Championship / Andrew French / 06 March 2009 /

It's now just a matter of time before Charlton are confirmed as a relegated side and a refreshed Watford team needing points should come out on top in this one. So says Andrew French, as he picks the best bets from this weekend's Championship fixtures.

It's amazing what one win can do - particularly a largely unexpected one - and I believe Norwich's victory at Queens Park Rangers in midweek could be the catalyst for better days ahead.

The Canaries have struggled since Bryan Gunn took over as manager but out of nowhere they won 1-0 at Loftus Road on Tuesday, their first victory in seven outings. It wasn't enough to lift them out of the relegation zone, but it closed the gap - and the effect on morale and belief will be huge.

So, what better time to be visiting the most out-of-form team in the Championship: Blackpool. The Seasiders' downward spiral continued in midweek when they were beaten 1-0 at home by Burnley. That made it three games without a goal and four defeats in their last six.

Blackpool have lost more home games than anyone else in the division (nine), and although Norwich's away form is not good, they have only lost one of their last four games on the road. So, back Norwich to build on their midweek victory at [3.1].

Rookie manager Brendan Rodgers may well have learned a painful lesson on Tuesday night: it's much, much harder to rest your best players when you're working at Championship level than it is when you're dealing with Premier League stars.

Former Chelsea coach Rodgers decided to give some of Watford's leading lights a midweek breather and the Hornets went down 2-1 to Plymouth, thus ending a run of three successive wins. With other results going against them, Watford were sucked back down towards the trap door and so this weekend's visit to basement boys Charlton is now pretty much a must-win for both clubs.

However, having taken the gamble during the week, I think Rodgers is cute enough to make sure he gets the very best out of his squad at The Valley. Charlton are now reaching the point where the calculators come out to decide just when they will finally be confirmed as relegated. The Addicks are 12 points adrift of safety with only 11 games left - bearing in mind they have won just six games all season, it is stretching belief to think they can suddenly go on the sort of run required to stay up.

These two have drawn on four on the last five times they've met, but a point is not much use to either this time and I think an open game will help Watford, who are quite happy to hit on the counter with the pace of the likes of Tommy Smith and Jobi Mcanuff. Back the Hornets in this one at [2.92].

Surprise revivals among teams at the foot of the table is very much in vogue at the moment, and none has caught the eye more so than the recent good form of Southampton.

They have won three on the trot, and the fine 3-0 success at Ipswich in midweek followed hot on the heels of victories over promotion chasers Preston and Cardiff. This new-found form will certainly be tested when they visit Birmingham, but I think they may be on the sort of roll where they can come back from the Midlands with a point.

Although the Blues have been in the top three for pretty much the whole season, they don't score many goals and they rarely win games by much. In other words, they have often scrambled rather than stormed their way to three points - Wednesday's 1-0 home win over Bristol City was their 15th victory of the season by a single-goal margin. They have only won three of their last 11 in the league, and they could well be susceptible to a team on a crest of a wave (however small) such as the Saints.

Therefore, back the draw at [3.5].

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