Championship

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’ve turned our attention to football’s most successful partnerships. For the Premier League, EFL and Scottish Premiership we’ve looked at the most effective attacking and defensive duos since the start of last season and also identified the best all-time pairings in the Champions League. More...

Brentford suffered a first defeat in 11 games at Nottingham Forest on Saturday but are fancied to bounce back by beating Aston Villa in the Championship. The Bees will be seeking a fifth straight home win and can hopefully take advantage of Villa's often fragile defence at Griffin Park. More...

West Brom have been frustrating to follow at The Hawthorns recently but we're sticking with them when Nottingham Forest visit. The Baggies have gone three Championship home games without a win but are still in contention for automatic promotion thanks to some superb results on the road. More...

Norwich and Ipswich are at opposite ends of the Championship table this season but the formbook can often be thrown out of the window for local derbies. Four of the last five games between these East Anglia rivals have ended in stalemate and this clash could be closer than many expect. More...

Aston Villa and Sheffield United are both in solid form and we're expecting an even contest when they meet in the Midlands on Friday night. The Blades are firmly in contention for automatic promotion to the Premier League, while Villa are still chasing a place in the Championship play-offs. More...

The top two in the Championship go head to head at Elland Road on Saturday and we're expecting a close encounter between Leeds and Norwich. United crushed the Canaries 3-0 at Carrow Road back in August, but City have improved since then, losing only once in their last 16 league games. More...

Preston do not have a good record against Derby but look well placed to buck that trend after a couple of cracking Championship victories. The Rams prevailed 2-0 at Pride Park back in August and have won at Deepdale for the past three seasons, but will face a red-hot North End outfit this Friday. More...

West Brom are going through a little rocky patch but the Trueform rating they received for a 4-0 win at Rotherham shows they have the scope to outclass Bolton. Wanderers have lost 12 of their last 17 Championship matches and are odds-on to be relegated, so the Baggies can get back on track. More...

Norwich need a win to get their automatic promotion bid back on track and are tipped to shade a tight tussle with Birmingham in the Championship. The Canaries have slipped out of the top two on goal difference after four league games without a victory, but haven't been playing badly. More...

Leeds will go into Friday's Championship clash with Derby under a bit of a cloud and it may be worth opposing the table toppers at Elland Road. United have lost their last two games in this competition and crashed out of the FA Cup at QPR, while County are coming off some decent displays. More...

Millwall should be full of confidence following a run of four straight victories and can continue their resurgence by seeing off Blackburn. The Lions are looking to pull further clear of the Championship relegation zone and face a Rovers team which has been struggling on the road recently. More...

With the turn of the year coinciding almost perfectly with the halfway point of the domestic season, we wanted to hand out some half term awards to the clubs and players who have put in the most encouraging performances so far. We’ve crunched the numbers across the Premier League and EFL - up to 31st December 2018 - to reward those who have caught our eye. More...

Championship leaders Leeds suffered a rare blip when losing at home to Hull on Saturday but are worth sticking with, judged on a previous run of seven straight wins. Nottingham Forest have slipped down to 10th in the table after picking up only two points from their last five fixtures. More...

Leeds are flying high at the top of the Championship following five straight wins but Aston Villa will be hard to beat on home turf this weekend. Dean Smith's side are 12 points off the pace in eighth but have gone seven matches without defeat, despite facing plenty of other promotion hopefuls. More...

Sheffield United and West Brom are pretty evenly matched on our Trueform ratings and also hard to split on this season's overall Championship form. The Blades are currently third in the table, just one point and a couple of places ahead of Albion going into Friday night's televised showdown. More...

As the Golden Boot race is starting to take shape, we take a look back at the last 10 seasons to see what the key ingredients are for picking up this prize. Previous winners Mo Salah, Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero are all prominent again in the Premier League, but will a new hero emerge this term? More...

Aston Villa are now playing some great football under Dean Smith and our Trueform chart suggests they are a value bet to beat West Brom at The Hawthorns. Villa have scored 17 goals in their last five Championship fixtures, picking up 13 points out of a possible 15 during that hot streak. More...

Aston Villa have had a patchy Championship campaign but go into Sunday's derby with Birmingham buoyed by a couple of rock-solid victories. Dean Smith's side were fully expected to see off Bolton on home turf, but a 3-0 success at Derby really was a statement of intent. More...

Brentford took a while to get over the departure of Dean Smith but now entertain Middlesbrough after showing much more promise of late. The Bees beat Millwall in their last Championship home game and have also impressed in defeat a couple of times on the road recently. More...

West Brom emerged from a mini slump in emphatic fashion when beating Leeds 4-1 and are fancied to follow up with another victory at Ipswich. The Tractor Boys have shown some encouraging signs since the arrival of Paul Lambert but this is a tough test for the Championship basement dwellers. More...

Black Friday has quickly become a landmark on the consumer calendar and it would be fascinating to see it introduced for football transfers. We've taken a look at the best value signings made by football clubs in the last five seasons, to see who has been getting the top deals. More...

West Brom have fallen to seventh in the Championship after a rocky run of results and would no doubt be happy just to steady the ship with a draw when hosting leaders Leeds. United went back to the top of the table thanks to a hard-fought win at Wigan and have only lost once in seven matches. More...

Sheffield United have been in fine form on home turf in the Championship and are worthy favourites for derby delight when hosting Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls must travel across the Steel City to Bramall Lane on the back of a run of four straight defeats, having conceded 12 times in those fixtures. More...

We were curious to find out which managers are the best at changing games using their substitutes and which players are best – and worst – when introduced from the bench, so we’ve analysed the data from the last five seasons for every Premier League and EFL club. More...

Stoke took a while to settle into life in the Championship but are now enjoying more ups than downs on our Trueform chart and get the nod over Middlesbrough. The visitors are a dogged bunch but do sometimes fail to impress going forward and that could be their undoing on this occasion. More...

Wigan have played well in defeat in their last couple of Championship away games and are unbeaten at home ahead of entertaining Leeds on Sunday. United probably have the edge in overall consistency on our Trueform chart but half of their last 12 league fixtures have ended in stalemate. More...

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. More...

Middlesbrough have now won just one of their last three games in the Championship although they sit second in the table, behind leaders Leeds on goal difference. Derby achieved a high rating for their fantastic 4-1 win over West Brom at The Hawthorns which moved them up to fifth in the table, two off the top. More...

QPR have put together a good run on form, picking up three wins and a draw with Derby from their last four Championship matches to see them climb to 11th place. New Aston Villa manager Dean Smith tasted defeat for the first time after seeing his side suffer a 2-1 defeat to Norwich at Carrow Road. More...

West Brom's Championship title hopes took a knock at Wigan on Saturday but they are fancied to return to winning ways on home turf against Derby. The Baggies impressed when beating Reading 4-1 at The Hawthorns before the international break and that was a fifth straight league win at this venue. More...