Saturday Championship Tips: Luckless Latics to continue their miserable spell at the DW

• Hornets to secure consecutive victories
• Stoke to leave Carrow Road with a point
• Clarets to cement top spot

Bilic's boys to beat beleaguered hosts

Wigan 3.259/4 v Watford 2.466/4; The Draw 3.259/4

Wigan hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in midweek with the club failing to pay their players on time once again. Nevertheless, fans have been reassured that the club is not up for sale and that should enable Leam Richardson and his squad to fully focus on this upcoming fixture.

The Latics were defeated in just one of their opening nine fixtures this season, however, those performance levels have proven unsustainable and they come into this contest having lost five of their last six. Nevertheless, they are creating chances and produced a higher xG than opponents QPR at Loftus Road last weekend.

Wigan's home form is a little concerning and they've managed to pick up just a single victory in front of their own fans so far this season.

Slaven Bilic's tenure at Vicarage Road has been a complete mixed bag so far. The Croatian has a 3-0-3 record since taking over in Hertfordshire, however, their matches have been hugely entertaining with those six games producing 21 goals.

Bilic cannot call upon Imran Louza, who has gone under the knife this week, however, he still has a hugely talented squad at his disposal. Watford's issues have been at the back and their back-line has looked extremely shaky when under pressure.

Smith's issues at Carrow Road to continue

Norwich 1.9110/11 v Stoke 4.77/2; The Draw 3.711/4

Pressure is growing on Norwich boss Dean Smith. The former Aston Villa coach has struggled to convince the Canaries faithful this season and his side's 1-0 loss to promotion rivals Burnley on Tuesday night was the club's sixth match without success.

Their last victory came at the beginning of the month against Blackpool, a match in which they were largely second best throughout the 90 minutes. They also failed to build on their 2-0 lead against Sheffield United last weekend and fans are beginning to ask questions about Smiths' tactical nous and preferred style of play.

Although a number of Championship sides can potentially be described as 'enigmatic' this season, Stoke surely have to take the crown as the most unpredictable team in the division. The Potters 5-4-7 record this season puts them in 17th position and they arrive here off the back of consecutive defeats.

Alex Neil's side have been disrupted by injuries, however, they are better on the road and have lost just one of their last six away games. They've also kept four clean sheets during that period and recently left Turf Moor with a point.

Efficient Clarets to continue their ascent

Burnley 1.635/8 v Reading 65/1; The Draw 4.216/5

Burnley's 1-0 victory over Norwich sent them to the top of the table and Vincent Kompany will be hoping that his side can retain their place at the summit this weekend. The Clarets are starting to find their groove and have been easily the most consistent of the promotion contenders so far.

Although Josh Cullen missed Tuesday's contest, the influential midfielder could return for this weekend's fixture and with a number of players including Anass Zaroury becoming increasingly influential, the Clarets should be able to continue their excellent run of form and make it five wins from six.

Reading were victorious against Bristol City at the weekend, however, the Berkshire outfit are significantly weaker on the road. They've lost three of their four visits to top six opposition and although they notched twice at Swansea, they are only averaging 0.71 goals per game on the road.

In-form Lions to edge past Terriers

Huddersfield 3.211/5 v Millwall 2.486/4; The Draw 3.39/4

Huddersfield were involved in one of the worst games of the weekend as the Terriers drew 0-0 with Middlesbrough seven days ago. They offered very little going forward and although Mark Fotheringham has tightened them up at the back, his side have now failed to score across their last 180 minutes and have produced a collective xG of just 1.2. Having netted six times during his first three matches in charge, the Terriers' attacking numbers had improved, however, they now appear to have reverted back to the norm.

Unsurprisingly, Millwall have been significantly poorer on their travels this season, however, Gary Rowett's side did manage to leave Ashton Gate with all three points a fortnight ago. The Lions have won four consecutive matches and have netted ten times across their last five fixtures.

They were the better side against West Brom last weekend and with the likes of Zian Flemming and Tom Bradshaw looking extremely sharp, they should be able to take all three points back to Bermondsey.

