James Buttler looks ahead to the ninth round of Championship action and picks out the best bets, including a treble.
Sheffield Utd v Luton Town
Unbeaten Sheffield United take on the unexpectantly inconsistent Luton Town. Two relegated teams from last season experiencing very different starts to their bid to bounce back to the topflight.
The Blades are in 3rd on 16 points whereas The Hatters are 8 points further back in 20th. They beat Swansea City 1-0 last time out, the same scoreline as they’ve won their last three Bramall Lane matches by. All five wins secured by Chris Wilder’s men have been in matches with Under 2.5 match goals.
Luton were 2-0 up at home to Oxford United in midweek but were still held to a 2-2 draw. They’ve taken only one win and scored only 2 goals on the road this season.
Last season Luton won this fixture 3-2, with the Blades winning their away leg 3-1. But goals are not the obvious route in this time. The sensible bet that has already earned us a bit of money this season is Sheffield Utd to win and Under 2.5 match goals at 17/5.
Coventry v Sheffield Wednesday
The Sky Blues look a good play to take all three points against The Owls. They’ve scored 7 goals across four home games that have yielded 2 wins, and they take on a Wednesday side that are yet to pick up a win on the road.
Wednesday’s 0-0 point at Bristol City on Wednesday was hard earned, but 7 of their 8 points have come at home. Owls don’t seem to be good travellers at the moment.
Coventry City have won their last 3 H2Hs with Sheffield Wednesday by two or more goals, so I’m playing Coventry to win at a decent price of 19/20. I’m going to add in Haji Wright to score anytime. He’s got 3 goals in 4 home matches and another goal for the American combined with a home win is priced at 13/5.
West Brom v Millwall
There have been the meagre total of 3 goals across 4 matches at The Hawthorns this season. West Brom have won two of those matches and scored two of those goals.
In the last three Millwall away matches their have been a total of 3 goals, Millwall drawing twice and scoring just one of those goals.
This one might not be pretty. Under 2.5 match goals is 6/10, but West Brom should just nick it, so Unders and a West Brom win gets a better price of 27/10.
James’ Championship Tips
• Sheffield Utd to win and Under 2.5 match goals at 17/5
• Coventry to win and Haji Wright to score at 13/5
• West Brom win and Under 2.5 match goals at 27/10
That makes a treble of 58/1, but make that a small stakes play. You could play a Trixie or a Patent to increase your chances on a multiple.
As always, please gamble responsibly.