England: Championship Feb 2

[aliando]

Saturday 2 February 2008	Home	Draw	Away	BPP
Stoke City v Cardiff City (12:30GMT)	59/50	47/20	23/10	106%	Details »
Hide « Stoke City v Cardiff City
Blackpool v Leicester City (15:00GMT)	71/50	12/5	15/8	106%	Details »
Hide « Blackpool v Leicester City
Colchester Utd v Sheffield Utd (15:00GMT)	167/100	12/5	31/20	106%	Details »
Hide « Colchester Utd v Sheffield Utd
Coventry City v Barnsley (15:00GMT)	11/10	49/20	5/2	105%	Details »
Hide « Coventry City v Barnsley
Crystal Palace v Southampton (15:00GMT)	1/1	5/2	7/2	101%	Details »
Hide « Crystal Palace v Southampton
Norwich City v Preston North End (15:00GMT)	1/1	12/5	11/4	106%	Details »
Hide « Norwich City v Preston North End
Plymouth Argyle v Hull City (15:00GMT)	11/10	12/5	5/2	106%	Details »
Hide « Plymouth Argyle v Hull City
QPR v Bristol City (15:00GMT)	13/10	12/5	21/10	105%	Details »
Hide « QPR v Bristol City
Scunthorpe Utd v Charlton Athletic (15:00GMT)	2/1	12/5	13/10	106%	Details »
Hide « Scunthorpe Utd v Charlton Athletic
Sheffield Wednesday v Ipswich Town (15:00GMT)	6/4	12/5	2/1	103%	Details »
Hide « Sheffield Wednesday v Ipswich Town
West Brom v Burnley (15:00GMT)	7/10	13/5	4/1	107%	Details »
Hide « West Brom v Burnley
Watford v Wolves (17:20GMT)	63/50	23/10	9/4	105%	Details »

[DJ]

Crystal Palace to beat Southampton @ evens jumps off the page for me. Crystal Palace have only lost twice in all competitions since the start of November (17 games). They have picked up 7 points at home in their last 3 matches. Southampton have drawn all 3 of their last 3 away games and haven't looked particularly convincing lately. I think two of their strongest faults at the moment is seeming to have no leadership, to my knowledge they still have no new manager and secondly that they have conceded a lot of goals on the road - 28 to be precise which is joint 2nd highest amount.

I think that Neil Warnock's boys will have too much for Southampton and this will be a comfortable victory, maybe to the scoreline of 2-0.

[steve1966]

Originally Posted by Djlion

Crystal Palace to beat Southampton @ evens jumps off the page for me. Crystal Palace have only lost twice in all competitions since the start of November (17 games). They have picked up 7 points at home in their last 3 matches. Southampton have drawn all 3 of their last 3 away games and haven't looked particularly convincing lately. I think two of their strongest faults at the moment is seeming to have no leadership, to my knowledge they still have no new manager and secondly that they have conceded a lot of goals on the road - 28 to be precise which is joint 2nd highest amount.

I think that Neil Warnock's boys will have too much for Southampton and this will be a comfortable victory, maybe to the scoreline of 2-0.

Totally agree with you on Palace. Warnocks been a revelation since he took over. They did lose their last match 1-0 to Leceister but all good runs come to an end at some point.

Managerless Saints form is totally inconsistant. Just 1 win in their last 8 and they've just sent 1 of their top strikers Rasiak on loan to Bolton which I just can't way up. It seems there content in finishing midtable when really they should be pushing for a playoff spot.

[Wanderer89]

Originally Posted by steve1966

Totally agree with you on Palace. Warnocks been a revelation since he took over. They did lose their last match 1-0 to Leceister but all good runs come to an end at some point.

Managerless Saints form is totally inconsistant. Just 1 win in their last 8 and they've just sent 1 of their top strikers Rasiak on loan to Bolton which I just can't way up. It seems there content in finishing midtable when really they should be pushing for a playoff spot.

Was rasiak even playig for southampton? Heard he couldn't even get in their 1st 11. Reading rejected a £7m bid from bolton for lita also.

