SkyBet Championship: Gameweek 5 Previews & Predictions

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Taylor Cornish
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Friday 11th September

20:00 – Reading v Ipswich

Team News

Reading;

  • Steve Clarke’s team have a clean bill of health

  • Matej Vydra should make his Reading debut although a start could be out of the question after Orlando Sa opened his account vs Brentford.

  • Garath McCleary has returned to fitness and is likely to start on the wing

Ipswich;

  • Teddy Bishop and Kevin Bru are both unavailable through injury

  • Christophe Berra and Daryl Murphy have overcome knocks to be avaiable for this game

  • Despite withdrawing from the Republic of Ireland national squad due to injury, David McGoldrick is fit to feautre vs Reading.

Statistical Facts

  • Reading have won 4 of the last 5 meetings between the two sides, Ipswich winning 1.

  • Reading are unbeaten in 6 and are yet to concede at home in 2015/16, but have not scored at the Madejski since April 4th.

  • Ipswich have won 3 of their 5 Championship games this season and are the Championship joint top scorers with 10 goals.

  • Ipswich have only kept 1 clean sheet away from home in the last 15 league games.

  • Reading won this fixture 1-0 last season.

PREDICTION: Reading 1-0 Ipswich

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Saturday 12th September

12:30 – QPR v Nottingham Forest

Team News

QPR;

  • Armand Traore remanis sidelined with a presistent knee problem

  • Clint Hill and Karl Henry are doubtful ahead of Saturday’s game

  • New signings Daniel Tozser and Gabriele Angella are expected to come straight into the side to make their debuts.

Nottingham Forest;

  • Britt Assombalonga is still on the road to recovery following his knee ligament injury last season.

  • Dougie Freedman is likely to introduce Nelson Oliveira and Ryan Mendes into his XI this weekend following their arrivals earlier in the week.

Statistical Facts

  • Last 5 meetings between the sides: QPR/Forest/D/D/Forest.

  • QPR have won their last 3 league games.

  • QPR’s 2015 home form has seen them win only twice with just 1 clean sheet.

  • QPR have conceded 2 goals in each of their 3 home games this season.

  • Forest haven’t won on the road since February, drawing 4/8 away games since then.

  • Forest have 1 win (2-1 vs Rotherham) from 6 this season.

PREDICTION: QPR 2-2 Nottingham Forest

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15:00 – Birmingham v Bristol City

Team News

Birmingham;

  • Gary Rowett’s team that beat MK Dons could well be unchanged for this game

Bristol City;

  • Frank Fielding remains out with a shoulder injury

  • Liam Moore and Nathan Baker are both available and could make debuts.

Statistical Facts

  • Birmingham have won 4 of the last 5 meetings between the sides, Bristol City winning the other.

  • Birmingham are currently 9 competitive matches unbeaten, with 1 loss in the last 12 (1-0 vs Watford).

  • Birmingham have been undefeated at home since February 18th 2015 (11 games).

  • Bristol City have lost 4 games from 6 this season.

  • Bristol City have won 50% of their league away games in the 2015/16 season.

  • Bristol City averaged 2 goals a game in their 2014/15 campaign.

PREDICTION: Birmingham 1-1 Bristol City

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15:00 – Bolton v Wolves

Team News

Bolton;

  • After his ending off against Blackburn Dorian Dervite is suspeneded, Derik Osede potentially his replacement.

  • Liam Trotter, Jose Manuel Casado and Paul Rachubka could all come into the squad.

  • Max Clayton (knee), Darren Pratley (ankle) and David Wheater (calf) are all still out with injuries.

Wolves;

  • Nouha Dicko ruptured his cruciate ligament against Charlton and will be out for at least 9 months.

  • Adam Le Fondre is likely to start in place of the injured Dicko.

  • Danny Batth (fractured foot) is recovering well but won’t be fit until late September.

Statistical Facts

  • Last 5 meetings: Bolton – 2, Wolves – 1, Draws – 2.

  • This fixture last season ended in a 2-2 draw.

  • Bolton are winless in the 2015/16 campaign and haven’t recorded a win since April (0-3 vs Cardiff).

  • Bolton haven’t won at home since March.

  • Bolton have scored just 1 goal this season.

  • Wolves have won 4 games (in 7) by a 2-1 scoreline this season

  • Wolves have only failed to score in 4 out of 31 games in 2015

PREDICTION: Bolton 1-2 Wolves

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15:00 – Brighton v Hull

Team News

Brighton;

  • Brighton have a full squad available for this game.

