Championship / Andrew French / 09 March 2009 /

Andrew French is keen on Doncaster's chances of overcoming faltering QPR. Best Bet: Back Rovers @ [2.46].

The frustratingly topsy-turvy nature of The Championship is perfectly illustrated by the fact that the top three in the current form table are presently 16th, 18th and 15th in the league table. Teams in the bottom half are making a better job of avoiding relegation than those at the top are of securing promotion.

Therefore, I'm following one of those in-form teams with my bet of the night in a full midweek fixture list. I heard at the weekend a stat which said if the season had started at Christmas, Doncaster would be in the top two - that is so hypothetical as to almost be irrelevant, but it does show how Rovers have made a tremendous job of turning their fortunes around.

They still don't score many goals (only 31 in 36 games) but four wins in their last six outings have taken them nicely into mid-table, and although they lost at Cardiff on Saturday, they are still playing with as much as confidence as anyone right now.

The same cannot be said of QPR, who are without a win in seven and have scored only four times in that sequence. Touted heavily for promotion before the season started, Rangers have not lived up to that billing - and I'm backing Rovers at [2.44] to make life more uncomfortable for the London outfit.

Being a Watford fan, I know every time I tip them I run the risk of jinxing them - but at the moment, my heart and my head are in unison that backing the Hornets makes sense. Forgive them their midweek defeat at Plymouth last week, when manager Brendan Rodgers rested four key players, and they are on quite some run for a team that was in the bottom three not so long ago. Four wins in five and plenty of character to boot, as was evidenced when they came from behind to win 3-2 at Charlton on Saturday.

Visitors Nottingham Forest raced clear of danger when Billy Davies took over as manager, but they've since started to slide backwards: two wins in seven have left them only a couple of places above the drop zone.

Watford have scored in all bar one of their home league games this season, and that ability to hit the net can make the difference against Forest - back the Hornets at [2.22].

Although they are fighting it out for an automatic promotion place, Birmingham don't make life easy for themselves or their fans. They rarely win games by more than a goal: Saturday's 1-0 win over Southampton was their 16th single-goal victory of the season.

I want to have the confidence to back them to edge their game at Barnsley, but such is the apparent slender margin by which the Blues are winning games, they are always likely to be caught out. Their hosts, Barnsley, badly need to get something out of the game or else they risk dropping into the bottom three.

The Tykes have a fair home record for a team close to the foot of the table, and while Birmingham should have their measure, I can't be confident. Therefore, I suggest laying Barnsley at [3.0].

The last tip of the night is as close as it gets to a 'good thing' in the Championship, but given the division's ridiculous ability to put the formbook through shredder, I can't risk making it the best bet.

Reading are very good at home and score a lot of goals. Charlton are very poor on the road and concede a lot of goals. It's that simple.

Although the Royals have stumbled a bit of late, they won't meet many sides with a more welcoming defence than the Addicks. They have been bottom for a while and anyone who saw the highlights of their defeat to Watford on Saturday will have seen a back four that basically imploded.

Confidence is low at The Valley, and manager Phil Parkinson has admitted to sensing an air of resignation in his troops. So, visiting the Madejski, where Reading have averaged virtually two goals a game, is not going to help much.

Even with the standard Championship betting health warning, backing Reading at [1.5] has to be the way forward.

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