[Blackstock]

Originally Posted by Wanderer89

Was rasiak even playig for southampton? Heard he couldn't even get in their 1st 11. Reading rejected a £7m bid from bolton for lita also.

Wasn't he?? He even scored a week ago... He did have problems playing in their 1st 11, mainly due to injuries.

For me from Championship Norwich to beat Preston (odds 1.95). I dare say that Preston win against WBA was only a "mistake" rather then back to form. Norwich won important match against The Saints (yes, I know they suffer some internal problems) but considering last games, Norwich is doing pretty well.

[leespam]

Might have a tinkle on Burnley. The 5.7 available on Betfair at the mo' is more than a fair price. West Brom are class so I don't need to go into them too much, but Burnley are pretty decent too. 2nd best away record in Championship of 7-4-3, won the last two meetings (albeit at Turf Moor) and West Brom have conceded 8 goals in their last 4 games. West Brom should win this, but at the prices I'm inclined to chance my arm on Burnley. Just a case of whether I cover with the AH or not.

Plymouth interest me aswell. They've lost Norris and Ebanks-Blake in the last few weeks but Sturrock seems to have continued the momentum Holloway built up earlier this season. They have a great record vs Hull recently winning the last 4 meetings and Hull have a fairly poor Away record (3-4-6) this campaign. If the 1.9 is still available at Ladbrokes for the (0) AH (according to oddscomparison.co.uk), that looks a cracking bet.

Also looking at Stoke. I know Cardiff are in great form recently but Stoke are a formidable unit at the Brittannia this season (7-4-3 record). They're unbeaten in the last 3 games against Cardiff as well and there's also the curse of the Manager Of The Month award Dave Jones won yesterday. Dunno about this one though, it'd be a DNB or AH bet if anything.

Any thoughts on your boys Aliando?

[SCFC1972]

Stoke to beat Cardiff. We've just brought in Whelan from Sheff Wed and Gallagher from Blackburn. Mama Sidibe is back from the ACN. This leaves us with a very strong lineup. Although Cardiff are on a great run, I think Stoke will have too much for them.

Charlton away at Scunthorpe also stands out for me.

[Mark H]

WBA v Burnley over 2.5 goals @1.8 Betsafe 10/10


WBA are a side which has gone over in 9/10 recent games. At home their last five games have had a mere 28 goals that's over 5 a game. Where are the negatives? well Phillips and Miller are doubts but Phillips is viewed as a possible starter. Even without them WBA have an excellent midfield who can score at will so i'm not too bothered. Burnley are a tasty opponent in this match up....Coyle will go for a win and they could get it. They are 5/6 recent away overs.

[addick4life]

Hi guys this is my first post.I should have joined sooner as i have been viewing for a couple of months. My standout bet for the weekend is Charlton. I was at the game on tuesday night and i can say its the best we have played since curbishley was there. How it was only 1-0 no man will ever know.I usually never bet on charlton but the 11/10 at william hills is just too big a price. With the addition of greg halford and lee cook to go on the bench we have no problems at all and i see this as very easy money.We have finally started to click and andy gray brings everybody into play i see a win by at least 2 goals.

[Mark H]

Norwich v Preston, pick Norwich @2.15 Betsafe 10/10

Preston have major problems here with suspension with two sendings off, Brown and Mawene in the midweek win at home to West Brom. In addition to that winger Sedgwick is also suspended. The new signings replacing them are not joining in ideal circumstances and likely to be thrown in at the deep end. Norwich have been playing well under Roeder moving up from the foot of the table, with only one league loss in their last 13 games, they have only failed to score in one of those games.

[Mark H]

Stoke -0.25 Asian H v Cardiff 10/10 Bet 365

Stoke bought well yesterday bringing in quality midfielder Glen Whelan and a decent striker in Paul Gallagher from Blackburn. They sold Eustace but Whelan is a superior player. This has set them up very well for a promotion push as they are now well covered in all areas. No reported outs as Sidibe has also returned from the African nations. Cardiff have been flying recently and their form seems solid, however their squad seems too small to mount a serious play off challenge. They have doubts over goalkeeper Oakes and creative midfielder Mcpahil. If Oakes misses out as seems possible then Enckelman will make his debut. He's never really recovered from his howler in the Brum derby a while ago and I fancy Stoke will target him with their highly physical play.

