The Championship fixture schedule has been decimated over the festive period, but with four of the current top six in action across Wednesday and Thursday, there is plenty to look forward to ahead of the New Year.
A total of seven matches will be split over the two days, with three scheduled for Wednesday and four for Thursday before the second tier waves goodbye to 2021.
In-Form Rovers to Strengthen Promotion Charge
There is no doubting who the form team is in the Championship, with third-place Blackburn Rovers having won five on the spin and six of their last seven since they were thrashed 7-0 by Fulham at Ewood Park in early November.
That result at the time left Rovers marooned in mid-table, but they have since emerged as genuine promotion contenders. In fact, if they were to beat struggling Barnsley on home soil on Wednesday, then they would move level on points with second-place Fulham.
Tony Mowbray has spoken to RoversTV ahead of tomorrow's home match against Barnsley.
Quotes thread …#Rovers
pic.twitter.com/gfGHAPjmyy
— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) December 28, 2021
Tony Mowbray’s side have won all four of their matches at home since their thumping by Fulham, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one, while they have not shipped a goal home or away in over 500 minutes of Championship action.
That is a record the Lancashire outfit will expect to protect against second-bottom Barnsley, who are without an away win all season and are the lowest scorers in the second tier, netting just 15 from their 23 matches to date.
Blackburn are priced at 5/9 to win the match, but the value perhaps lies in a Rovers victory to nil, which can be backed at 7/5.
Cherries to Taste Sweet Success
Bournemouth’s form had been stuttering heading into the festive period, but they ended a six-match winless run and returned to the top of the standings thanks to Monday’s 1-0 victory at Queens Park Rangers.
That result should certainly have boosted confidence at the Vitality Stadium and the Cherries will expect to make it back-to-back successes when they welcome Cardiff City to the south coast on Thursday.
Cardiff enjoyed an initial upturn in form following Steve Morison’s appointment as manager, but a run of one win in four has left the Bluebirds just three points above the relegation zone.
Keeping clean sheets has been a big problem for Cardiff of late, as they are without one in 21 matches across all competitions, so backing Bournemouth to win and over 2.5 goals in the match could be where the value lies at 8/5.
Forest to Leapfrog Terriers in Promotion Push
Nottingham Forest were rooted to the bottom of the standings prior to Steve Cooper’s arrival as manager in September, but they have lost just two of their 16 matches under the 42-year-old to emerge as playoff contenders.
One of those defeats was away to Middlesbrough in their most recent fixture and Forest will face another top-six side on Thursday when they welcome Huddersfield Town to the City Ground.
The good news for Forest is they have won three of their last four matches at home, while Huddersfield have triumphed just once in eight on the road despite their lofty position in the standings.
Forest were also 2-0 winners when the two sides met at the John Smith’s Stadium earlier in the season and they can be backed at 1/1 to complete the league double over Carlos Corberan’s Terriers.
*All odds correct at time of writing.