EFL Weekend Tips and Predictions: Best Bets Preview

Jack Wright is back on EFL duties here at bettingexpert with his weekend tips and predictions covering the three best leagues in the world. There’s wounded Rams heading to Norwich in the Championship, a struggling Pompey away outfit visiting one of the league’s best, and a flight of Swans in for a rough landing in Bristol.

• Norwich vs Derby Prediction: Norwich Win
• Sheffield United vs Portsmouth Prediction: BTTS No
• Bristol City vs Swansea Prediction: Bristol City Win

Norwich vs Derby Prediction: Sargent to lead Rams to the Slaughter

England, Championship, Saturday, February 8th, 15:00 (UK) 

Our Norwich vs Derby prediction is for Norwich to win the match 3-1.

It has been a rather inconsistent season for Norwich. Something which is only to be expected in a first full season under Sporting Director Ben Knapper and his hire Johannes Hoff Thorup who has had a lot to contend with in his debut season in English football.

The departures of Gabby Sara and Jon Rowe have been compounded by a series of disciplinary and injury issues. Captain Kenny McLean has missed eight games through two separate red card incidents, Championship top-scorer Borja Sainz serves the last of a six-game suspension here due to his own disciplinary issues and playmaker Marcelino Nunez’s injury absence has now run into double figures. 

Arguably the most damaging was losing Josh Sargent for 14-games due to a groin injury which required surgery. Highlighted by the fact the USA international has seven goals and five assists from his 16 appearances this season and a familiar pattern is forming. 

Last season Sargent missed 20 league games with a serious ankle injury before hitting 13 goals in the final 22 fixtures of the season to fire his side to the play-offs with 10 of those strikes coming at Carrow Road. This time around after three cameo appearances off the bench he has scored three goals from two starts including a brace in his last home appearance. 

Sargent back with a bang

The Norfolk club have made do with a variety of players being utilised as the number 9 and have managed to keep in-touch with the top-six, sitting just two points adrift in eighth. A favourable run of fixtures which sees them play five of the next seven games at home offers a fantastic opportunity to be in the promotion conversation at the business end of the season. 

Only four sides in the league are averaging more points per home game than the Canaries and they look a great price to beat a struggling Derby outfit on Saturday. Paul Warne brings his side to the club he supported as a boy on a terrible run of seven successive league defeats and with only one win on the road all season from 17 attempts.

The Rams hired Warne due to his phenomenal record at getting promotion from League One with Rotherham and he delivered once again last term. However, he failed to keep the Millers in the Championship, suffering three relegations with them and the recent run has now seen Derby drop into the bottom three.

County’s squad is looking stretched with several key players missing through injury and the sale of Eiran Cashin to Brighton leaves a sizable hole in the centre of defence. Their January signings, of which Matt Clarke is the only one with Championship experience, will need to hit the ground running, while failure to add an attacker on deadline day may lead to a dip into the free-agent market. 

The other three teams currently in the bottom four have all visited Norwich and suffered heavy defeats by scorelines of 6-1, 4-0 and 4-2 with Watford and Swansea also on the receiving end of 4-1 and 5-1 thrashings. The hosts should be a much shorter price and so the current 1.80 just has to be snapped up.

• Norwich vs Derby Prediction: Norwich to win (TRACKED BET)
• Best Odds: 1.80
• Bookmaker: William Hill
• Stakes: 10/10

Norwich possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Fisher, Duffy, Doyle, Mahovo; Sørensen, McLean, Marcondes; Schwartau, Dobbin, Sargent

Derby possible starting lineup:
Zetterström, Langas, Clarke, Forsyth, Armstrong, Goudmijn, Ozoh, Adams, Osborn; Salvesen, Yates.

Sheffield United vs Portsmouth Prediction: Blades continue to make a point of not conceding

England, Championship, Saturday, February 8th, 15:00 (UK) 

Our Sheffield United vs Portsmouth prediction is for Sheffield United to win the match 2-0.

Sheffield United have recovered from a mini mid-season wobble where they collected just one point from three games by winning four of the next five. Only outside of the top two on goal difference but with this game in hand it looks like a race between the Blades, Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland for automatic promotion to the Premier League. 

All four clubs have built the foundations to their successful campaigns to date on strong defences. None of the other Championship sides have conceded fewer goals than the top four and Chris Wilder has seen his men keep an incredible 10 clean sheets from 14 league games at Bramall Lane.

