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Championship Betting: West Brom to win and Hull to stutter at Bramall Lane

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Andrew French talks us through the big games in The Championship this weekend where wins are like gold dust with the promised land of the Premiership within touching distance

It may not have the glamour or the star names of the Premiership, but if you like your battle for honours to go right down to the last game, then the Championship is for you.

There are five clubs still in with a chance of finishing in the top two and going up automatically, while the fight for a play-off place stretches right down to mid-table.

West Bromwich Albion were my idea of the best side in the division from the moment they handed Watford a 3-0 pasting at Vicarage Road back in November. Their progress in the FA Cup threatened to derail them but they're top with three games to go, and if promotion were earned for playing the most attractive brand of football, the Baggies would go up.

However, it's not simply a case of the best to watch brings the best results, and like everyone else in the top six, Albion have lost almost a quarter of their games this season. Not a great portent for next season.

Yet I think they'll claim three precious points this weekend against a Norwich side that is set for a mid-table finish.

After a miserable start, the Canaries - under new boss Glenn Roeder - climbed away from trouble and got to within a few points of the top six. However, three wins in their last 12 ended any hopes of a complete turnaround and with little other than league positions to worry about, they look ripe for picking off by their visitors from the Midlands.

I'll be backing Albion at [2.14] - and I'd suggest having a look at Over 2.5 goals, as Albion score for fun and Norwich's last five games have produced 16 goals.

There is always one team that marches out of mid-table to contest promotion, and this season it's been Hull City. While other sides in the top six stuttered, the Tigers have stormed up the league. They're now in a great position to go up having swept aside Yorkshire rivals Barnsley in midweek.

However, on Saturday they travel to a team in equally good recent form, Sheffield United. Their charge may have come too late but six wins in eight games have at least kept the Blades involved longer than looked likely earlier in the season.

In striker James Beattie they have a man on fire. His services didn't come cheap as he cost £4m from Everton in the summer, but he has netted 21 times this season including a current burst of six in four games.

Having made such great strides it would be tremendous to see Phil Brown's Hull complete the job and claim automatic promotion, but I fear this may be where their tremendous run ends, and in-form United will topple them at Bramall Lane. I'll be backing Bryan Robson's side at [2.5].

My club, Watford, are still in the mix and there was certainly plenty more to be heartened by in the draw at West Brom last week than the home defeat to Barnsley a few days earlier.

There is no doubt the Hornets are one of the hardest sides to beat in the Championship. Only one team has lost fewer games than them and the way they dug in at times at The Hawthorns showed the misery of the defeat against Barnsley had not dented their resolve.

My one fear is that in making themselves so hard to break down, they may have lost some of the cutting edge which helped them race nine points clear earlier in the season.

Their home form is also none too clever, and that will be tested this weekend by the visit of a Crystal Palace side that is just clicking into gear at the right time.

It's been something of a rollercoaster for Neil Warnock's boys. A run of 15 games without defeat shortly after he joined the club was followed by six matches without a win.

However, since the start of March the Eagles are unbeaten in nine, and with a play-off place within their sights, you can be certain the ever-entertaining Warnock will make sure his team are well charged up for this one.

Watford have drawn eight of their last 11 and Palace have shared the points in four of their last eight. I think they'll take a point each again, and I'll be backing the draw at [3.35].