Championship Betting: Back Brentford to score early in another home win

Warburton can guide Brentford to another home win on Tuesday

With a full set of midweek Championship fixtures on offer we asked regular columnist Mike Norman to provide brief previews and recommended wagers on three of the matches...

Brentford 1.538/15 v Blackpool 7.87/1; The Draw 4.57/2

I think it's a big advantage having back-to-back home games when you follow a weekend match a few days later with a midweek fixture. And following Brentford's magnificent 3-1 win over title-chasing Bournemouth on Saturday I can see them easily getting the better of bottom-of-the-table Blackpool.

That's not being disrespectful to the Tangerines who are fighting for their lives right now. But the reason Lee Clark's men are 12 points from saftey having won just four games all season is because they aren't very good, and they've taken just a single point in the whole of the campaign when faced against a top-seven side.

Brentford have been the surprise package of the Championship but after 32 games it's impossible to say that Mark Warburton's men are in a false position.

At Griffin Park their form hasn't been great of late, but they've faced highflying teams like Middlesbrough, Watford, and Ipswich recently and they've performed with credit each time.

The Bees got back on track agaisnt Bournemouth on Saturday of course, scoring twice before the interval, and I'm confident they can lead at half-time here also before securing all three points.

Recommended Bet
Back Brentfrod HT/Brentford FT @ 2.47/5 (best bet)

Middlesbrough 1.548/15 v Bolton 7.613/2; The Draw 4.47/2

It's a similar wager here in that I can see Middlesbrough getting their noses ahead by half time before going on to win the game, but only if Aitor Karanka plays his best side.

There's nothing worse than supporting a club who are going for promotion only to see your manager leave the team's in-form striker (Patrick Bamford) and the Championship Player of the Month for January (Lee Tomlin) on the bench for a game against a fierce rival. Why?

You only have to think back two weeks to when Karanka did exactly the same - he made seven changes for Boro's trip to Blackpool and left the likes of Bamford and Tomlin on the bench. He very nearly paid the price and had a last-minute winner to thank to avoid a slip-up.

Ultimately Karanka did pay the price on Saturday when Boro lost at home to Leeds, but many will argue that the Teessiders should have won that game comfortably. I agree, they could have won easily but why take the risk of leaving out your in-form better players?

The good news is that Karanka's men have always bounced back from a defeat. From their previous five reversals in the Championship they went on to win the next game four times and recorded a draw in the other. They're a quality outfit and I expect them to score a few on Tuesday night.

And Boro couldn't be meeting Bolton at a better time. The Trotters were in great form for Neil Lennon two months back but they've now lost five of their last seven including three on the spin away from home.

Alarmingly they've conceded 21 goals in their last seven matches - take that form to the Riverside Stadium and they'll have lost this game by half-time.

Recommended Bet
Back Middlesbrough HT/Middlesbrough FT @ 2.47/5

Brighton 2.01/1 v Leeds 4.47/2; The Draw 3.55/2

This is one of those typical midweek games where you can really fancy the away side at what looks like a very generous price, only for the home side to win comfortably.

Purely on current form you have to question why Leeds are 4.47/2 outsiders to beat Brighton. United have won five of their last six league games including three straight away wins. They've just gone to top-of-the-table Middlesbrough and recorded a victory without conceding.

Brighton meanwhile have won just one of their last six, losing two consecutive home games before a narrow victory over Birmingham at the weekend.

But here's why I fancy the Seagulls. Before the win at Boro Leeds' previous three wins were against Huddersfield, Reading, and Millwall, three lowly out-of-form sides. And at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday it's still a mystery how they came away with the win.

The stats show that Middlesbrough had 64% possession, 18 corners, and 27 shots. But what I found amazing was how easy it was for Boro to get behind United's backline. A mixture of fine goalkeeping, some timely blocks, and some poor decisions by the home side meant Boro scored nil, but if Leeds continue to play like that I can see them conceding three or four on an off day.

Chris Hughton's men may not have been getting the results but they've been performing well at the Amex Stadium and have now scored 11 goals in their last four home games.

Add in the fact that this is Brighton's second home game in three days whereas Leeds have travelled from the north-east right down to the south coast following a huge effort at Boro then I really fancy Hughton's men to take all three points.

Recommended Bet
Back Brighton to Win @ 2.01/1

You can follow me on Twitter - @MikkyMo73

Championship 2014/15 Season P/L

Staked: 116pts
Returned: 133.02pts
P/L: +17.02pts

*based on 1pt each bet, 2pts best bet