Our Championship Tips for Gameweek 35 - Get £100 in Free Bets This Weekend

High-flying Barnsley, who now find themselves one place off the lofty heights of the play-offs welcome struggling Birmingham City to Oakwell in the hopes of continuing a very unlikely push for the Premier League.
The Tykes are showing form which could potentially mirror the scenes we saw in 2017 when Huddersfield Town shocked everybody to win promotion via the play-offs. Sitting in seventh, Barnsley have only ever enjoyed one top-flight season in the club’s history, but Valerien Ismael’s side have got the supporters believing that they can pull off the impossible.

Six straight league wins have catapulted the side up the table at an exponential pace, with some of the sides in and around the playoff positions lagging behind with inconsistent results.

A spirited defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup was followed up by a surprise win at Brentford which sparked the beginning of this fine run of form, and their next opponents Birmingham are just one place and three points above the drop zone having played two games more than Rotherham directly below them. 11 defeats from their last 18 games suggests Birmingham will really have to slog it out to stay up this season, but their next trip is not ideal for a side out of form.

We expect Barnsley to continue their excellent run against a struggling Birmingham outfit, and with five of their six wins in a row coming with a scoreline of 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1, our tip is for this score group to be repeated again, available at odds of 13/8.

The fortress that is Vicarage Road is the location for this weekend’s Championship fixture between Watford and Nottingham Forest, with the hosts entering the match with the best home record in the division.

The Hornets have taken 41 points from their 17 Championship games at home this season, adding to that tally with a routine win over relegation-favourites Wycombe Wanderers in the week, a result which saw them move back level on points with second-placed Brentford in the final automatic promotion spot.

Forest find themselves mid-table and unlikely to threaten at either end of the table in the latter stages of the season, and their rather average points total is reciprocated in their goal columns. They are the only side in the division to have both scored (0.82) and conceded (0.97) an average of less than one goal per game this season.
Only two of Watford’s last 21 games have seen over 3.5 goals, so, combined with Nottingham Forest’s low combined goals and Watford’s great home form, a home win with under 3.5 goals is our tip here, priced at 11/8.

A Derby County side who have seen Wayne Rooney help turn their early-season woes around, travel to Coventry City, with both sides firmly set on avoiding relegation to League One.

The two clubs have taken very different trajectories since the new year, with Derby picking up six wins from their last 10, while Coventry have won just three from 17, stretching way back into 2020. The Sky Blues have been sucked into trouble, level on points with Birmingham City just above the relegation zone following a defeat at home to Middlesbrough in the week which saw them fail to register a shot on target.

Derby, on the other hand, have played themselves out of trouble after looking in grave danger of relegation under Phillip Cocu. Under Rooney’s management they have picked up 27 points from 17 games, which is top six form, but due to their dreadful start, they still find themselves embroiled in a scrap at the bottom which they hope will be a thing of the past pretty soon.

We are backing Derby to win here, priced at odds of 2/1 with Sky Bet.

Runaway leaders Norwich City can take another step towards a comfortable return to the Premier League when they welcome Luton Town to Carrow Road on Saturday.

Daniel Farke’s side have raced clear thanks to six wins on the trot in the league, including a huge victory over their nearest rivals Brentford on Wednesday, which took their lead to a near-unassailable 10 points as we reach the business end of the campaign. Their form at Carrow Road has been a big reason why they are so far clear, with the result in the week stretching their unbeaten home run to 16 games, and another clean sheet means they have conceded just six goals in that run.

Meanwhile, Luton have a torrid record on the road, losing eight of their last 12, scoring just five goals. A more concerning stat is that Luton have failed to score more than one goal in any away game all season in all competitions.

As Luton seemingly love to leave their shooting boots at Kenilworth Road, we are tipping league leaders Norwich to win to nil.

Two sides with very different immediate aims meet at the Madejski Stadium this weekend, with Reading hoping to maintain their position in the playoffs, while Sheffield Wednesday will be desperate to pick up points fast to avoid relegation.

Sheffield Wednesday’s astonishing late defeat to 10-man Rotherham on Wednesday leaves them cut adrift, seven points from safety. They have slipped back into deep trouble due to a five-game losing streak after seemingly turning their fortunes around after a pre-season points deduction and spending many weeks outside the relegation zone.

Reading have been relatively inconsistent but still sit nicely in fifth position in the table. What has been consistent, though, is the lack of goals in Reading games recently. Their last five have all seen under 2.5 goals and one side fail to score.

With Sheffield Wednesday in freefall, and incapable of avoiding defeat to their ten-man rivals in the week, Reading should be in prime position to beat them here, and we tip them to do so with under 2.5 goals scored in the game, priced at 5/2 with Sky Bet.

By Andrew Delaney