[Mark H]

Watford -0.25 v Wolves @1.99 Pinnacle 10/10

Watford have tried to solve some of their problems with forays into the transfer market. In come Eustace, John, Sadler and Bromby. Two half decent defenders, a solid mf and a sporadic but occasionally very good striker. I still rate them as a top team. Wolves meanwhile have been relatively quiet, just Elokobi in from Colchester. A lot of hype about this guy but he's still unproven. Team news sees several important outs - Shittu for Watford and Olifinjana/Kightly/Collins for Wolves. There are doubts over the likes of Henderson for Watford also. However Wolves misses are more serious - Elokobi won't play tomorrow, so they have a hole in their defence while 2 cogs of their reg mf quartet are also out. The new boys Ebanks and Edwards have boosted them but not enough to rank them above Watford. Both teams still out of form but simply on price the home is value here

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by addick4life

Hi guys this is my first post.I should have joined sooner as i have been viewing for a couple of months. My standout bet for the weekend is Charlton. I was at the game on tuesday night and i can say its the best we have played since curbishley was there. How it was only 1-0 no man will ever know.I usually never bet on charlton but the 11/10 at william hills is just too big a price. With the addition of greg halford and lee cook to go on the bench we have no problems at all and i see this as very easy money.We have finally started to click and andy gray brings everybody into play i see a win by at least 2 goals.

to PL mate. Excellent 1st post. Good luck with Charlton .

[kevshat]

Originally Posted by Mark H

Watford -0.25 v Wolves @1.99 Pinnacle 10/10

Watford have tried to solve some of their problems with forays into the transfer market. In come Eustace, John, Sadler and Bromby. Two half decent defenders, a solid mf and a sporadic but occasionally very good striker. I still rate them as a top team. Wolves meanwhile have been relatively quiet, just Elokobi in from Colchester. A lot of hype about this guy but he's still unproven. Team news sees several important outs - Shittu for Watford and Olifinjana/Kightly/Collins for Wolves. There are doubts over the likes of Henderson for Watford also. However Wolves misses are more serious - Elokobi won't play tomorrow, so they have a hole in their defence while 2 cogs of their reg mf quartet are also out. The new boys Ebanks and Edwards have boosted them but not enough to rank them above Watford. Both teams still out of form but simply on price the home is value here

I can't see any value at all on the home win. They've not won a league game at the allotments in the last 8. Not won any of their last 3 in the league, just sold their best striker and last weekend fans were calling up the local radio station wanting Betty out because of their awful style. Wolves don't lose that often on the road and more importantly Wolves thrashed Watford 4-1 at Vicarage Rd in the cup last week. I'm biased which is why I never bet on Watford games but even if I was completely neutral I couldn't be backing Watford in this one. Just too many doubts for me.

[aliando]

good to see some new faces in here

quite fancy cardiff to win satday, which flies against the tips put up by SCFC and Mark H but this can be a volatile fixture on and off the pitch.

stoke won the opening day battle and whilst they are putting a good promotion challenge together this term, its only in the last 2 months that cardiff have decided to have a go too!

cardiff team should be as it was against qpr - the only change may be mcphail returning for ramsey, although the 17 year-old gave a good account on tuesday night. sinclair is nearing fitness and is likely to be on the bench again.

h2h's are, as expected, with the home side, but nothing of outstanding importance imo.

