Swansea’s hopes of securing a place in the Championship play-offs have slipped of late but they have a good chance to get back on track when visiting Hull. The Tigers look badly out of sorts after picking up just one point in six games and invariably struggle to break down teams from the top half of the table.
West Brom fans will be dreaming of a return to the Premier League after three straight wins helped them move six points clear at the top of the table. Forest are also still in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot, though, even if Tuesday’s home loss to Charlton was a hammer blow to their hopes.
Swansea and QPR both suffered defeats at the weekend and have a quick chance to make amends when they meet in south Wales. Swansea threw away a 2-1 lead as they suffered a 3-2 loss at home to Derby to leave them four points outside the play-off places, while QPR dropped to 17th after a 2-0 defeat at Huddersfield.
Millwall have done well against West Brom in recent encounters and Sunday’s Championship clash is expected to be another decent contest. The Lions won at The Hawthorns in the EFL Cup in August, having drawn 1-1 in the league there three days earlier, plus they beat the Baggies here late on last season.
Wigan upset the odds when helping to knock Leeds off top spot in the Championship last weekend, but we’re still willing to oppose them with Preston at DW Stadium. Promotion hopefuls North End have a 100 per cent record against the current bottom six this season, winning all eight of those fixtures.
Bristol City and Birmingham both head into Friday night’s Championship clash in good spirits, but the hosts are rated a percentage pick. The sixth-placed Robins are unbeaten this season in games against bottom-half clubs at Ashton Gate, winning six of eight such fixtures, and the Blues are down in 17th.
West Brom have been stuttering in recent weeks and will be keen to ease the nerves of their fans when they host Stoke in the Monday night match. Albion began the weekend top of the Championship table but have given hope to the chasing pack with a run of five matches without a win.
Leeds will be hoping to put the pressure on their promotion rivals when they head to QPR in Saturday’s early Championship game. The roles were reversed last week when Brentford won the lunchtime kick-off before Leeds and West Brom dropped points so the Whites will be keen to get back to winning ways.
Brentford are expected to secure a seventh straight home win when entertaining QPR in Saturday’s televised Championship match. The Hoops have lost all of their league games against the current top six in the table this season, including a 3-1 home defeat in the reverse fixture of this West London derby.
Preston will travel to Leeds in good spirits on Boxing Day and we feel it may be worth backing the visitors to get something out of this game. North End have picked up seven points from their last three Championship matches, while United are coming off a couple of patchy performances.
Gary Rowett has got Millwall going in the right direction and they are fancied to edge out Nottingham Forest in Friday night’s Championship clash. The Lions have won this corresponding fixture for the past couple of seasons and may be facing the Reds at a good time following their loss to Cardiff.
This West Yorkshire rivalry is renewed on Saturday lunchtime when Championship high-flyers Leeds make the short trip to neighbours Huddersfield. The Terriers claimed the bragging rights two years ago when they did the double over their rivals on the way to promotion to the Premier League but it is the Whites who are on course for the top flight this time.
Preston have lost ground in the race for automatic promotion recently and Monday night’s Championship clash is a big test of their credentials for a top-two spot. These teams had contrasting fortunes in midweek and two successive defeats for North End have seen them drop eight points behind Albion.
Swansea and Fulham are both pushing for promotion from the Championship and a cagey contest could be on the cards in Wales. City are far from prolific up front on home turf, netting 11 times in nine games at Liberty Stadium, while the Cottagers have claimed just nine goals in eight away matches.