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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Harry Kane is well known for starting seasons poorly and finishing them in fine goalscoring form, but how do his hot streaks and dry spells compare to other strikers? We have looked at all current players in England’s top four divisions, who score at a rate of 10 or more goals per season, to see which of them tend to go on scoring sprees and which of them can go for months without scoring at all.
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.
Mark Halsey was a Premier League referee for 14 years after taking up officiating in the mid-1990s. He took charge of the 2007 Community Shield and 2008 League Cup final. The 57-year-old was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2009 but returned to referee in the top flight a year later before retiring at the end of the 2012/13 season.
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.
With the second international break of the season already upon us, plenty of top-flight managers will be crossing their fingers their stars are returned to them unscathed. Some will be luckier than others, however, and we’ve crunched the data from the previous 10 seasons to see who is due a bit of good fortune.
Those who picked up a copy of FIFA 19 when it launched on Friday have probably already begun to master the gameplay, but the Ultimate Team market is a whole other game in itself which – if you play it right – can give you a huge advantage. We’ve analysed the priciest players in each league, along with some likely bargains, and also translated their worth into real money to give you clarity when managing your budget.