Saturday Championship Tips MD3: Seven best bets including a 21/20 anytime goalscorer selection

Watford vs Derby

Rams to struggle in Hertfordshire

Watford's early-season form has confounded many pre-season predictions - most of which had forecasted the Hornets to struggle this year. Tom Cleverley's men have looked lively going forward and only Burnley have scored more goals than the Hertfordshire outfit so far. Only Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday have taken more shots, and although they have benefited from some individual brilliance, they tend to look extremely dangerous every time they come forward.

With 12 of their 34 shots having hit the target, they are likely to carve out a few chances on Saturday afternoon and should be able to continue their good goalscoring form. With Yaser Asprilla looking likely to secure his move to La Liga and Wesley Hoedt also rumoured to be heading for the Vicarage Road exit, the hosts need to get some bodies through the door before the end of the month. Nevertheless, the brilliance of Giorgi Chakvetadze and the confidence of Edo Kayembe should be enough to secure them all three points here.

Derby secured an unlikely victory against Middlesbrough last weekend as they survived a second-half onslaught at Pride Park. They rode their luck at times, losing the shot-count 20-3, and they are highly unlikely to enjoy the same good fortune on the road this weekend.

Hull vs Millwall

Millwall's chaotic approach set to continue

When Neil Harris returned to the Den in February, his cautious approach enabled the Lions to secure safety with room to spare. The former striker built from the back and made the Bermondsey outfit exceedingly tough to break down. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective. This season, Harris appears to have ripped up the rulebook. His side are yet to pick up a point, however, they've been involved in some rip-roaring contests so far. Seven days ago, they let a 3-2 lead slip at Ashton Gate having also conceded late against Watford on MD1. The Lions welcome back Japhet Tanganga this weekend, which should give them a bit of backbone, yet they may still struggle to contain the Tigers at the MKM.

We are yet to see the unadulterated version of Tim Walter's 'heart attack football' just yet, but it's still early days for the German coach. Only 25% of their efforts have been on target so far, however, they had 11 efforts inside the box last weekend and Liam Millar looks like a useful addition on the left. This could be a topsy-turvy 90 minutes in Humberside.

Sunderland vs Burnley

BTTS at the SOL

Sunderland have made a perfect start under Regis Le Bris. The Black Cats are yet to concede a goal in 180 minutes of football and they have had very few issues finding the back of the net. Despite this flurry of positivity, this weekend is likely to be their toughest assignment so far. Sunderland's young squad will be tested by free-scoring Burnley and it will be interesting to see if they can stand up to scrutiny. Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg formed the perfect partnership against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend and even if Alan Browne is back in contention, the pair have done enough to keep their place in the XI.

Burnley won 5-0 last weekend despite clocking up an xG of just 0.81. They had nine shots, just four of which were on target. It was a curious outcome, yet it highlighted the club's immense firepower. Deadly accurate finishing has been their calling card over the last couple of weeks with 50% of their efforts hitting the target. Sunderland haven't been shy going forward so far and considering that the visitors were lucky to have kept a clean sheet against Cardiff last weekend, they will feel confident of getting on the scoresheet here.

Norwich vs Sheffield United

Entertaining battle at Carrow Road

It was always likely to take time for Johannes Hoff Thorup to get the ball rolling at Norwich City and the former Nordsjaelland coach was given a rude awakening on the opening weekend at the Kassam. Nevertheless, the Canaries looked far better last weekend as they took the game to their opponent and salvaged a draw against Blackburn. The hosts managed 14 efforts on goal and Josh Sargent was a complete pest throughout the 90 minutes. The American is likely to cause chaos once again.

Sheffield United surrendered a two-goal advantage against QPR last weekend, yet there were plenty of positives to take from the game and Chris Wilder's side are likely to arrive here full of confidence. Kieffer Moore looks like an astute signing and he is averaging four shots per game so far this season. With Callum O'Hare and Gus Hamer able to create the opportunities, the towering Welshman is likely to get plenty of chances in East Anglia. That could lead to a high-scoring 90 minutes.

