Championship / Andrew French / 20 October 2009 / Leave a comment

Three games without a victory might not sound a lot, but to a quality side like Newcastle United it definitely represents a bad run says Andrew French; and he's fully expecting them to get back to winning ways tonight.

"Of course, the best on paper doesn’t always lead to the best results on the pitch (as Saturday’s defeat against Nottingham Forest showed), but it’s hard to see United being anything other than major contenders for automatic promotion."

Newcastle United are still sharing top spot despite not winning any of their last three games - but I think they will bring that barren run to an end this evening when they visit Scunthorpe.

Despite their lack of success of late, the Toon still possess probably the strongest squad in the division. Of course, the best on paper doesn't always lead to the best results on the pitch (as Saturday's defeat against Nottingham Forest showed), but it's hard to see United being anything other than major contenders for automatic promotion.

Scunthorpe's win over Sheffield United on Saturday showed they can handle themselves at this level, but they have failed to keep a clean sheet at home in the league so far and that will leave the door open for Newcastle. Therefore, back them at [2.26].

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Having been held at home on Saturday, Cardiff will be even hungrier for victory when they host Coventry tonight. Dave Jones will know that if the Bluebirds are to be involved in the promotion fight, then a return of less than four points from these back-to-back home games will not be good enough. Having seen how potent the Cardiff attack are first-hand, and also witnessed Coventry's poor defending, I'll be very surprised if the home side don't win this one. So, I'm backing Cardiff at [1.69].

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Nottingham Forest are flying at the moment and Saturday's win over Newcastle left them just one place outside the play-off berths. However, if there is one side who can almost match Forest for excellent recent form then it's Barnsley, who have really clicked since Mark Robins was appointed manager.

Having received a wake-up call in the shape of a 5-2 drubbing at QPR, Barnsley have won three on the trot including handing Doncaster their first home defeat of the season on Saturday. One thing letting Forest down has been their lack of goals at home (only eight in six games) and Barnsley's current confidence may well enable them to get something out of this one - so I suggest laying Forest at [1.85].

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Saturday's resounding 4-0 win over Preston suggests QPR may be ready to mount a promotion push. They have smashed nine goals in their last two games at Loftus Road, and are yet to taste defeat at home.

Visitors Reading are struggling and manager Brendan Rodgers is under pressure to start achieving some results, particularly as his side have yet to win at home. He'll probably be glad of this away trip then, but Saturday's 3-1 defeat at West Brom showed the Royals are still very beatable even without the eyes of their own fans on them. Therefore, I'd advise backing QPR at [1.97].

* Andrew is showing a profit of approximately £141 (£10 level stake/liability) on all his selections so far this season

Tags: Barnsley, Brendan Rodgers, Cardiff City, Dave Jones, Mark Robins, Newcastle United, QPR, The Championship, The Championship Betting