Bournemouth still rule the roost in the second tier despite a shock midweek end to their 11-game unbeaten run, while free-scoring Fulham bear down on them in second.
Championship action is back this weekend for the final time before November’s fixture break.
With just four points separating fifth place from fifteenth, key battles are to be fought up and down the league, but who will carry winning momentum into the international interval?
Cherries to Bounce Back?
The Championship leaders boasted the Football League’s only unbeaten record going into their Wednesday night clash at home to Preston, but a 2-1 victory for North End may just have cracked Bournemouth’s veneer of invincibility.
Saturday’s encounter with Swansea, also on home turf, presents a prime opportunity for Scott Parker’s charges to write off the loss to the Lilywhites as a minor blip. Historically, the Cherries have fared well against their South Wales opponents, with the Swans’ last win in the fixture coming ten meetings ago, back in October 2007.
At 20/27, Bournemouth are available to make an immediate return to winning ways, with a win to nil backable at 37/20 – having conceded just ten times in 16 games, the south coast outfit boast the Championship’s tightest defence.
However, Swansea, who travel south on the back of four wins from their last five outings, will be buoyed by their 2-1 midweek away win at Coventry. Another away victory is at 4/1, with the draw at 12/5.
Full Steam Ahead for Fulham
Merciless in their 0-7 drubbing of Blackburn in midweek, Fulham feel fully at ease inside opposition penalty areas and have netted an eyewatering 43 times so far this Championship season – in context, nearest challengers Bournemouth and QPR have a relatively paltry 27 apiece.
The Cottagers – second, two points behind Bournemouth – responded to a shock early-October defeat to Coventry with aplomb, winning five games on the bounce and hitting 20 goals in the process.
However, Saturday’s appointment at Peterborough represents a potential banana skin.
Posh’s struggles on the road this campaign seem to have already consigned them to a relegation scrap, but their impressive home form has seen them take points off an impressive QPR and high-flying Huddersfield in recent weeks.
That said, Scott Parker’s side pose an altogether more potent threat, with an away win on the cards at 5/11. Indeed, 2/11 says that Saturday’s encounter will play host to greater than 4.5 goals, with historical precedent further favouring Fulham – the sides’ last meeting, an FA Cup tie in January 2011, ended 6-2 to the London club.
Figures of 11/2 offer that Peterborough buck the trend and claim victory, while a share of the spoils is at 17/5.
Birmingham Bouncing Back
After a sluggish start to the season, Birmingham City have surged back to life in recent weeks and find themselves on the cusp of the top half, just one win adrift of the play-off berths.
A barren spell of seven winless games into late October has given way to an impressive purple patch, with Blues claiming victories over Swansea, Middlesbrough and Bristol City for the loss of just one goal in all.
Conversely, in the wake of four successive defeats, Reading head into Saturday’s encounter in freefall. The Royals have an eight-point cushion separating them from the drop zone, but a series of losses in crucial mid-table clashes make a swift return to form at St Andrews all the more vital.
The in-form hosts are favoured at 20/27, while a Reading win can be backed 17/5. The draw is available at 13/5.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
