Championship Betting: Swansea to rock the Southampton ship a little more

Championship / Andrew French / 30 January 2009 / Leave a Comment

Andrew French looks ahead to this weekend's Championship action where Roberto Martinez's Swansea are good for a home win against Southampton and Birmingham may well see their progress towards automatic promotion halted.

Three into two won't go in the battle for automatic promotion from the Championship, and of the trio chasing those two coveted places, Birmingham have generally looked the most flaky.

Okay, so they're not third in the table by chance - but my point is that whereas Wolves and Reading have given the impression of tearing up the division, Birmingham are making a far less compelling bid. As an example, they have secured 14 of their 16 league wins by single-goal margins. Of course, you could say that shows they are very hard to beat - but in my rather 'glass half empty' world, I see that as giving them little margin for error.

This weekend they come under the Sky Sports spotlight at 5.20pm on Saturday when they visit Hillsborough, where hosts Sheffield Wednesday are apparently struck by the curse of many mid-table sides: pretty good at home, pretty poor away.

No side has conceded fewer home goals than the Owls, and they have lost only twice on their own patch. But Birmingham have suffered defeat just three times on the road, and with two sides that are clearly hard to beat, this one has draw written all over it for me.

I'll be backing the stalemate, and with neither side being free-scoring I'm adding Under 1.5 goals, especially given there have been just 27 league goals at Hillsborough this season, and five of them came in Wednesday's recent 4-1 drubbing of Charlton. You could back 0-0, but the Unders option has a 1-0 win either way on your side.

Sheff Wed v Birmingham:

Back the draw at [3.45]; Back Under 1.5 Goals at [2.96].

They may have had their problems earlier in the season, but Doncaster are one of the most in-form sides around right now. Five wins and two draws in their last seven outings in all competitions, and suddenly Rovers are out of the relegation zone and facing a chance to overturn Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

On Friday night they host Norwich, who have taken four points from two games since Bryan Gunn took charge. However, the Canaries are pretty miserable performers on the road (10 defeats in 14 games), and that combined with the new lease of life Donny are enjoying, makes them my selection.

Doncaster v Norwich:

Back Doncaster at [2.22].

The fine victory at Portsmouth in the FA Cup thrust Swansea into the media spotlight, but they have also been making a very sound bid for promotion. Roberto Martinez's side have turned a string of draws into victories and are now unbeaten in 11 in the league: they trounced Preston 4-1 in midweek and that came after a home win over Reading and an away success at Burnley.

Things couldn't be more contrasting at St Mary's Stadium, where Southampton are staring down the barrel of relegation. Manager Jan Poortvliet recently fell on his sword, and new boss Mark Wotte is immediately faced with trying to improve upon by far the worst home record in the division: one win all season.

Saints fought back to earn a draw at Norwich in midweek, but in their current form, Swansea are a totally different proposition.

Southampton v Swansea:
Back Swansea at [2.34].