English Football League / Andrew French / 22 February 2008 /

Andrew French predicts wins for West Brom, Watford and Stoke to keep things tight at the top of the Championship table

Another week, another leader. It may always live in the shadow of the Premiership, but the Championship is providing a thrilling battle for its title, its two automatic promotion places and the play-offs.

Stoke went top a week ago but had to come from 2-0 down against basement boys Scunthorpe to do so. However, the Potters are still third favourites to win the division at [5.2], behind joint jollies West Brom and Watford, who are both available to back at [3.4].

Bristol City are third but had the chance to go top on Monday night. However, instead of beating Crystal Palace and rising to the summit, the Robins needed a stoppage-time equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw.

It's perhaps an over-used phrase but anyone can really beat anyone in the Championship, and those teams who do go up will most likely be the sides who allow that to happen least often.

This weekend Bristol City have a chance to redeem themselves when they visit struggling Colchester, who have won only three home games all season. City do not score many goals on the road but they are being hosted by the most porous home defence in the division.

Gary Johnson's side have a habit of bouncing back after disappointment: they followed heavy defeats at both West Brom and QPR with narrow victories in their next game, and I take them to do the same this weekend - the fact they can be backed at [2.88] is an added bonus. Even though Colchester ship goals, I think this will be quite tight, so Under 2.5 goals at [1.72] also appeals.

The other three sides in the top four are all at home, and I'll be looking to combine them in a treble.

It will be two contrasting styles as Stoke host Ipswich and although the visitors have improved their away record of late, I think City may be able to knock the East Anglian club out of their stride.

Watford are back in gear and proving very hard to beat (ask Charlton after last week's draw at The Valley), and having lost at lowly Preston earlier in the season, there will also be a little bit of revenge in the minds of Aidy Boothroyd's side.

So Stoke (at [2.06]), Watford (at [1.68]) and West Brom (at [1.69]), whose goal power at home should account for Hull, will give me a treble that should pay around the [5.8] mark. Get over the to Multiples section of the Betfair site!

At the bottom of the table Scunthorpe are in real trouble and while I think they will ultimately go down, they can pull a performance out of the bag - as their recent victory over Charlton at Glanford Park illustrated.

Southampton are experiencing a little bit of freefall at the moment, and new manager Nigel Pearson admitted he understood the size of the task after seeing his new side lose 2-0 at home to Plymouth in midweek. The fans also showed their discontent as the St Mary's Stadium attracted its lowest crowd for a Saints' game since it opened.

The south coast club are particularly poor on the road - they were pretty awful at Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup last week and although they were beaten by a deflection, the manner of their performance merited the upset.

The Saints have not won away in seven attempts and I expect that sequence to continue against Scunthorpe. Therefore, I'd suggest laying Southampton at [3.15], although it might also be worth a small investment in a 1-0 Scunthorpe win at [8.6].

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