Midweek Championship Opta Stats: 12 bets for Tuesday and Wednesday evening

Norwich vs Sheffield Wednesday

Wednesday's continuous improvement to earn them a point

The Opta Stat:

"Having won just one of their first 18 league games this season (D4 L13), Sheffield Wednesday have since won both of their last two. The Owls last won three successive Championship games in September 2018"

The Sheffield Wednesday revival continues. The Owls took advantage of a tentative Stoke City at the weekend with their victory resulting in the dismissal of Alex Neil. Danny Ruhl has improved the South Yorkshire outfit in just about every area and remarkably, they have a realistic chance of climbing out of the drop zone.

Norwich have been picking up points without looking convincing. David Wagner's position is still a little unstead, and their match against Preston was hardly a thriller at the weekend. They may struggle to match the visitors newly-discovered intensity.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Sheffield Wednesday or Draw Double Chance at 5/61.84

Sunderland vs Leeds

BTTS at the SOL

The Opta Stat:

"Sunderland's Jack Clarke has created more chances from open play (44) than any player in the Championship this season. Despite this, the former Leeds man has just one assist in the competition this term"

Caretaker boss Mike Dodds guided Sunderland to an impressive victory against West Brom at the weekend and he faces yet another tricky opponent here. The Black Cats will be energetic and will play their pleasing-on-the-eye style of football here which should ask questions of Leeds' back-line. The hosts have only drawn two blanks at home this season including against Middlesbrough where they had a man disadvantage for over 45 minutes.

Leeds' xG numbers have been hugely impressive and they made light work of a decent Blackburn side at the weekend. They are unlikely to draw a blank in this one.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Leeds to Win or Draw and Over 2.5 Goals at 13/102.30

Cardiff vs Birmingham

Bulut to triumph in the battle of the Blues

The Opta Stats:

"Cardiff City have won six of their last nine Championship matches at home (D1 L2), keeping a clean sheet in four of those six wins"

"Wayne Rooney has lost all of his five away league matches as Birmingham City boss; should he fail to win against Cardiff he would become the first Blues boss to fail to win any of their first six away league matches in charge of the club since Steve Cotterill in December 2017"

It's been a miserable spell for Wayne Rooney at St. Andrews and this looks set to be another tough evening for the former Derby and DC United boss. He's taken just five points from his first nine matches and his side looked bereft of ideas going forward on Friday afternoon.

Cardiff are up to seventh in the table and are extremely effective from set-pieces. They've won six of their eight home matches against bottom-half opposition.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Cardiff to Win or Draw and Under 2.5 Goals at 1/12.00

Middlesbrough vs Hull

Entertaining game at the Riverside

The Opta Stat:

"Only Norwich (20) and Rotherham (19) have conceded more first-half goals in the Championship this season than Middlesbrough (18), with 10 of their last 13 league goals conceded coming before half-time"

Michael Carrick is counting down the hours until the January transfer windown opens. Middlesbrough's squad is looking fairly threadbare, particularly in defence and they have looked vulnerable at the back in recent weeks.

Hull will be looking to take advantage of this, although Jaden Philogene's latest injury setback is far from ideal. Liam Rosenior's side continue to create chances and should be able to bounce back from their disappointing result at the weekend.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Over 2.5 Goals in Middlesbrough vs Hull at 4/51.80

Huddersfield vs Preston

Another stalemate for the shot-shy Terriers

The Opta Stat:

"No side has drawn more home Championship games this season than Huddersfield (5), including each of their last three; the Terriers last drew four in a row in the league in April 2021"

Huddersfield are unbeaten in five of their last six. Darren Moore has made the Terriers increasingly tough to beat with Hull, Watford and Swansea all failing to pick up maximum points against them. Nevertheless, they've lost the xG battle in each of these matches and look fairly short of ideas going forward.

Preston are also struggling offensively and some PNE fans have registered their displeasure towards manager Ryan Lowe. The former striker has witnessed his side failed to find the net in the last three and this could be one of the least attractive games on the midweek fixture list.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Correct Score Combination - 0-0 or 1-1 at 13/53.60

Rotherham vs West Brom

Closely fought 90 minutes at the NYS

The Opta Stat:

"Rotherham United are without a home win in their last four league games (D3 L1); they last endured a longer such run in April 2021 (5 games)"

Rotherham don't win many games, yet they do tend to find the back of the net in front of their own fans. The Millers scored despite being reduced to ten men midway through the first half at the weekend and they should be able to follow suit here.

