5 Championship Tips for Gameweek 12 - Get £50 in Free Bets This Weekend

Neil Warnock’s resolute Middlesbrough side find themselves just one point away from the play-off spots, despite having scored just nine goals in their eleven games. Boro are unbeaten in ten games, having not been defeated since the opening day and can boast the tightest defence in England’s top four leagues, conceding just five so far. This is despite having played four games less than some Premier League sides and shows that Warnock’s traditional style of football is still very much effective, particularly at the back.

Norwich City are going through an impressive run of form themselves, being unbeaten in seven and picking up 17 points during this period. They sit third in the table and are proving that they were right to stick with Daniel Farke as manager after being relegated from the Premier League last season.

In six of Middlesbrough’s last seven games, the score has been 0-0 at half-time and this has been the case in the Canaries’ last two games as well. We think Norwich will struggle to break down Boro’s defence, with a 0-0 half time score being priced at 6/4 and a home win with under 2.5 goals being 9/2.

Millwall fans will be concerned that their side haven’t scored in their last three games, with their last home fixture resulting in a 3-0 loss to Huddersfield. Gary Rowett will be keen to re-establish the fortress mentality of playing at The Den and will be involved in a physical encounter this weekend, where set-pieces could be the key.

Familiar face Neil Harris returns to his old stomping ground with his Cardiff City side having won just once in their last six. The Bluebird’s haven’t won at Millwall since 2012 and will be keen to put that right with Kieffer Moore’s aerial presence likely to be the main attacking threat to Millwall’s back three.

The last five meetings between the sides have been draws, and between them have a collective nine draws in 22 games so far this season. We anticipate the teams to be involved in another scrappy draw, with the two teams cancelling one another out. A draw is currently 21/10, with 0-0 available at 13/2 with Sky Bet

Stoke City have lost just once in their last eight home games but did lose at home to Huddersfield Town last season in a 1-0 defeat. The Potters have led at half-time in their last two home matches and will be eager to score early as they return from the international break but will go into the game missing a number of key players unavailable with Joe Allen, Sam Clucas and James McClean all set to miss out.

Forty percent of Huddersfield’s goals have been scored in the last 15 minutes of games, showing that Carlos Corberan’s side are following a similar pattern as Bielsa’s Leeds last season by focussing on maintaining high fitness levels. All but one of the Terriers’ six defeats in all competitions this season have come by a one-goal margin, but we think Town will get their third draw of the season on Saturday.

As an outsider, Stoke City to be leading at half-time and the full-time result to be a draw is 12/1, with the home side winning by a one-goal margin being 5/2.

Swansea City are sitting pretty in sixth place as they look to go one better than last season’s play-off semi-final exit. The Swans have the second-best defence in the league and have lost just one of their last seven home games in the Championship. They will be expecting a comfortable win against Rotherham United and a win for Steve Cooper’s side could see the Welsh side move into the automatic promotion spots.

The Millers have won just once in their last nine away matches in the Championship and lack a main goalscorer. Rotherham have failed to score in four of their five defeats this season and look set for another tough afternoon in South Wales this weekend.

Four of Swansea’s five wins this season have been to nil and we anticipate a similar result this weekend. A home win to nil is 7/4, whilst a 2-0 victory is priced at 13/2.

After a poor start, Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe Wanderers have begun to prove that they are not here to be the league’s whipping boys. The Chairboys have picked up seven points in their last four games having seven games previous but are up against it on Saturday as they take on a Brentford side who have been heavily fancied for promotion this season. However, they will be familiar with being underdogs, having been so in every game since their controversial promotion from League One.

Brentford are chasing the title this season but will be disappointed with their start to the season as they currently sit 11th in the league. With just one win in their last five and mounting pressure on head coach Thomas Frank, we expect the Danish boss to attack the hosts from the word go and try and play like they did last season, with a ‘heavy-metal’ approach.

Five of Brentford’s six wins in all competitions have come by a winning margin of at least two goals. You can back a Brentford to win with a (-1) handicap at 11/8 with Sky Bet.

By Tom Eaton