  • Lewis Dunk could make his way back into the team as Brighton’s only change.

Hull;

  • Despite doubts surrounding Akpom’s fitness he is likely to start up front alongside Abel Hernandez.

  • New arrival Adama Diomande will be named on the bench.

  • Shaun Maloney and Tom Huddlestone could be brought into the XI for this game.

Statistical Facts

  • In the last 5 meetings Hull have claimed 2 wins, 2 games ended level whilst Brighton have won 1.

  • The last 7 meetings between Brighton and Hull have been decided by 1 goal or less.

  • Both teams have scored 8 and conceded 4 in the Championship this season.

  • Brighton are unbeaten in the Championship this season with 4 wins and 1 draw.

  • All 4 of Brighton’s wins this season have been by 1 goal exactly.

  • Brighton averaged 1.1 goals a game at home in the 2014/15 season and currently 1 goal a game in 2015/16.

  • Hull have won just 1 away league game in 2015 (0-2 vs Crystal Palace).

  • In the 2015/16 Championship season all 3 of Hull City’s clean sheets have been wins.

PREDICTION: Brighton 0-0 Hull

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15:00 – Burnley v Sheffield Wednesday

Team News

Burnley;

  • Burnley’s current injury list consists of Kevin Long, Dean Marney, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Ashley Barnes who are all sidelined for this game.

  • Sean Dyche will not hand Joey Barton his debut as he continues to regain fitness.

  • Matt Lowton is a doubt after recovering from a shin injury.

Sheffield Wednesday;

  • Sheffield Wednesday have no injuries to be concerned about.

  • Kieren Westwood will return between the sticks.

  • Barry Bannan and Fernando Foristieri are expected to make debuts.

Statistical Facts

  • The last 5 meetings between the teams saw Burnley win twice, Sheffield Wednesday once and 2 games end level.

  • This fixture was played in the Captial One Cup last season where Wednesday won 0-1 at Turf Moor.

  • Of the 6 goals Burnley have scored in 2015/16, 5 have come from set-pieces.

  • Burnley average under a goal a game at home in 2015.

  • 41% of Burnley’s home games in 2015 have ended in a draw

  • Wedensday have just 1 league win in 2015/16, drawing 2 and losing 2.

  • In 2015 Sheffield Wednesday have only won away when either keeping a clean sheet or scoring at least 3 goals.

PREDICTION: Burnley 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday

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15:00 – Cardiff v Huddersfield

Team News

Cardiff;

  • Craig Noone is a doubt for this game through injury.

  • Aron Gunnarsson is back up and running after a groin injury.

Huddersfield;

  • Elliott Ward, Jamie Paterson and Emyr Huws are all avaialable after recently signing for the club.

  • Mustapha Carayol looks set to earn his first start for The Terriers.

Statistical Facts

  • The last 5 meetings between these sides has seen 3 draws and 2 Cardiff wins.

  • This fixture last season saw Cardiff win 3-1.

  • Cardiff are 1 of the 4 unbeaten teams in the 2015/16 Championship season (2 wins, 3 draws).

  • Cardiff have scored 2 or more in 60% of their 2015/16 games.

  • Huddersfield are winless in 2015/16, drawing 3 of their games 1-1.

  • Hudderfield have conceded 1 or less in 9/13 away games in 2015.

  • Huddersfield have only managed to score more than 1 goal in an away game once in 2015, whilst failing to score in 5 occassions.

PREDICTION: Cardiff 1-1 Huddersfield

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15:00 – Charlton v Rotherham

Team News

Charlton;

  • Igor Vetokele is a doubt through illness but Tony Watt has been deemed fit to play.

Rotherham;

  • New signings Lee Camp, Tony Andreu and Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe are all available if required.

Statistical Facts

  • The two fixtures last season are the teams only meetings, both games ending 1-1.

  • Charlton have 4 wins from 7 in 2015/16 with just 1 loss.

  • Chalrton have a 100% home record so far this season (3 games).

  • Charlton average just under 2 goals per game at home in 2015, with 2.6 goals per home game in 2015/16.

  • Rotherham have lost 4 of their 5 Championship games this season, conceding 13 goals in the process.

  • Rotherham are yet to pick up a point on there travels in 2015/16.

  • Rotherham have just 1 away win in 2015, losing 9/13 games.

