Championship Betting: Tangerines a juicy price to cause huge first day shock

Ian Holloway can guide his Millwall side to an opening day win

Mike Norman returns with his regular look at the non-live TV Championship games, highlighting three bets to consider from the opening day of fixtures in the ever competitive second tier of English football...

The start of a new football season is always the hardest from a punting perspective, and perhaps even more so in the Championship, a competition that is widely regarded as the most unpredictable of all four top-flight English divisions.

My best advice is three-fold. One, unless you know something that most of us don't then avoid getting too heavily involved; form and patterns will start to emerge after a few weeks and more confident selections will almost certainly come a little further down the line. Secondly, go with your gut feeling, don't ever be afraid to back long shots in this division.

But my final bit of advice applies not only to the early part of the season but for throughout the whole campaign. And that is to avoid backing odds-on shots as much as possible in the Championship.

If odds-on jollies are your way of betting then La Liga and the Premier League should be your ports of call, not a division where a team full of loan signings, with a caretaker manager in charge, playing in front of 8,000 disgruntled fans, is odds-on just because they are at home to a side below them in the table. Poor house and quick way springs to mind.

But however you play it this term I sincerely wish you all the very best of luck. I've made a profit in both the seasons I've been doing this column so fingers crossed we can make it three by sticking to the rules I've mentioned above.

Brentford 2.111/10 v Charlton 4.216/5; The Draw 3.55/2

I tend to keep an eye on newly-promoted clubs at the start of the campaign as I don't imagine there are many better substitutes in football for confidence and a winning mentality. Everyone associated with Brentford will have been looking forward to this day since they won promotion in impressive fashion, finishing only behind Wolves in League One.

The Bees were brilliant at Griffin Park last season, enjoying the best home record of all 24 clubs in the thrid tier, winning 19 of their 23 games played.

In addition to Mark Warburton's men having a spring in their step ahead of their clash with Charlton, Opta tell us that the Bees also have a very good home record against Saturday's opponents with eight of their last nine wins over the Addicks coming on home soil.

Bob Peeters is the new boss of Charlton following the club's Championship survival last season, largely achieved under Jose Riga who is now manager at Relegation favourites Blackpool.

The Addicks themselves are amongst the favourites for the drop following last season's lowly finish but they've been one of the busiest clubs in the summer with a plethora of players coming and going. Defenders Tal Ben Haim and Andre Bikey are welcome signings but it remains to be seen how the club start the season after so much change.

As mentioned already, the opening weeks are not the time to get heavily involved punting wise but I'm going to side with Brentford here; they will hopefully carry forward the momentum from last season, have a terrific record on home soil, and have a good win record when hosting Charlton.

Recommended Bet
Back Brentford to Win @ 2.111/10

Millwall 2.47/5 v Leeds 3.39/4; The Draw 3.55/2

The big question surrounding Leeds is how will they cope without last season's 29-goal top scorer Ross McCormack, however some of the club's fan will probably argue that the biggest question is who is Dave Hockaday?

To say the former Forest Green Rovers boss was a surprise appointment is an understatement, and coupled with his reported low salary and the sale of McCormack you have to wonder how much money the new onwers at the club are willing to spend on the playing side of matters.

It's difficult to know whether United fans should be optimistic or very worried ahead of the new season - I suspect it's the latter.

Millwall meanwhile have one of the Championship's most experienced managers in Ian Holloway, a man who achieved a minor miracle in saving the Lions from the drop last term. It's a completely different story ahead of this season however as Holloway is talking about promotion following the summer signings of no fewer than six new players.

The Lions finished last season on an eight-game unbeaten run, and their final day survival will have given them - a bit like Brentford - some momentum and confidence. Opta tell us that Millwall have won five of their last six home clashes against Leeds and I'm willing to wager that they make it six from their last seven on Saturday.

Recommended Bet
Back Millwall to Win @ 2.47/5 (best bet)

Nottm Forest 1.351/3 v Blackpool 11.010/1; The Draw 5.79/2

There's absolutely nothing ingenious about this selection; it's a punt purely based on the fact that I believe Blackpool - regardless of their many troubles - are overpriced to win at the
City Ground this weekend.

It's a selection also that unless Forest win 6-0 or 7-0, won't leave me with egg on my face as if we're being honest, Stuart Pearce's men should win.

But cast your minds back to 12 months ago when strong relegation favourites Yeovil defied the odds to win away from home on the first day of the season, and also consider the reported unrest in the Forest camp following the sale of two players without Pearce knowing. True, those two plaers are back at the club on loan and matters seem to have been resolved, but it was certainly not the preparation Pearce wanted ahead of the opening game of the season.

At the time of writing we don't even know how many full-time professionals Blackpool will have in their squad on Saturday, but what we do know is that when the chips are down, more times than not a strong bond is formed and a group of players come together who perform far better than expected.

We have no form to go on, statistics are rendered almost irrelevant in situations like this, so as I've already alluded to, this is a recommendation purely based on the fact that I don't believe the Tangerines will disgrace themselves. And you never know, they might just sneak the unlikliest of victories.

Recommended Bet
Back Blackpool to Win @ 11.010/1