There’s been plenty of chopping and changing at the top of the Championship table in recent weeks with Norwich City reclaiming first place with a win over Coventry on Saturday.
The Canaries will hope to pick up a third successive win when they face Rotherham on Saturday, but any slips could open the door to Brentford and Swansea.
The Swans have been the form team in the division of late and go to out-of-form Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers are struggling right now and Steve Cooper’s men have enough about them to deepen the gloom in West Yorkshire as we start our look ahead to the weekend’s action at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Tame Terriers Pose Swans No Threat
Swansea made it seven wins from their last nine league matches with a hard-fought 1-0 success over Nottingham Forest at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday to move to within five points of first with two games in hand.
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The Welsh outfit, who made the play-offs last season, have been able to build upon a solid foundation laid by a defence that has kept six clean sheets in the last 10 matches, while goals have been coming from a variety of sources in the squad.
They are 11/10 to pick up another three points on Saturday and they look a good price given they have won six of their last eight away games. They are getting Huddersfield at a good time too with the Terriers winless in eight, while they’ve lost four of their last five at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Boss Carlos Corberan is also sweating on the fitness of star forward Isaac Mbenza, who is a doubt with a groin injury, and without him in the side, Huddersfield will find it very tough to break down this resolute Swansea side.
Dark Clouds Gathering Over Sky Blues
Another side on the slide right now is Coventry City, who have taken five points from the last 21 available, leaving them just three points above the drop zone. The Sky Blues’ leaky defence has been a problem all season with only Huddersfield conceding more goals and that backline could be in for a rough afternoon when the Championship’s top scorer comes to St Andrew’s on Saturday lunchtime.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney scored his 24th of the season on Wednesday against Queens Park Rangers, although it wasn’t enough to prevent the Bees slipping to a second straight loss. Those defeats have come against in-form duo QPR and Barnsley, and they can get back on track at 5/6 against Coventry.
Only Norwich have won more away games this season, while the Bees have bagged the most goals in the division on their travels, lead by Toney. He scored both goals in Brentford’s 2-0 win in the reverse fixture against Coventry and could be the difference-maker again this weekend.
Six-Pointer to Go Wednesday’s Way
Switching our attention to matters at the bottom of the table and Sheffield Wednesday have the chance to climb out of the relegation zone when they host fellow strugglers Birmingham City. Both sides currently reside in the bottom three on 28 points with the Owls looking the most likely to beat the drop.
Caretaker boss Neil Thompson has got a tune out of Wednesday since Tony Pulis’ brief spell in charge came to an end, while they are a force to be reckoned with at Hillsborough, winning their last five games on home soil. They have only conceded one goal during that winning run and have enough tools to shut down a Birmingham attack that has drawn a blank in seven of their last 10 outings.
Blues have won just one of their last 13 Championship matches and are plummeting towards League One right now. For Wednesday, the chance to escape the bottom three for the first time this season should inspire them to get the win at 6/4.
*All odds correct at time of writing