Tony Kelshaw 
Aston Villa have struggled on the road recently but can gain a confidence-boosting win over Bolton, judged on their Trueform ratings when playing at home. The Midlands outfit have picked up a healthy 12 points from seven games at Villa Park, with 13 goals scored in those Championship fixtures.
With Julen Lopetegui paying the price for a poor start to his Bernabeu reign, we’re looking at the leading contenders to replace him in the Real Madrid next manager odds. The former Spain coach has been dismissed after just 14 games in charge, the last of which saw Real thrashed 5-1 by Barcelona.
Frank Lampard will make an emotional return to Stamford Bridge when Derby visit Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday and his side are fancied to make a game of it. The Rams have already knocked Manchester United out of this competition at Old Trafford and are in great form in the Championship.
The PGA Tour makes its annual stop in Las Vegas this week for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, where Jordan Spieth is an interesting addition to the field.
Nigel Clough will have Burton fired up for Tuesday night’s EFL Cup clash with his former club Nottingham Forest and they look a value pick. The Brewers registered a win and a draw when these teams met in the Championship at Pirelli Stadium over the past couple of years and it is clearly a fixture Clough relishes.
It is either the final World Golf Championships event of the season or the first, depending on your point of view, but either way a strong field has assembled for the HSBC Champions. Not all of the world’s top 50 who were eligible have made the trip to Sheshan International in Shanghai, with four of the top five in attendance.
Sheffield United are flying high at the top of the Championship table after four straight wins and are fancied to extend that sequence at Derby. The Rams are capable of competing with any team in this division on their day, but have not shown the same consistency as the Blades.
Blackburn are a touch inconsistent but our Trueform chart suggests they could be a value bet to beat Leeds if on their best behaviour. Rovers have shown they can upset more fancied teams by edging out Brentford and Stoke in the Championship and gave Premier League Bournemouth a scare in the EFL Cup.
Sheffield Wednesday have recovered well from a slow start to the Championship season and now look well equipped to compete with Middlesbrough. However, the Owls have got into the habit of drawing against the better teams in this division on home turf, sharing the spoils with Stoke, Leeds and West Brom.
England face a daunting task when taking on Spain in the Nations League but we’re backing Gareth Southgate’s men to make a game of it in Seville. La Roja were worthy 2-1 winners when these teams met at Wembley last month but the Three Lions did look dangerous whenever getting forward.
Scotland were booed off by their own fans following Thursday’s 2-1 loss in Israel and face another tough test when hosting Portugal in Sunday’s international friendly. The visitors are missing Cristiano Ronaldo but continued a good run of form when prevailing 3-2 in Poland without their talisman.
Wales face a daunting task when taking on Spain and it is hard to see the hosts getting anything out of Thursday night’s international friendly in Cardiff. Luis Enrique has made a flying start to his reign as La Roja boss, beating England and Croatia in the Nations League.
Conor McGregor faces a daunting return to the octagon when taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in Las Vegas. The Irishman will be back in the same arena where he lost to Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring, but fighting under very different circumstances.
Ipswich may be at the wrong end of the Championship table, but they are rated a value bet to beat Middlesbrough, judged on our Trueform chart. The Tractor Boys have only lost one of their last four matches and are unbeaten in five league games at Portman Road this term.