5 Championship Tips - 27/8/22

The early kick-off in Saturday’s Championship actions sees Sunderland and Norwich go head-to-head at The Stadium of Light, with both teams looking to build on wins last weekend.

The hosts have made a good start to life back in the second tier, after finally earning promotion from League One last season. The Black Cats are sitting fifth in the table after the five games they’ve played so far. Draws with Coventry and QPR came either side of the win over Bristol City, before defeat away to Sheffield United. Alex Neil’s side bounced back though last weekend, with a big 1-0 win away to Stoke.

After relegation from the Premier League, Norwich were tipped by many to breeze through the Championship season and earn promotion straight back to the top tier. Things didn’t go so smoothly though for the Canaries, with a draw and two defeats in their first three games. Dean Smith’s side have started to recover though, with back-to-back wins in their last two games. Josh Sargent’s brace saw Norwich claim a 2-0 win over Millwall last Friday.

With both teams looking to build on their win last time out, it could be a high-scoring affair between two in-form sides.

Another team looking to earn promotion straight back to the Premier League after relegation last season is Watford. The Hornets will be hoping they can continue their unbeaten start to the Championship season when QPR are the visitors at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

Rob Edwards’ side are second in the table, one point off the top spot, with two wins and three draws in their opening five games. Watford were beaten in their last game, a 2-0 home defeat to League One MK Dons in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. It was a home side with six changes made though, so the Hornets will be hopeful that they can turn their attention to continuing their unbeaten start in the second tier. Last weekend saw them draw in the stalemate with Preston, their second consecutive league draw.

Watford will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways against a QPR side that sit in 17th place following one win, two draws and two defeats so far. Last time out Michael Beale’s men were defeated 1-0 at home to Blackpool.

Blackburn will be eager to return to winning ways when they face Stoke at Ewood Park on Saturday.

Rovers got off to the perfect start as they looked to improve on their eighth-place finish last season and challenge for promotion. Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side began the campaign with wins against QPR, Swansea, and West Brom before suffering two defeats on the bounce, including last weekend away to Sheffield United. However, they managed to see off League Two Bradford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, so will be in better spirits going into the weekend.

Stoke would have also had hopes of improving on last season’s position, following a midtable 14th finish. Things haven’t gone well so far for Michael O’Neill’s side, winning just one game and losing three, leaving them 21st in the table. Last weekend saw the Potters lose at home to Sunderland and now without a win since August 6th.

Hull take on rock-bottom Coventry at the MKM Stadium this weekend, as the Tigers go for a win that will keep them high up the table.

Hull are sitting in sixth, with two wins and just the one defeat in their five league games. Shota Arveladze’s side were on the wrong end of the 5-2 thriller at West Brom last time out, which put an end to their unbeaten start to the league season.

New signing Oscar Estupiñán grabbed a brace in that game last week, continuing his fine introduction to English football. The striker, who signed from Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes, took his tally to four goals in five Championship games which sees him at the top of the goalscoring charts.

Coventry are yet to win a league game so far this season, but have only played twice due to pitch issues. Their last game was a 3-2 loss away to Millwall.

Millwall and Reading meet at the Den on Saturday, with both teams after a big win that could see them climb up the table.

The Lions are sitting in tenth place, after two wins, two defeats and a draw so far. Millwall have gone two games without a win, after being beaten away at Norwich last Friday.

Reading have started the season brightly and are third in table after five games, winning three. The Royals managed to get the better of Middlesbrough with a narrow 1-0 win on Saturday. There has been a total of 12 goals in the Championship games that Reading have played so far, so it could be a similar story against Millwall.