Championship / Andrew French / 08 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Andrew French picks out the best bets in The Championship this week as Watford look to edge closer to safety, Wolves are keen to stay top and Charlton make one last ditch attempt to prevent the inevitable. Best bet: Back Watford to beat Barnsley at [2.08].

Now they are almost across the safety finishing line, I don't feel quite so worried about tipping my own team - Watford - so I'm even going to stick my neck out and make them my bet of the weekend in the Championship.

That isn't just a romantic nap though. The Hornets have been a reformed outfit in the last three months, with seven wins and three draws from their last 13 league games. In mid-January, they were struggling to keep their heads above the relegation zone.

At home they have been high scorers all season: only Wolves and Reading have netted more on their own turf. And yet the Hornets are overdue a home win and a little bit of luck at Vicarage Road. They've drawn their last two, with a last-gasp disputed penalty denying them against Sheffield Wednesday before a 30-yard wonder strike in the 89th minute saw Southampton leave with a point on Tuesday.

This weekend's visitors Barnsley do not travel well. They have lost 12 out of 20 on their travels, and their poor goalscoring record (13 in 20) suggests they will struggle to match Watford's attacking ability, even if the Hornets are prone to concede at the other end.

Therefore, I suggest backing Watford at [2.08], and offer 2-1 to the Hornets as a Correct Score option at [9.4].

To the naked eye there is nothing particularly clever in my next selection: league leaders to beat the team one off the bottom looks to be little more than a formality. But scratch below the surface of the Wolves v Southampton fixture on Good Friday, and suddenly backing Mick McCarthy's team is less of a shoo-in than at first sight.

Wolves were beaten by neighbours Birmingham on Monday night, reducing their lead at the top of the table to just two points. That game also saw striker Chris Iwelumo stretchered off, and with his fellow marksman Sylvain Ebanks-Blake already a doubt, the Old Gold are heading into this live Sky game without ideal preparations.

Southampton, meanwhile, will be buoyed after Jan-Paul Saeijs hammered home his late thunderbolt to grab a point at Watford on Tuesday. More than 2,000 Saints fans travelled to that game, and there was a distinct impression that the whole club has been galvanised by their current off-field problems.

So, I'd expect Saints to do more than just roll over at Molineux, but even then, I still think Wolves will have too much about them, particularly as a slip-up on Friday could see them knocked off the top on Saturday. Therefore, back Wolves at [1.53].

Following the theme of tipping the bleedin' obvious, my final selection comes in the fixture which pairs the team in second against the side cast adrift at the bottom.

Again, though, there is a little more to it. With only a mathematician able to make a valid case for Charlton staying up, the pressure is very much off the Addicks as they enter the closing stages of the season - and that may well have contributed to their gutsy 3-2 win at Southampton last week. Certainly, any points are a nice bonus for the London club as they privately - if not quite publicly - prepare for life in League One.

Visitors Birmingham have the tremendous fillip of beating leaders Wolves earlier in the week, and they are undefeated in six - but they have been pretty unconvincing on the road of late, with only one away win in seven.

So, I'm stopping short of being bold enough to say the Blues will win this one, and instead suggest you lay Charlton at [4.1].