PREDICTION: Charlton 3-2 Rotherham

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15:00 – Leeds v Brentford

Team News

Leeds;

  • Uwe Rosler could well name an unchanged squad to the one that beat Derby.

  • Jordan Botaka is likely to be in the squad and could make his debut

Brentford;

  • Andreas Bjelland and Jota are both out with injuries

  • Alan McCormack could come in at the back in a 4-5-1 formation

Statistical Facts

  • The two sides have only met on 4 occaassions, Brentford winning 2 whilst the other 2 were draws.

  • Brentford did the double over Leeds last season.

  • Leeds are another team unbeaten in 2015/16 but they have only registered 1 win (1-2 vs Derby).

  • Leeds haven’t won at home since March 4th (2-1 vs Ipswich).

  • Leeds’ 2015 home form: 3W-5D-5L.

  • Brentford’s only win in 2015/16 has been on the road (2-4 vs Bristol City).

  • Brentford won this fixture 0-1 last season.

  • Brentford average 1.5 goals per away game in 2015 and have scored 2 or more on 5 occassions.

PREDICTION: Leeds 1-2 Brentford

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15:00 – Middlesbrough v MK Dons

Team News

Middlesbrough;

  • Albert Adomah could come into the side after his future has been confirmed at The Riverside.

  • Damia Abella and Rhys Williams are out for the home side.

  • David Nugent could spearhead the Boro attack.

MK Dons;

  • Darren Potter joins Cody Cropper and Dale Jennings on the sideline with a knee injury whilst Ben Reeves, Joe Walsh and Mark Randall are also unfit.

  • Diego Poyet is likely to feature in midfielder.

Statistical Facts

  • The last time these teams met was in 2002, Middlesbrough winning 1-0 at The Riverside.

  • Boro’s 2015 home form: 11W-1D-3L.

  • The last time Boro conceded more than 1 goal at home was August 23rd 2014 (2-3 vs Sheff Wed).

  • Boro have kept a clean sheet in 56% of theire previous 25 home games (dating back to the start of 2014/15 season).

  • MK Dons are unbeaten on the road since March 14th.

  • MK Dons average exactly 2 goals per away game in 2015.

  • MK Dons have scored 1 goal in their last 360 minutes of Championship football.

PREDICTION: Middlesbrough 2-0

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Preston v Derby

Team News

Preston;

  • Jermaine Beckford will be sidelined for a few months after undergoing knee surgery earlier this month.

  • Jordan Hugill ad Kyel Reid complete the list of unvailability.

  • Stevie May and Eoin Doyle are likely to get debuts.

Derby;

  • George Thorne is still struggling with a calf injury and will watch from the sidelines.

  • Thorne adds to Will Hughes, Craig Bryson, Jake Buxton and Jamie Hanson on the the injured list.

  • New signings Bradley Johnson and Jacob Butterfield should come straight into the team.

Statistical Facts

  • The last 5 meetings between Derby and Preston have seen Derby win 3, Preston 1 with 1 ending level.

  • Preston have kept 3 clean sheets in 2015/16 so far, but have only scored twice.

  • Preston are yet to win at home in the 2015/16 Championship.

  • Derby are yet to win in 2015/16.

  • Derby’s 2015 league away form: 3W-7D-3L.

  • Derby signing Bradley Johnson scored 15 goals and won man-of-the-match 5 times last season with promoted Norwich.

  • All 3 of Derby’s 2015 away wins have also been 3 of their 4 2015 away clean sheets.

PREDICTION: Preston 0-2 Derby

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Sunday 13th September

12:00 – Fulham v Blackburn

Team News

Fulham;

  • Fulham injury list is looking miserable with Luk Garbutt, Scott Parker, Marcus Bettinelli, Matt Smith, Jack Grimmer and George Williams all ruled out of this game.

  • New arrivals Tim Ream and Richard Stearman could get the nod at the back.

Blackburn;

  • John O’Sullivan and Chris Brown are unavailable through injury.

  • Jordan Rhodes will start up top.

Statistical Facts

  • Blackburn have won the last 3 meetings between the sides.

  • Fulham are yet to win at home in 2015/16.

  • Fulham have conceded 30 goals in their last 16 home games (1.9 goals per game).

  • Fulham have only failed to score once in their 2015 home league games.

  • Blackburn have lost 1 away game since early February.

  • Blackburn have drawn 8 games in 2015 (15 played).

  • Blackburn average over 1 goal per game on the road.

PREDICTION: Fulham 2-2 Blackburn

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