February 14, 2012

Championship Previews: Excellent odds for Brighton victory

Championship RSS / / 14 February 2012 / 1 Comments

Brighton boss Gus Poyet

Brighton boss Gus Poyet

"Birmingham have been particularly mean at home this season; 15 teams have visited St Andrews in the league, and nine of them have left without a goal."

A full midweek programme of Championship action has had Andrew French scouring for the best bets of the night, and he believes Brighton to beat Millwall is exactly that.


Brighton v Millwall, KO: Tuesday 19:45, Match Odds: Brighton [2.1], Millwall [4.2], The Draw [3.5]

Crazy price alert! Brighton are unbeaten in nine in all competitions, and have won five of their last six at home. They are hosting a Millwall side that has lost five of its last seven. The Seagulls should surely be a shade of odds on - shouldn't they? They are now available to back at [2.1] having been available at [2.22] on Monday.

Gus Poyet's side made a superb start having come out of League One and were top of the table in early September. Perhaps understandably they couldn't sustain that and had slid down to 16th by the end of 2011. However, Poyet brought in three loan players from the Premier League (Sam Vokes, Gonzalo Jara and Joe Mattock) and 16 points from the last 18 has lifted them back to 8th.They refused to settle for a draw at Leeds on Saturday, and have won their last three at the Falmer Stadium without conceding a goal.

Millwall have failed to score in eight of their last 11 league games and are in the thick of the relegation scrap in 20th. Brighton have played all four sides beneath the Lions in the table at home - and won the lot.

Back Brighton @ [2.1]


Middlesbrough v Nottm Forest, KO: Tuesday 19:45, Match Odds: Middlesbrough [2.02], Nottm Forest [4.4], The Draw [3.5]

It seems that the fears among some Middlesbrough fans that their promotion push may falter due to a lack of squad depth are coming true. Boro have gone six games without a win since Boxing Day - and travelling all the way down to Ipswich for a farcical abandonment on Saturday won't have helped. Goals have not been in plentiful supply at either end of the field at the Riverside this season: just 27 in 15 league games. All of Middlesbrough's last six home games have produced less than 2.5 goals: in fact 80% of Boro's home fixtures this season have gone the same way.

And here they are hosting a team that scored its first goal at home since November 19 on Saturday. Forest may have broken their scoring duck hosting Watford but their finishing was still profligate. No surprise they have the worst scoring record in the division then (0.79 goals per game) - and they're up against a defence that lets in less than a goal a game at home.

Back Under 2.5 Goals @ [1.76]


Birmingham v Hull, KO: Tuesday 19:45, Match Odds: Birmingham [1.93], Hull [4.7], The Draw [3.6]

When you've got a defence that gives little or nothing away, it makes it a good bit easier to win games. Birmingham have been particularly mean at home this season; 15 teams have visited St Andrews in the league, and nine of them have left without a goal. That 60% clean sheet rate at home is the best in the division: indeed, no visiting Championship team has managed more than one goal at Birmingham this term. Chris Hughton's side are unbeaten in nine, and have managed five shut-outs in that sequence.

Hull are unbeaten in four but they have not been frequent scorers - they have one of the worst scoring record in the division, surprising for a team that is sixth. They average only 0.86 goals per game away from home and have drawn a blank in four of their last seven league outings.

Back Birmingham Clean Sheet @ [2.34]

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