Close encounter in the Welsh capital

Cardiff 2.0421/20 v Rotherham 4.3100/30; The Draw 3.55/2

There is an argument to suggest that Cardiff's recent results aren't a fair reflection of the club's recent progress. The Welshmen have slumped to three consecutive defeats and they have failed to find the net in each of those ties. Nevertheless, Jack Simpson's harsh-looking dismissal against QPR was far from ideal whereas Callum Robinson's inexcusable actions in the derby last weekend meant that the Bluebirds had to play for over 80 minutes with a man disadvantage.

As a consequence, it's difficult to fully judge them on those results and this is likely to give us more of an idea of their current situation.

Generally speaking, Rotherham are weak travellers, however, Matt Taylor's men have now taken four points from their last two away trips and although they have had far less time to prepare for this tie, they will fancy their chances of taking something back to South Yorkshire.

The Millers haven't been great at the back and they are missing Chiedozie Ogebene's athleticism going forward, however, they should not be underestimated.

Improving Tigers to inflict defeat on Rovers

Hull 2.6813/8 v Blackburn 2.9215/8; The Draw 3.39/4

Hull are still yet to appoint a successor to Shota Arveladze, however, despite this ongoing uncertainty, their form has taken a significant upturn over the last ten days. The Tigers have notched seven times across their last two matches and have collected six points from two tough-looking away trips.

Fans will be hoping that they can bring that free-scoring form back to Humberside with the home support having witnessed just a single victory across their last five matches here.

Blackburn are flying high under Jon Dahl Tomasson and have won three of their last four matches. Despite their lofty position, they have been relatively poor on their travels and have failed to score in three of their last four away games. They were potentially lucky to come up against an out-of-form Middlesbrough outfit last time out and this is likely to be much tougher.

BTTS at Deepdale

Preston 2.829/5 v Middlesbrough 2.942/1; The Draw 3.259/4

Preston will be smarting after their defeat in the M55 derby last weekend and Ryan Lowe will be demanding a response from his side. PNE weren't particularly bad in that contest, however, defensive lapses proved to be costly and they can take plenty of positives into this fixture. With an xG of 2.0 at Bloomfield Road, they showed that they can create chances and although they've found goals harder to come by in front of their own fans, they should be able find a way past Zack Steffen on Saturday afternoon.

Boro's underwhelming start to the campaign continued with a insipid goalless draw against Huddersfield last weekend and fans will be hoping that incoming boss Michael Carrick can inject some consistency into the squad. The Teessiders have won just four times so far this season, although they were victorious during their last visit to Lancashire.

Hatters to produce a positive display

Luton 21/1 v Sunderland 4.216/5; The Draw 3.4549/20

Luton were swept aside by Watford last weekend and produced an uncharacteristically poor display in the process. Nathan Jones will demand a response from his troops and fans will be buoyed by the fact that the Bedfordshire tend to respond positively to setbacks.

Last season, the Hatters responded to a 7-0 hammering by Fulham by beating Reading just five days later. Having lost 3-0 to Birmingham at the beginning of February, Jones' side followed this up with an impressive 2-0 victory over West Brom. Since the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign, Luton have lost consecutive matches on just two occasions and they are likely to take something from this clash.

Sunderland have won just one of their last seven matches and having conceded six times across their last two matches, they will be hoping to tighten up at the back. Injuries have hit this squad and are hampering Tony Mowbray's ability to pick up results. They could struggle against a wounded Luton outfit.

Entertaining match at the CBS

Coventry 2.0421/20 v Blackpool 4.131/10; The Draw 3.5551/20

Coventry were involved in a topsy-turvy 2-2 draw in midweek, although it came at a cost with Martyn Waghorn picking up an injury. With Liam Kelly having also joined the club's extensive injury list, Mark Robins' could be forced to name a patched-up XI on Saturday afternoon. Nevertheless, the Sky Blues have been playing well and have lost just one of their last nine matches. Although they've kept three clean sheets in their last four matches, their defence looked vulnerable in midweek and there could be some tired legs on show here.

Blackpool boss Michael Appleton has spoken about the benefit of having a free week to give his squad a chance to recover. The Seasiders also have a number of fitness issues and with Shane Lavery banned for this game, they also remain a little light on numbers. Irrespective of this, they are playing well and have scored 11 times across their last four matches. They should be able to find the net here.