Midweek Championship Tips: Rooney's Derby to struggle against Coventry

Derby's poor home form to continue on Tuesday night

Derby 2.285/4 v Coventry 3.613/5; The Draw 3.259/4
Tuesday, 19:45

It's now 10 games without a win for struggling Derby County. Despite interim manager Wayne Rooney's attempt to freshen things up with seven changes, the Rams failed to convert their first half chances, and had to settle for a 1-1 draw against fellow relegation rivals Wycombe on Saturday.

The statistics are fairly damning for the East Midlanders. They have failed to score more than a single goal in any of their last 16 matches, and they have netted just once from open play at home this season. Rooney spoke of his desire to 'get back to basics' and to 'simplify' the game-plan, and his approach appeared to be paying dividends during the first 45 minutes, with the hosts dominating and deservedly taking the lead courtesy of Duane Holmes. But the Rams failed to capitalise on their dominance, and they were punished by a late Matt Bloomfield equaliser.

Derby are the lowest scorers in the Championship, and have found the net on just six occasions so far this season. The arrival of Colin Kazim-Richards did help give the forward-line a little more purpose, however, the 34-year old is clearly not match-fit yet, and he may not be risked from the start here.

There were certainly positives to take from Saturday's performance, and historically, the hosts have an excellent record against Coventry. Away from home, the Sky Blues have won just one of their last 20 meetings with Derby.

Although it's still early days, Derby are now five points from safety and if results don't improve in the next couple of weeks, they are in serious danger of dropping into League One. The hunt for Phillip Cocu's replacement continues, with former Huddersfield boss David Wagner the latest manager to be linked to the vacancy. However, the Rams' problems have tended to be in the final third, and the recently-dismissed Schalke boss isn't famed for his attack-minded philosophy.

Coventry also picked up a point at the weekend leaving Carrow Road with a hugely promising 1-1 draw. The hosts were missing several players but Mark Robins must take credit for making his side much tougher to beat in recent weeks. Although the visitors remain just six points above today's opponents, they have put together a three-match unbeaten run and have conceded just a single goal during that sequence.

The Sky Blues hit the woodwork, and fired in 13 shots during the course of the 90 minutes, with Maxime Biamou's late strike giving them a share of the spoils. Canaries boss Daniel Farke described Coventry as "a good side" and they will be feeling confident of extending their unbeaten run on Tuesday night.

Robins felt that his side's equaliser was 'fully deserved', and he will be pleased to see both Ryan Giles and Tyler Walker involved in the build-up to the goal. Coventry's away record currently stands 0-2-5 this season but they have been playing well on the road, and were fairly unlucky to lose 3-2 at Vicarage Road at the beginning of November.

Coventry are a tempting 3.613/5 on the Exchange to pick up all three points, however, they are still searching for their first away success of the season, so backing them Draw No Bet at 7/5 on the Sportsbook is a far safer way of keeping them on side.

Watford to pick up second away win of the campaign

Nottingham Forest 3.052/1 v Watford 2.427/5; The Draw 3.3512/5
Wednesday, 19:45

Nottingham Forest were hugely disappointing once again on Sunday afternoon as Chris Hughton's side slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Swansea. Conor Roberts' goal inflicted a third consecutive Championship defeat on the Tricky Trees, and they've now failed to find the net in four of their last six outings.

Forest's problems have been mounting in recent weeks. Despite getting into promising positions, they just cannot seem to stick the ball in the back of the net. They are the fourth-lowest scorers in the division, and they have kept just a single clean sheet at the City Ground so far this season. Although many of the supporters do not blame the recently appointed Hughton for their problems, the former Brighton boss must find a way to ensure that the East Midlanders do not tamely slip into League One.

The hosts managed just a single shot on target against the Swans and there were a number of disappointing performances, with the likes of Tobias Figueiredo and Miguel Angel Guerrero struggling to make an impact. Despite their problems, Jack Colback has been one of the most consistent midfielders in the second tier. However, the former Newcastle man limped off on Sunday afternoon and will be assessed ahead of this midweek clash.

Former Forest utility man Greg Halford was just one of many dissenters on social media, many of whom expressed their frustration at Forest's lack of urgency in the final third. They must find a way to get the best out of summer signing Lyle Taylor. Some fans have suggested that Hughton should be able to work his magic in the transfer market in January but Forest already have a hugely bloated squad. The club need to offload some of their fringe players before they can make signings.

Watfordgot back to winning ways at the weekend, and extended their unbeaten run to five matches. Vladimir Ivic's side have struggled on the road but been incredibly reliable in Hertfordshire and scored 10 goals in their last three home matches. They have conceded just four times so far on their travels and they shouldn't have too many problems keeping their shot-shy opponents at arm's length here.

The Hornets need to find their shooting boots on the road, although they have a hugely talented squad and were recently able to reintroduce Troy Deeney into the XI. Ismaila Sarr continues to be the star of the show, and they also have plenty of options on the bench with Joao Pedro amongst the subs at the weekend.

Ivic is optimistic that there is 'even more to come' from his side, and he'll be feeling confident that they can pick up their first win on the road since mid-October.

The visitors are appealing 2.427/5 on the Exchange and they should be able to inflict more misery on their beleaguered hosts.

Boro and Swansea to share the spoils at the Riverside

Middlesbrough 2.6813/8 v Swansea 3.052/1; The Draw 3.259/4
Wednesday, 19:00

Middlesbrough are a far better side this season under Neil Warnock who has made the Teessiders hard to beat. They have also markedly improved their home form and they've picked up four victories in their opening seven matches at the Riverside Stadium. Having won just six of 23 matches here last year, they have become a far more reliable proposition on their own patch.

Saturday's topsy-turvy defeat at Huddersfield was a setback in their quest to break into the top six, and they must find a way to bounce back on Wednesday evening. There were several underwhelming individual performances at the weekend, although Boro did look dangerous down the left flank with Marvin Johnson, Marcus Tavernier and George Saville all linking up well.

Warnock has challenged his fringe players to make an impression over the coming weeks, after admitting that several of his starting XI looked tired in west Yorkshire. The North East outfit have drawn six of their opening 14 matches, and although there may a few leggy performances here, they should be able to restrict their opponents throughout the majority of this contest. They've conceded just one goal in their last five outings here and have picked up nine points from a possible 12.

They don't have a particularly good record against the Swans, having lost six of their last nine meetings with the Welshmen.

Swansea climbed into the top four on Sunday afternoon, and Steve Cooper's men now appear to be genuine promotion contenders. Although there are still concerns about their lack of firepower, they seem to be finding a way to edge out their opponents on a regular basis. They've scored exactly one goal in eight of their opening 14 games, although they've also managed to keep a clean sheet in 50% of those matches.

Cooper's side are extremely well-organised and the Swans boss has been victorious in his only previous meeting with Warnock. There were a number of standout performances at the weekend with match-winner Connor Roberts the pick of the bunch. Matt Grimes continues to captain the side admirably, whilst Jay Fulton and Ryan Bennett also deserve honourable mentions.

Swansea have a 3-3-1 record on the road this season, although they've only netted more than single goal in one of those encounters. With the exception of their 2-0 victory at Adams Park, their away games have been decided on extremely fine margins and this Wednesday night clash is likely to follow suit. As a result, it makes sense to back the draw at 3.259/4 on the Exchange. It has landed in three of the Swans' last five away matches.

You can follow Jack Critchley on Twitter @jcritch7