Championship Final Day Tip: Back Sunderland to win and over 3.5 goals at 7/2

• Over 3.5 goals have a 39 per cent hit rate on the final day

• QPR look there for the taking without Cifuentes

• Back Sunderland to win & over 3.5 goals at 7/24.50

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The final day in the Championship should be a wild ride at 12.30pm on Saturday.

Playoff-wise, Bristol City and Coventry are in fifth and sixth but Millwall, Blackburn and Middlesbrough could all still swoop in and take one of the final two spots. Middlesbrough travel to Coventry for a proper six-pointer.

Meanwhile, although Cardiff have been relegated and Plymouth all but down Hull find themselves in 22nd, a point adrift of Derby, Preston and Luton heading into the final day. Stoke are a point ahead of those three meaning there could be some dramatic final day twists in an environment that usually produces goals.

When a final day comes around the goal averages always spike - certainly in the Championship.

Across the last three seasons, the final matchday has produced an average of 3.1 goals per game so is an slight increase from the normal average.

And the two seasons before that - the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 - those two final days saw an average of 3.8 goals scored per game. The numbers back up the logic behind there being goals in teams' final game of a campaign. The sun is shining and the shackles of pressure and fear can be off for some teams.

It could be just what Sunderland need then ahead of their shot at the playoffs having lost their last four games.

And in terms of cherry picking an opposition who could just be there for the taking it doesn't get more perfect that QPR.

The current situations at both clubs couldn't be more different - Sunderland are potentially on the way to the Premier League and QPR have just put one of their best managers for 20 years in Marti Cuifentus on gardening leave and are a mess of a football club yet again.

Trouble ahead now Marti's left the party?

For me, Cifuentes is the reason QPR are a Championship club.

It's been a superb achievement to keep them up in the last two seasons considering the issues with recruitment where they've assembled such a hugely unbalanced squad that lack physicality and are clearly a very difficult bunch to manage.  

I've watched them a number of times this season and lots of regular QPR watchers are adamant this is one of the worst QPR squads in the last 30 years - even worse than the one that got relegated to League One in 2001 under Ian Holloway.

And judged on their last two games - two home defeats to Swansea and Burnley, this team have checked out for the season and are now head north without their manager and three key players in Jake Clarke-Salter, Steve Cook and Sam Field.

I think this might get messy for them at the Stadium Of Light, which should still be producing a great atmosphere ahead of the playoffs despite their wobbles in form.

Playing this QPR team in this state might be like shelling peas and could just give them a nicely timed confidence booster ahead of the playoffs.

Sunderland look a great price to potentially dish out a second hammering in a week for QPR following their 5-0 collapse at Loftus Road to Burnley.

Backing the Black Cats to win the game and over 3.5 goals looks a real thing of beauty at 7/24.50 with the Betfair Sportsbook. Of the last 108 Championship games to be played on the final day, 39 per cent of those have seen the over 3.5 goals line land which would have yielded a very healthy return on investment.

It's got a great chance of landing in this one and coupled together with the sorry state QPR find themselves in, it opens up a cracking opportunity to land a 7/24.50 blow.

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