Saturday Championship Tipsheet: Tigers the pick of three home wagers

Mike Norman
25 September 2015

Steve Bruce's Hull are very strong at the KC Stadium and can beat Blackburn on Saturday

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In possibly the tightest Championship ever Mike Norman has found the early weeks tough going, but our man is confident of turning his form around starting with these three home recommendations for Saturday afternoon...

"Prior to last week's win Rovers had conceded two at QPR and two at Fulham, and my gut feeling is that if they concede two on Saturday (possibly even one) then against a defensively solid Hull side they'll be set for another defeat."

Back Hull @ 2.166/5 to beat Blackburn

Burnley 2.68/5 v Reading 3.185/40; The Draw 3.412/5

Burnley's winning streak came to an end in Monday night's dull televised affair at Derby, but even though entertainment was thin on the ground at the Ipro Stadium a point at the home of the pre-season title favourites is a welcome return.

Prior to that draw Sean Dyche's men had won four on the trot against mid-lower Championship sides so I'm not convinced just yet that they are one of the best sides in the division and are ready to make an immediate return to the Premier League.

But winning breeds confidence and The Clarets are yet to taste defeat at Turf Moor, taking 10 points from the 12 available and scoring an average of exactly two goals per game in those four home matches.

Burnley will possibly need to score at least two goals in this match if they are to take the points as Reading arrive having scored five times in their last two away matches, and sandwiched in between those two games was a resounding 5-1 victory over Ipswich on home soil.

The Royals did suffer a defeat to Derby amongst that set of results however, and they've also lost at Birmingham and drew with Sheffield Wednesday away from home this term which leads me to believe that against a strong and confident Burnley side Steve Clarke's men are likely to be heading home empty handed.

Recommended Bet
Back Burnley to Win @ 2.68/5

Hull 2.166/5 v Blackburn 3.814/5; The Draw 3.613/5

Another side strong on home soil in the early part of the season is Hull City and I rate Steve Bruce's men as nap material to land the spoils against a struggling Blackburn side on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers have won five and drew one of their six games at the KC Stadium in all competitions this season, their only failure to win coming last week against promotion rivals QPR.

They put that result swiftly behind them with a 1-0 victory over Premier League outfit Swansea in the cup in midweek, meaning Bruce's men have conceded just two goals this term in front of their own fans.

Blackburn recorded their first win of the campaign just last week, their ninth game of the season. That victory came against a Charlton side who have gone completely off the boil in recent weeks so I'm not prepared to regard that one victory as a sign that Gary Bowyer's men have turned the corner.

Prior to last week's win Rovers had conceded two at QPR and two at Fulham, and my gut feeling is that if they concede two on Saturday (possibly even one) then against a defensively solid Hull side they'll be set for another defeat.

Recommended Bet
Back Hull to Win @ 2.166/5 (best bet)

Ipswich 2.111/10 v Bristol City 3.711/4; The Draw 3.711/4

Ipswich are fifth in the early Championship table with their only real blot coming in that 5-1 thumping at Reading in front of the TV cameras a few weeks ago.

Mick McCarthy's men responded brilliantly to that reversal by winning at a previously unbeaten Leeds, and they've since drawn with Birmingham to give their recent form a decent, if unspectacular, look to it.

The Tractor Boys were swept aside by Manchester United in the Capital One Cup in midweek but it's easy to forgive those type of results and instead reflect on the fact that in every single league and cup game this term prior to their Old Trafford visit - 10 in total - Ipswich had found the net at least once.

So with McCarthy's men seemingly having no problems finding the back of the net at this level - they averaged over two goals per game prior to their blank in midweek - they ought to be good enough to record a win over struggling Bristol City on Saturday afternoon.

Steve Cotterill's men have won just the once this season - surprisingly at Middlesbrough - and the boss is starting to come under a little pressure with his side sitting second bottom of the table. They've conceded five in their last two away games and I feel against a free-scoring Ipswich side they'll struggle to avoid yet another defeat.

Recommended Bet
Back Ipswich to Win @ 2.111/10

*You can follow me on Twitter - @MikkyMo73

**For a preview of every single live game in England's second tier, provided by Andy Tongue, simply visit our dedicated Championship section here on Betting.Betfair.