United were the busiest of the title chasers during the January window with much made of the data-driven approach to recruitment brought in by their new owners which saw two new additions from Bulgaria and Peru. However, the more old-school signings of Rob Holding, Ben Brereton Diaz, Hamza Choudhury, Harry Clarke and Tom Cannon all from Premier League clubs are for the here and now with the purpose of getting the club over the line.

Trusty Foundations

Visitors Portsmouth are three points clear of the drop zone but have been heavily reliant on their home form. Seven points from a possible 45 on the road tells its own story, and they are on a current run of seven straight away defeats across all competitions, failing to score in five of those matches.  

Pompey’s record at Bramall Lane won’t fill their supporters with too much hope for that run to end on Saturday. They are winless in the last 25 visits, with their last success coming on November 5th 1955! 

Understandably the hosts are warm favourites at a best price of 1.55, but a Sheffield United “win-to-nil’ boosts that price to a much more appealing 2.62. However, for the selection here we are taking the match result off the table and simply playing “No” in the both teams to score market, a bet that has landed in a league high 12 of 14 games at Bramall Lane this term. That way keeping a 0-0 draw onside, as was the outcome in the reverse fixture, as well as a shock away win-to-nil.

• Sheffield United vs Portsmouth Prediction: No in Both teams to score (TRACKED BET)
• Best Odds: 1.91
• Bookmaker: William Hill
• Stakes: 7/10

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Clarke, Ahmedhodžić, Robinson, Burrows; Souza, Choudhury; Brewster, Hamer, Brereton Diaz; Cannon

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Schmid; Swanson, Shaughnessy, Atkinson, Ogilvie; Potts, Dozzell; Ritchie, Lang, Murphy; Bishop

Bristol City vs Swansea Prediction: City slickers to sink Swans

England, Championship, Sunday, February 9th, 12:00 (UK) 

Our Bristol City vs Swansea prediction is for Bristol City to win the match 3-0.

A solid run of form which has seen Bristol City lose just one of their last eight league games has kept them well in the hunt for a play off place. Two points separate the Robins from the top six and this represents a massive opportunity to keep the pressure on those sides currently ahead of them. 

It has been a quiet transfer window at Ashton Gate with emphasis on trimming a bloated squad rather than adding to it but crucially they didn’t lose anyone that would be considered a regular starter. Being one of only two Championship sides not to make a January addition gives those players that have performed well to date the opportunity to secure a shock promotion. 

The 1-1 draw at Oxford in their last outing will be considered a point gained by manager Liam Manning after seeing his side reduced to 10-men inside half an hour and end with only nine. A return to Ashton Gate will offer plenty of encouragement given they are on a run of four straight league wins there, three of which came accompanied by a clean sheet. 

Visitors Swansea are in disarray. On the pitch they are winless in seven, conceding 20 goals in the process whilst scoring only three and have slipped to 17th in the table just seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Shambolic Swans

Off it their January transfer window was labelled a shambles. Captain Matt Grimes was sold to divisional rivals Coventry with bids for League One players Joe Low of Wycombe and Leyton Orient’s Ethan Galbraith readily rejected by their respective clubs. 

The Swans looked all set to secure the services of highly rated Manchester City youngster Jacob Wright, with the midfielder even in the city last weekend, only to do an about turn and instead sign for Norwich on Monday. Lewis O’Brien was persuaded to join on loan from Nottingham Forest, but a squad that was already looking stretched actually ended the window with fewer numbers in it than when it began.

Manager Luke Williams has cut an increasingly frustrated figure in recent weeks, even suggesting fans of the club ‘must despise the sight of me’ after the recent 5-1 thrashing at Norwich. Possibly fortunately for him there is more anger directed towards chairman Andy Coleman.

The Robins simply have to take advantage of their visitors’ plight and add another three points to their tilt at promotion.

• Bristol City vs Swansea Prediction: Bristol City to Win (TRACKED BET)
• Best Odds: 1.91
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stakes: 10/10

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O’Leary; Vyner, Dickie, McNally; Sykes, Bird, Knight, Tanner; Earthy, Twine; Wells

Swansea possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; Key, Cabango, Delcroix, Tymon; Franco, O’Brien; Christie, Cullen, Ronald; Bianchini

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