Coca Cola Championship 1st & 2nd Mar

[Bigkegman]

Championship
01 Mar 15:00 Barnsley vs Sheff Wed EVS 9/4 12/5
01 Mar 15:00 Bristol City vs Hull 5/6 9/4 3/1
01 Mar 15:00 Burnley vs Watford 8/5 11/5 6/4
01 Mar 15:00 Cardiff vs Leicester 4/5 11/5 10/3
01 Mar 15:00 Colchester vs Wolves 8/5 11/5 6/4
01 Mar 15:00 Norwich vs Blackpool 5/6 9/4 3/1
01 Mar 15:00 Preston vs Crystal Palace 11/8 11/5 7/4
01 Mar 15:00 Scunthorpe vs Coventry 11/8 11/5 7/4
01 Mar 15:00 Sheff Utd vs Charlton 5/4 9/4 15/8
01 Mar 15:00 Southampton vs Ipswich 6/4 11/5 8/5
01 Mar 15:00 West Brom vs Plymouth 4/5 11/5 10/3
02 Mar 13:15 Qpr vs Stoke 6/4 11/5 8/5


odds from Stan James

[kompressaur]

QPR v Stoke, Sky Sports 1, 13:00pm, Sunday

League leaders Stoke will be looking to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat at Preston in midweek but may have to settle for a draw when they take on QPR in front of the Sky cameras on Sunday lunchtime.

The Championship leader curse reared its ugly head again on Tuesday when Stoke put in a below par performance to slip to defeat at Deepdale, and it could be that come Sunday lunchtime they may have been knocked off the top by either Bristol City or Watford.

Five teams have now occupied top spot in the Championship this season and each side that has, has struggled to keep hold of it and with the season entering the business end of the year the pressure is now starting to rise with every passing week and it is clear that everyone is feeling it.

To be fair to Stoke they have been in fine form in recent weeks winning five on the bounce before coming unstuck at Preston, and while their performance wasn't great on Tuesday, they did create some great scoring opportunities and Tony Pulis was far from downbeat after seeing his side lose only their seventh game of the season.

On the road Stoke have drawn more games than they have either won or lost and while Pulis wouldn't admit it he would probably be fairly happy if his men were to leave Loftus Road with a point on Sunday, especially as the Hoops are proving tough to beat at present.

The arrival of Luigi De Canio and a host of players in the January transfer window has brought with it some much-needed stability to the West London outfit and with relegation now not a concern the Hoops will be looking to bank a top-half finish to set a real platform to build on next season.

De Canio's troops have ground out two hard-fought draws against Sheffield United and Barnsley over the last seven days and with just one defeat from their last five games are certainly proving a tough nut to crack at present.

Stoke will head to London busting a gut for maximum points, but with QPR having lost just two of their last nine games and having seen off second-placed Bristol City 3-0 at Loftus Road three weeks ago, this will be a tough assignment for the men from the Potteries and a stalemate is the shout.

Best of the Rest

Second-placed Bristol City will be hoping they can leapfrog Stoke on Saturday, but it is their opponents Hull who should be backed at 7/2 to leave Ashton Gate with all three points.

There are plenty of pundits, myself included, who expected the Robins to drop out of the promotion race at the turn of the year, but Gary Johnson's men have proved everyone wrong and continue to pick up wins and with 12 games to go the Premiership dream is most definitely there for the taking.

Johnson's men showed great determination to bounce back from a goal down to beat Colchester last Saturday, and in recent weeks have proved they have the nerve for a title battle, claiming a late winner at Scunthorpe and a last minute equaliser at home to Crystal Palace.

At Ashton Gate the Robins have lost just two games all season, but with just two wins from their last five games at home the wins have dried up a little and the in-form Tigers will head south brimming with confidence and up for the challenge.

Phil Brown is doing a fantastic job as manager of Hull and has really turned things around since arriving at the KC Stadium last year and, sitting just two points outside of the play-offs this is the best chance the Tigers have ever had of experiencing top-flight football.

With just one defeat from eight league games in 2008, Brown has got his men playing some cracking stuff and last weekend they were full value for their 2-1 win at title wannabes West Brom, and have now picked up seven points from their last three away games at WBA, Norwich and Plymouth (all top-half sides).

If Hull were to win on Saturday, and also their game in hand over the Robins, they would just be five points behind Johnson's men and with the form they are in Bet365 are taking a big risk in chalking the Tigers up at 7/2, and at that price they are crying out to be backed.

HONOURS EVEN AT LOFTUS ROAD: Bettingzone Football Betting News - Premier League Betting, Champions League, Previews, Odds & Data.

[thehandicapman]

The Bristol City v Hull game looks a tight affair and I'n my view the value bet is on the draw.

read more at my blog:

THM’s Bristol Football Bets

good luck all

THM