At Stoke City (21)				At Cardiff City (19)
Results	Total	%		Results	Total	%
Stoke City	11	52.38		Cardiff City	9	47.37
Cardiff City	6	28.57		Stoke City	7	36.84
Draws	4	19.05		Draws	3	15.79
Goals	Total	Av.pg		Goals	Total	Av.pg
Stoke City	32	1.52		Cardiff City	33	1.74
Cardiff City	19	0.90		Stoke City	25	1.32
On Neutral Ground (0)				Overall (40 matches)
Results	Total	%		Results	Total	%
Stoke City	0	0.00		Stoke City	18	45.00
Cardiff City	0	0.00		Cardiff City	15	37.50
Draws	0	0.00		Draws	7	17.50
Goals	Total	Av.pg		Goals	Total	Av.pg
Stoke City	0	0.00		Stoke City	57	1.43
Cardiff City	0	0.00		Cardiff City	52	1.30

of more note imo, is that the last 12 games in this fixture have finished with a minimum of 2 goals - 3 have finished with 2 goals and the last 5 have all finished with a minimum of 3 goals. Cardiffs last 3 away games have produced 13 goals comapred to stokes last 3 homes which have seen 10!

jones got the dreaded manager of the month award, which may prove to be a negative point on the day as it so often ends up being, although with just the one defeat (losing 1-0 at brizzle with 10 men for 75 mins) since the charlton game early december, am i being too pessimistic?

gonna (hopefully) play safe though and go for
over 2.5 goals - 2.14 @ betfair - 5pts
cheeky 1pt on cardiff to win 2-1 - 12.0 with betfred

[wolvesfan]

ignore what that guy said about wolves, full stop.


only seyi (midfield) and kightly (winger) are important missing players.

however we have edwards in for right wing (replace kightly) and he looks good. scored on his debut, and set up another in his other game.

meanwhile, ebanks-blake + keogh partnership has seen goals goals goals recently, 8 in the last 3 between them.

meanwhile jarvis has looked excellent down the left flank.

defence is not a problem and the fact elekobi cant play makes no difference, he wouldnt be in the team anyway, michael gray has been playing well.

defence will be:

gray---ward---craddock---foley

we may not have the best defence in the league, but we have kept the most clean sheets.

and we beat watford at their place 1-4 in the cup last week

[SCFC1972]

The only problem with backing stoke is that we normally don't peform under pressure from big crowds, which the signings of Whelan and Gallagher may well bring.
Stoke are always a "big, physical team" but they can and have played good football this season. We've recentently done well against Cardiff and if Fuller is up for it and the new signings settle quickly tomorow, surely the only verdict is HOME WIN.

Go'arnnn Stoke!!

[Emmendingen]

anyone any thoughts on the colchester v sheffield utd game?
strongly leaning to sheff utd at 11/8.

[happyhornet]

Originally Posted by kevshat

I can't see any value at all on the home win. They've not won a league game at the allotments in the last 8. Not won any of their last 3 in the league, just sold their best striker and last weekend fans were calling up the local radio station wanting Betty out because of their awful style. Wolves don't lose that often on the road and more importantly Wolves thrashed Watford 4-1 at Vicarage Rd in the cup last week. I'm biased which is why I never bet on Watford games but even if I was completely neutral I couldn't be backing Watford in this one. Just too many doubts for me.

I agree with Kev here, and I too am biased. We have bought in some new faces, but I'm not convinced that they will immediately turn our fortunes about.
Once they settle, and Shittu, John, Henderson, and Williams are available for selection, Watford will be a backable proposition. At the moment, in my opinion, they are not. Against Wolves last week, we were simply terrible, but Aidy had rested several players. Against the Blades in midweek, we looked promising and showed promotion potential. if we played like that today, we would probably win.
As such, I would honestly avoid betting on the game.

[SecondSight]

Watford/Wolves

I took 2.44 for Watford on the basis that they are no worse than Wolves and are the home team. Another key factor for me is the Watford players psychology. This is a great chance for them to revenge last weeks defeat to Wolves. Best bookie price was 2.25.

Stoke/Cardiff

2.38 for Stoke stood out for me. I expect Stoke to finish above Cardiff this season. They will be buoyed up by a couple of new signings and will want to make up for a late defeat at Charlton in mid week.

WBA/Burnley

Burnley away have cost me this season and could again here as I have gone for WBA at 1.71. I just see WBA as clearly the best team in the division and as such will win well over 50% of their home games with their very good home backing. By all accounts WBA should have won at Preston in midweek, but lost which could drive them on today. 8/11 is available on BetFred Home Sweet Home, but trebles are required and I struggled to find 2 other good value games.