Championship Betting: Big win for the Cherries a juicy price against the Tangerines

Howe should be full of smiles when Bournemouth host Blackpool

Another best bet winner plus a 2/1 success last Saturday means Mike Norman's Championship column moves further into profit for the season. Here are our man's three recommended wagers this weekend...

Bournemouth 1.251/4 v Blackpool 16.015/1; The Draw 7.06/1

At 1.251/4 to back Bournemouth are possibly the shortest-priced team to win a Championship fixture in a long long time. And while I've normally sided with the underdog in such match-ups, believing that they can perform better than their odds suggest, this time I'm firmly in The Cherries' camp.

That's obviously not a bold thing to say given that Eddie Howe's men are 1.251/4 but I actually think the home side will win this game very comfortably and will be backing them to do so.

Bournemouth have been brilliant this season and they've been scoring goals for fun against these struggling teams - six at Blackpool for example in the reverse of this fixture, five at Rotherham, eight at Birmingham, and five against Fulham last weekend. I can easily see them getting three or four, perhaps more, here.

Blackpool are gone and it's starting to show in their performances. They are without a win in eight matches and have conceded four goals in games against the likes of Norwich, Brentford, and Nottm Forest in that time.

The league table shows Bournemouth are better than that trio of teams and they're set for a very easy three points.

Recommended Bet
Back Bournemouth -2 @ 8/5

Norwich 2.26/5 v Derby 3.814/5; The Draw 3.55n/a

This is a huge game at the top of the Championship table, more so for Derby perhaps with the knowledge that a loss at Carrow Road is likely to see them slip down to fourth or fifth in the standings.

The Rams' overall form has been rather patchy of late, winning just two of their last eight outings and non on their travels since January, and last Saturday they threw away a glorious chance to go back to the top of the table by conceding two injury-time goals at home to Birmingham.

Norwich's recent form has been far from patchy. Alex Neil's men have won seven of their last eight Championship games though it still remains a mystery as to how they lost at home to Wigan two outings back.

Perhaps a bit of complacency kicked in that night, but the Canaries got back on track in comprehensive fashion when they thrashed Millwall at the Den last week. Neil's men are the form side right now, they have momentum, and against a side that are struglling away from home I'm backing Norwich to win this one.

Recommended Bet
Back Norwich to Win @ 2.26/5

Rotherham 2.568/5 v Wigan 3.185/40; The Draw 3.45n/a

Rotherham are what they are, they're a decent outfit who will generally struggle against the better sides in this division but they're more than capable of getting results against clubs in and around them.

Having said that, The Millers did surprise me slightly last Saturday when they comfortably beat mid-table Huddersfield away from home. That result will have gave Steve Evans' men plenty of confidence going into the final quarter of the season. Even though they have a nine-point cushion over the relegation zone, they'll still need a few more wins yet before they can relax.

And that's because Saturday's opponents Wigan are the side sat 22nd in the table, nine points behind Rotherham. A win for either side will be huge - a home win puts Evans' men 12 points clear of the drop zone, a win for the Latics and they're just six points from safety.

And there will be plenty of people who fancy Malky Mackay's men given they've won their last three away games. But two of those victories were at Reading and Blackpool, two massively out of form sides.

Rotherham are a decent outfit and Evans knows which games are more important to win than others, this being one of them and I can see the home side collecting all three points.

Recommended Bet
Back Rotherham to Win @ 2.568/5

You can follow me on Twitter - @MikkyMo73

Championship 2014/15 Season P/L

Staked: 132pts
Returned: 156.9pts
P/L: +24.9pts

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