but that is understandable given the team has only just been constructed this summer. We won't hold back against Norwich. Morison has made it clear in pre-season that we're going out to win every game. Norwich will come into this game believing they should take all 3 points. Their fans aren't happy though and the central midfield area is still a niggling issue for them. Interestingly, our central midfield is arguably our strongest area now and that could be where the game is won and lost on Saturday. Given the odds on offer and the level of unpredictability surrounding Cardiff right now I think we are certainly worth taking a chance on.

Cardiff Draw No Bet @ 2.30 with Unibet

BTTS @ 1.88 with SBK

[alexcaruso808]

It’s good to see the footy back. ??

[yossa6133]

Small treble to kick things off! Will be trying to watch as many games as possible, keen to see Cardiff v Norwich before committing to Norwich for the title!

Gone for Norwich, Hull and Swansea treble which comes in at 15/1 on SBK.

Taken some 8/1 on Pukki for top scorer.

[StevieDay1983]

10 hours ago, yossa6133 said:

Small treble to kick things off! Will be trying to watch as many games as possible, keen to see Cardiff v Norwich before committing to Norwich for the title!

Gone for Norwich, Hull and Swansea treble which comes in at 15/1 on SBK.

Taken some 8/1 on Pukki for top scorer.

How bloody dare you! 

Nah, that's fair. I think Swansea are a generous price but that's as much due to them being the away team. I'm going for a treble of Blackpool, Hull, and Luton at 9/1 with Bet365. Was tempted to back Middlesbrough in there too but I still want to see what they're like under Chris Wilder this season. He usually has his teams doing the business at home though.

I was also tempted by an outside treble for anytime scorers of Ben Brereton-Diaz for Blackburn, Jerry Yates for Blackpool, and Max Watters for Cardiff at 17/1.

[dogmeister]

I attended both preseason friendlies Celtic played at home to Blackburn and Norwich, these games were within a week of each other. When we played Norwich last weekend both sides had an established preseason, Norwich i would suggest started with a 70% full strength team as they had a second game the very next day v Hibs. To say i was disappointed with Norwich was an understatement, this was a good physical friendly and Norwich offered almost 0 going forward, they got beat 2-0, I'm not exaggerating when i say it could have been a lot more. Norwich also got beat by Hibs the next day (Hibs are going through a transition atm and are struggling to find their feet). i would be reluctant to bet on Norwich until i see how they perform in their first few matches. Yes they were that bad.

In comparison Blackburn surprised me, a very physical side, large mobile target man up front, Diaz was good also. Celtic dominated early game but Blackburn defended pretty well i thought and had a decent goal threat on counter as provided with the final 2-2 score.  

I Know preseason is preseason however out of the two championship sides Blackburn looked better for me as a team in general,

so based on that and no other sensible reasoning apart from first weekend guessing i think Blackburn are a good tip to win their first game today at home to QPR at odds just over evens 6/5

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by dogmeister

[silver fox]

Sunderland v Coventry - Under 2.5 Goals

Both sides are not filled with goals and I expect a tight game especially given the fact that it is their first games of the new season. Sunderland have struggled for goals in pre-season scoring just 2 in their last 5 a total that included 1 against both Accrington and Hartlepool. Coventry have done well pre-season  winning all 5 friendlies but away from home last season in the league they averaged just over a goal a game scoring 28 in 23 games.

Head to head between these sides in the last 9 games going back to 1990 suggests a tight affair with 8 going under 2.5 goals the exception being a 5-4 Coventry win at Sunderland in 2019 in League 1, a result unlikely to be repeated today.

 

[DarrenTse]

Despite the change of coach, Watford still has a fairly fighting squad. Ismail Sarr, Emmanuel Dennis and Joao Pedro are the guys who can break the opponents' defense in the Championship. Given the motivation of the hosts to show themselves in front of the new mentor, we give a slight preference to Watford.

Bet: Handicap(0) Watford

[StevieDay1983]

On 7/30/2022 at 1:08 PM, dogmeister said:

I attended both preseason friendlies Celtic played at home to Blackburn and Norwich, these games were within a week of each other. When we played Norwich last weekend both sides had an established preseason, Norwich i would suggest started with a 70% full strength team as they had a second game the very next day v Hibs. To say i was disappointed with Norwich was an understatement, this was a good physical friendly and Norwich offered almost 0 going forward, they got beat 2-0, I'm not exaggerating when i say it could have been a lot more. Norwich also got beat by Hibs the next day (Hibs are going through a transition atm and are struggling to find their feet). i would be reluctant to bet on Norwich until i see how they perform in their first few matches. Yes they were that bad.

In comparison Blackburn surprised me, a very physical side, large mobile target man up front, Diaz was good also. Celtic dominated early game but Blackburn defended pretty well i thought and had a decent goal threat on counter as provided with the final 2-2 score.  

I Know preseason is preseason however out of the two championship sides Blackburn looked better for me as a team in general,

so based on that and no other sensible reasoning apart from first weekend guessing i think Blackburn are a good tip to win their first game today at home to QPR at odds just over evens 6/5

 

Even bits of information like that are key though @dogmeister. I'm interested to see how @canaries91 has viewed their pre-season and the game last Saturday. I've seen a lot of negative responses from Norwich fans both about their own team and Cardiff's display. I actually thought Cardiff did well albeit looked impotent in the final third but that's why Morison gave Sawyers a licence to shoot in the second half and it resulted in the goal. It's early days and Cardiff still have things that need ironing out such as a more dynamic presence in the striker role but our overall system and style of play has completely changed and it's going to surprise a lot of people who appear to rely on past reputation and word of mouth to form their opinions rather than watching what is in front of them.

On a side note, I was very impressed with Burnley. Appreciate they played a poor Huddersfield team. Apologies @Kenton Schweppes! You can tell Vincent Kompany is putting in place a specific philosophy and if they're being this effective this early then that only bodes well for them. If I was to re-do my predictions after the first weekend of action then I think Burnley would probably be the team I'd say have impressed me the most.

[silver fox]

Watford v Sheffield United Under 2.5 Goals

A tough game to call as Watford have a new manager and have lost several key players since being relegated and will need time to settle into the division whilst Sheffield United had a disappointing end to the season which ultimately cost them a play off place. 

Neither side have given a lot of clues as to what to expect in their pre-season games with Watford winning 1 in 5 and United 2 in 5.

I am going for under 2.5 goals for a similar reason as my previous tip. Opening games of the season are hard to predict and tend to be tight affairs, a point highlighted by the fact that of the previous 11 games played in round 1 only 1 game Hull's 2-1 win against Bristol City went over 2.5 goals. Head-to-Head supports under 2.5 goals with 7of the last 10 meetings between the two teams recording under 2.5 goals. 

[StevieDay1983]

I think you're spot on for under 2.5 goals, @silver fox. If this was Sheffield United at home then I'd be tempted to back them but I think if Rob Edwards can hit the ground running then Watford have enough quality in their squad to go straight back up. I'm going to back a low scoring draw for this one.

[silver fox]

I agree Steve, the draw I feel is the likeliest outcome. I think Watford need to keep hold of Dennis as he is a player that would score a lot of goals at the Championship, Similar to what Mitrovic did for Fulham (but maybe not quite so many!) lol