The Championship promotion race has become very interesting with leaders Fulham and Bournemouth going through difficult periods and the top two could have a different look by the end of Boxing Day if third-placed Blackburn can bring back three points from their trip to struggling Hull.
Elsewhere playoff-chasing pair Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest go head-to-head at the Riverside Stadium, while Luton tackle Bristol City in a mid-table match at Kenilworth Road.
Rovers Can Maintain Automatic Charge
Not so long ago there were expectations of a two-team race for the Championship title but Fulham and Bournemouth have hit the buffers and their struggles will encourage Blackburn, who look tempting 27/20 favourites to defeat Hull at the MKM Stadium.
Blackburn lost 7-0 at home to Fulham in early November, leaving them 12th in the table and 12 points adrift of the automatic promotion spots.
Seven games and seven weeks later, the Lancashire side are up a third and harbouring genuine hopes of automatic promotion.
Rovers’ manager Tony Mowbray is trying to play down his team’s prospects but results and performances are speaking for themselves.
Top scorer Ben Brereton Diaz has been their star man, netting 19 goals in 23 appearances, but Brighton’s on-loan attacker Reda Khadra has recently joined the party with three goals in his last six starts and the defence looks rock solid.
Hull will be up against a talented, confident side and they remain at risk of relegation despite racking up four wins from five in November.
They have gone three without a victory in December and their sticky spell could be extended.
Forest Run Could Come To an End
Nottingham Forest have not lost a Championship fixture since October but their impressive run could be brought to an end by Middlesbrough at the Riverside.
Steve Cooper has worked wonders for Forest, who have lost just one of 15 games under his stewardship, but his team were below par and slightly fortunate to get away with a 2-1 victory at home to Hull last weekend.
Forest conceded the opening goal against Hull and needed the award of a controversial penalty to turn the game around.
They will need to play better against Boro, because they could be facing one of their toughest away games of the season.
Midlesbrough have been transformed by their new manager, Chris Wilder, who has wasted no time in implementing his high-intensity, possession-based style.
They have taken ten points from their last four games, including a well-deserved 1-0 win at home to high-flying Bournemouth, and look value 11/10 shots to make it four wins in five.
Robins Value to Avoid Luton Defeat
Bristol City have struggled for consistency in their first season under Nigel Pearson but they have been competitive in the majority of games and have a decent chance of taking a point or three when they take on mid-table Luton In Bedfordshire.
The Robins have picked up four of their seven wins on the road and look overpriced at 5/4 to avoid defeat against the Hatters, who are only two points above them in the table.
Luton are having a solid season but they have won just four of their 11 home league fixtures and have fallen behind in each of their last four fixtures at Kenilworth Road.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
