5 Championship Tips for the Weekend’s Action - 11/2/23

Michael Carrick’s Middlesborough will be looking to continue their strong run when they travel to Wales to take on Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts have endured a dire run, with four defeats in their last five Championship games, with three consecutive 1-0 defeats against Millwall, Luton, and Hull. Last time out Sabri Lamouchi’s men fell to the 1-0 loss away to the Tigers, leaving Cardiff precariously close to the relegation places, in 21st place and just one point ahead of Huddersfield below them.

Michael Carrick has turned fortunes around since arriving as Middlesborough's manager, turning them into promotion contenders. The Boro have won six of their last seven league games, taking them up to third in the league. It's two wins on the bounce for Carrick’s men following the 3-0 win over Blackpool last weekend.

Luton will be hopeful of keeping their strong form going when they face Coventry at the Coventry Building Society Stadium.

The Sky Blues are 15th in the table, having lost three of their last four in the league. Last time out, Mark Robins’ side were beaten 1-0 away to West Brom thanks to an early Grady Diangana goal.

The Hatters have risen up the table to fourth place in the Championship after six wins from their last seven league games. Last weekend saw Luton beat Stoke 1-0 with an early Pelly Ruddock goal. It was an embarrassing midweek result in the cup for Luton, who were beaten 3-0 away to League Two Grimsby in their FA Cup Replay. Rob Edwards will be after a response from his side on Saturday in the form of another win.

Table-topping Burnley continues their pursuit of a return to the Premier League with a Lancashire Derby against Preston this weekend.

The Clarets are sitting at the top with a seven-point cushion to Sheffield United in second. They also have a whopping 17-point difference to third place Middlesbrough so, barring a monumental meltdown later in the season, their place back in the top tier should be on the horizon. Vincent Kompany’s side haven’t looked like slowing down though, winning their last nine league games in a row, such as the 3-0 away win over Norwich last weekend.

Nathan Tella has been in fine form for Burnley with three goals in his last four games in all competitions, including the two he got against Ipswich in the FA Cup replay on Tuesday night. The Southampton loanee can make it 12 goals for the season against a Preston side that have lost three of their last four games in all competitions.

Just one point separates two play-off hopefuls as they meet at Vicarage Road on Saturday, with Watford and Blackburn going head-to-head.

Watford are fifth in the table as the race for the playoffs continues to be tight, with just six points separating Middlesbrough with 10th place Norwich. Watford are without a win in three league games, drawing last weekend in the 2-2 draw with Reading. Slaven Bilic’s side will fancy their chances of getting three points on the board, in front of their own fans, against a Blackburn side that are also going through a tough patch of form.

Rovers are also without a win in their last three league games, drawing with a struggling Wigan team on Monday.

Sheffield United will be looking to keep up with Burnley at the top of the table, when they host Swansea at Bramall Lane.

The Blades have a ten-point gap between themselves and Middlesbrough in third, but will be after a win that keeps them in with a chance of catching Burnley above them. Paul Heckingbottom’s side are unbeaten in their last nine Championship games, with two wins in their last three. Their last league outing saw them control the game away to Rotherham but unfortunately for Sheffield United, they were unable to make all their possession count and came away with a point following a goalless stalemate. In their FA Cup Replay on Tuesday, the Blades managed to knock out Wrexham, coming from behind to win 3-1 and knock the National League side out.

Heckingbottom will want his side to pick up another win against a Swansea side that are 13th in the table and lost last time out to Birmingham. Both teams have scored in eight of Swansea’s last nine games in all competitions.

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