WBA have a decent record against bottom half opposition this season although they haven't travelled to any of the current bottom six. This will be a test for the Baggies which they may just edge.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back WBA Double Chance and BTTS (Bet Builder) at 5/42.25

Leicester vs Millwall

Foxes to prevail with the minimum of fuss

The Opta Stat:

"Millwall have won just one of their last 10 league games (D4 L5), a 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in November"

Millwall have been far better on the road this season, yet this is their toughest assignment yet. Joe Edwards is slowly changing the way that the Lions approach games, however, they still struggle going forward and may need reinforcements in January.

Leicester possess the league's best home defence and they have been breached just four times at the KP so far.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Leicester to Win to Nil at 11/102.11

Blackburn vs Bristol City

Contrast of styles of Ewood Park

The Opta Stat:

"No side has lost more home Championship games than Blackburn this season, losing six of their 10 games so far (W4)"

Blackburn are hard to trust at Ewood Park. JDT's men don't tend to do draws, however, they may have to settle for a point against a low-scoring and insipid Bristol City outfit.

Liam Manning hasn't managed to fully imprint his style on the Robins yet, however, in both of his previous tenures, he managed to tighten up the defence and grind out results. This could be a fairly uninspiring 90 minutes.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Bristol City or Draw at 8/111.73

Stoke vs Swansea

BTTS in Staffordshire

The Opta Stat:

"Swansea have won four of their last six away league games (L2), as wins as in their previous 21 such games (D7 L10)"

This match is another battle of two managerless teams (at the time of writing) and both sides will be hoping to make appointments ahead of the hectic festive period. Stoke have failed to score in their last three home matches, but they've had chances and missed a penalty against Sheffield Wednesday.

Swansea's away games have averaged 3.2 goals per game and they've found the net in each of their last seven.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back BTTS in Stoke vs Swansea at 8/111.73

QPR vs Plymouth

R's revival to continue

The Opta Stat:

"Along with Rotherham, Plymouth are one of two sides without an away win in the Championship this season (P10 W0 D3 L7). The Pilgrims have lost their last four league outings on the road, last losing five in a row within a single season in October 2011 in League Two"

QPR are rolling under Marti Cifuentes and they look full of confidence heading into this contest. Prior to his arrival, they possessed a wretched home record and had failed to score more than a single goal at Loftus Road this season. They've now scored six in their last two and have kept two clean sheets in their last three matches here.

Plymouth have struggled on the road this season and were swept aside by Leicester at the weekend. They've failed to score in each of their last two away games and in three of their last five.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Over 1.5 QPR Goals at 10/111.91

Coventry vs Southampton

Two good sides to cancel one another out

The Opta Stat:

"Southampton are unbeaten in their last 12 league matches (W8 D4), their longest unbeaten run since March 2013 - also a run of 12 in the Championship"

Both of these sides are playing well and this is an intriguing contest at the CBS. Coventry may have had trouble scoring this season, but they've conceded an average of just 0.7 goals per game at home this season and their games here have averaged less than two goals.

Southampton have an unbeaten run to protect and they will arrive here full of confidence. They've scored exactly one goal in four of their last six away games and haven't conceded more than a single goal since October 25th.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Under 2.5 Goals at 9/101.90

Watford vs Ipswich

Impressive Tractor Boys to take something back to Suffolk

The Opta Stat:

"Only Leicester (8) have won more away games in the Championship this season than Ipswich (6). Indeed, they're the first newly promoted side to win as many as six of their first 10 away league games in a second tier season since Reading in 2002-03 (also six wins)"

Watford are fairly efficient at home and they've averaged two goals per game here. Although Val Ismael's side possess plenty of attacking talent, they aren't particularly secure at the back and they've only kept two clean sheets here across their last six matches.

Ipswich continued their impressive start to the season with a comfortable victory against Middlesbrough. They've suffered just a single defeat on the road this season, although they've kept just two clean sheets across their last six.

The Betfair Bet:

• Back Ipswich to Win or Draw and BTTS at 11/102.11