5 Championship Tips for the Weekend’s Action - 11/3/23

Burnley will be after another win against Wigan on Saturday, as the Clarets edge towards a return to the Premier League.

The Lancashire outfit are cruising at the top of the table, with an immediate bounce straight back up to the top tier from the Championship looking likely. Vincent Kompany’s men are 10 points clear of Sheffield United in second, with a huge 17-point gap to third-place Middlesbrough outside the automatic promotion spots. The Clarets are unbeaten in their last 16 in all competitions – with that only defeat being a League Cup loss to the eventual winners, Manchester United. It’s three wins in their last five games for Burnley though, who will be looking for a reaction after a stale 0-0 draw away to a struggling Blackpool side last time out.

Burnley have plenty of attacking options that can cause problems, but Anass Zaroury continues to be a regular starter and keeps his place in the forward line behind the striker. The 22-year-old grabbed the opener in Burnley’s last league win – a 4-0 over Huddersfield two weeks ago. He’ll be confident of adding to the six league goals he has this season with another against a Wigan side that are rock-bottom of the Championship and without a win in their last five league games.

Michael Carrick has done an immense job since taking over at Middlesbrough. The former Man United midfielder will be hoping his team can continue their promotion push with a result away to Swansea on Saturday.

Boro have shot up the table to third since Carrick’s arrival, as they continue to keep chase with Sheffield United for a place in the automatic promotion spots. One of the key areas that Carrick has massively improved is in the attacking and goalscoring field, with former Arsenal attacker Chuba Akpom reaping the rewards.

Akpom has become more of an attacking midfielder since Carrick’s arrival, seeing him leap to the top of the Golden Boot standings with 21 goals from 28 league games this season. The 27-year-old can get his 22nd on Saturday against a Swansea side that are 17th in the league and have lost three of their last five games.

Sheffield United have stumbled in the race for promotion in recent weeks, but are still firmly in with a big chance of returning to the Premier League. They face a Luton side this weekend that are also pushing for a place in the top tier.

The Blades are still second and in the automatic promotion places in the Championship, but have lost ground in the title race, allowing Burnley to race ahead. Paul Heckingbottom’s side have lost three of their last five in the league but will be hoping they can put a run together after picking up a 1-0 win away to Reading on Tuesday night. Luton are fifth in the table, 10 points adrift of the automatic places, with a three-point cushion to Millwall in seventh.

Iliman Ndiaye has attracted interest from plenty of big teams after his remarkable showing for the Blades this season. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder got his 12th goal of the season with the winner over Reading last time out.

Two teams that have struggled for goals this season meet at Deepdale on Saturday, as Preston take on Cardiff.

Preston have been the stalemate specialists this season, with NINE 0-0 results for the Lancashire outfit so far. The goalless draw with Watford last Saturday was Preston’s third 0-0 scoreline in their last four league games. It leaves the Lilywhites in 12th in the table, with promotion looking a long way off.

Cardiff have also been rather unlucky in front of goal this campaign, with the Bluebirds having the worst goalscoring record in the division this season. The Welsh outfit have picked up some good form in recent weeks though, with three wins from their last four opening a six-point gap to the bottom three. There has been under 2.5 goals in eight of Cardiff’s last nine league games.

Norwich have had a resurgence since David Wagner took charge of the East Anglian outfit. The Canaries can continue their play-off push with a win against Sunderland on Sunday.

Wagner’s side have won six of their last nine league games since the former Huddersfield boss took over, with three successive wins in a row putting them firmly in the play-off hunt. Norwich are in those top six places, sitting in sixth with just a point keeping them in over Millwall.

Sunderland go into the weekend clash in contrasting form, having lost three games on the bounce after being thrashed 5-1 by Stoke City at home last weekend. It leaves Tony Mowbray’s side slipping away from the top six in 11th, but with just six points the difference there is still all to play for.

Despite losing three of their last four, the Black Cats have still managed to score in each of those games, seeing both teams get on the scoresheet. Both sides have scored in two of Norwich’s last three games, with the Canaries going on to win all of those.

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