Lays of the Weekend: Leeds' ascent to stay on course

Christian Crowther
07 December 2012

Leed's El Hadji Diouf has four Championship goals this season

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Christian Crowther picks out three lays for the weekend's action at home and on the continent...

"A dismal sequence of seven winless league matches for Leeds has been flipped on its head following three straight wins."
Lay Derby to beat Leeds @ 2.466/4

Lay Celtic to win at Kilmarnock @ 1.4640/85
The juxtaposition between Celtic's European conquests and domestic meekness is remarkable. The Bhoys have been wildly unpredictable in Scottish competition, already losing twice at home in the SPL, most recently to Inverness CT. The Hoops' recent draw against Second Division side Arbroath was another clear indicator of the distraction caused by their fantastic Champions League run. In fact, in the last three games Neil Lennon's side have played following European action, they have failed to record a victory. Kilmarnock can also draw huge confidence from their Celtic Park victory just over a month ago.

Lay Derby to beat Leeds @ 2.466/4
The Championship has often proved fertile soil for my lay selections and for that reason, I had to dip into the second tier again this week. Here we have the classic football tale of a team on the up and another possibly on the wane. It must be said that it's taken Neil Warnock sometime to get his Leeds side playing to its potential, though thankfully for their fans, a dismal sequence of seven winless league matches has been flipped on its head following three straight wins. Most impressively, two of those wins came against the sides currently occupying second and third spots in the Championship, Crystal Palace and Leicester. Contrastingly, Derby have won just one and lost three of their last four.

Lay Athletic Bilbao to beat Celta Vigo @ 1.9620/21
We're off to much sunnier climbs for our next home chokers. After such an impressive season in 2011/12, culminating in Copa del Rey and Europa League final appearances, not to mention a humbling of Manchester United along the way, Athletic are suffering. Following the departure of Javi Martinez and diminished status of soon-to-exit striker Fernando Llorente, they have not only crashed out at the group stage of this season's Europa League, they have also whimpered along in La Liga, where they currently sit 15th. Their last three league games have been winless, sandwiching a draw in between two 5-1 hammerings at the hands of Real Madrid and Barcelona. Their visitors Celta Vigo - one place above them - are unbeaten in four - three in La Liga - and will have picked up confidence from their first away win of the season against Real Zaragoza a fortnight ago.

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