Preston vs Luton

Heckingbottom to get back to basics

Preston appointed Paul Heckingbottom as Ryan Lowe's successor earlier in the week and the straight-talking Yorkshireman will keen to begin his tenure with a victory at Deepdale. PNE's issues have been at the top end of the pitch so far with the Lilywhites having taken the fewest shots on target (4) and the fewest shot-creating actions (25) in the division. Heckingbottom will be tasked with restoring some confidence in their attack. Spanning the summer break, it's now seven consecutive defeats for the Lancashire club and their downtrodden fans haven't witnessed their side score a goal since April 9th.

Luton have hardly been free-flowing so far this season, yet Rob Edwards' side are off the mark having picked up a point against Pompey last weekend. The squad is still being tweaked and the addition of Mark McGuiness does at least solve their ongoing personnel issue in defence. I expect the Hatters to hit their stride in the next few weeks as their new additions start to bed in, yet they may just find themselves frustrated by the hosts on Saturday afternoon.

Middlesbrough vs Portsmouth

Misfiring Boro to finally add some finesse to their finishing

Middlesbrough have scored just a single goal so far this campaign. The Teessiders have the second-highest xG in the second tier (4.4) and have fired in 37 shots so far. Of those 37 efforts, only six have been on target (16%) and they've managed just a single goal. With the second-highest number of goal-creating actions in the division, Boro certainly aren't struggling to carve out opportunities, yet their finishing has been worrying wasteful. Michael Carrick will hopefully have used the last few days to work on this weakness, and we may see a far more clinical outfit on Saturday.

Considering their exceptionally tough fixture list, Portsmouth have given a good account of themselves so far. Their return to the second tier has resulted in back-to-back draws and they will also be looking to avoid defeat here. They survived plenty of scares at Elland Road and as a result, they have faced more shots on target than any other side (14) so far. If Boro can find their shooting boots, they should win this easily, yet Pompey, even without Marlon Pack, are also capable of creating opportunities and this could be a thoroughly entertaining watch.

Stoke vs West Brom

Baggies to leave Staffordshire with a share of the spoils

Stoke's first two performances have been night and day. On the opening weekend, they restricted a much-fancied Coventry outfit to minimal opportunities and deservedly took all three points. Seven days ago, they were comprehensively outplayed by Watford and conceded an xG of 2.27 (24 shots). With an xG of just 0.85, the Potters barely laid a glove on their opponents and it is back to the drawing board for Steven Schumacher and his coaching staff. Stoke have been incredibly hard to predict over the last few seasons and it appears as though they will be taking up a similar role once again.

West Brom have been slow to react in the transfer market, yet they've started the campaign in meaningful fashion and Carlos Corberan is hoping to defy expectations once again. They aren't a side who are likely to create bundles of opportunities, yet they can squeeze the life out of the opposition. They restricted Leeds to just one shot on target last weekend with the Whites only able to register an xG of 0.70. Corberan's men will fancy their chances of heading back to the Hawthorns with at least a point on Saturday.

Blackburn vs Oxford

Another absorbing encounter at Ewood

Blackburn have made a promising start to the season despite the sale of last season's top goalscorer Sammie Szmodics. The summer recruits have settled in well with both Makhtar Gueye and Yuki Ohashi having already opened their account. John Eustace's side have been impressively clinical with 55% of their efforts landing on target. Callum Brittain has already collected a couple of assists this season and as a unit, they look fairly efficient going forward.

Oxford have been excellent since arriving in the Championship and they have carried their momentum through from last season. Barring a Will Vaulks error, they would have taken a point from last week's trip to the CBS and they will fancy their chances of troubling the hosts. Nevertheless, Des Buckingham's side look as though they will give up plenty of chances on the road and this could be yet another high-scoring encounter on their travels.