Bristol City

Happy New Year to all! I apologise for the lack of previews over the festive period, I’m sure you can understand how hectic and busy this time of year is and I have just been unable to get enough time to do the website justice. I felt I was hitting some form over the closing weeks of 2010 so I hope 2011 can continue that.

The FA Cup returns this weekend so punters should be wary as there are often shocks at this time of year whilst some teams totally devalue the historic competition nowadays.

Saturday 8^th January

English FA Cup

Coventry City v Crystal Palace

One of two all Championship ties takes place at the Ricoh Arena tomorrow as Coventry entertain relegation threatened Crystal Palace.

After a powerful run heading into Christmas, the Sky Blues have tailed off a little of late as they head into this game without a win in six matches, losing 4 of them. Aidy Boothroyd has done it all before in the Championship and would have expected a run like this with a squad that was only put together a matter of months ago. They are a club that is very much developing and the fact they’re only four points off a play-off position in the first week of January, should provide some comfort and satisfaction for all those associated with the club. Their home form this season has been in and out as they have won six and lost five of their 13 matches at the Ricoh. City had a decent run in the FA Cup two seasons ago as they reached the Quarter Finals only losing out to eventual winners Chelsea at home. Boothroyd will be hoping that his side can replicate some of that form this season. By his own admission it’s likely that this season is far too early for promotion, but with some experience and quality in the ranks, a good cup run is not out the question.

Crystal Palace have struggled all season long, so much so that they parted company with George Burley towards the end of last year. Former fans favourite, Dougie Freedman has taken the role of caretaker manager since Burley’s departure. The Scot picked up his first win in charge earlier this week as Palace triumphed 1-0 at home to fellow strugglers Preston North End. The winning goal came from former Spurs striker Stefan Iversen. The Norwegian striker marked his debut with a goal and is line to face Coventry tomorrow. Still an international striker, his acquisition may prove vital in the coming months as Palace bid to stave off relegation. The fans will be hoping that their new signing and current managerial team can alter things away from home. The Eagles have an abysmal record on the road which is the main reason they find themselves at the wrong end of the table. Just one win, and 10 defeats, from 13 away games tells its own story, as does the 31 goals conceded (the worst record in the division).

There are two lines of thinking as to how Crystal Palace will approach this game. Given they have just won a match and require momentum to lift themselves from their current league position, you could be forgiven to think that they would consider this game a must win. However I’m of the other opinion that the FA Cup could prove to be a hindrance with so many crucial league games coming up. They may well field a strong team given their lack of depth in the squad, but their priority is surely league survival. Coventry, on the other hand, can play with some more freedom as they sit in a much more comfortable position.

Priorities have to come into play here so with that in mind, I believe a home win offers the best value in this match up.

My selection: Coventry to beat Crystal Palace

Best odds available: EVENS available with William Hill

English FA Cup

Burton Albion v Middlesbrough

Tony Mowbray takes his Middlesbrough side to League Two side Burton Albion as he bids to turn the fortunes of the club around in the New Year.

Burton have been anything but spectacular this season and are not a team in form heading into this cup tie. Had they been, then there is a line of thinking that suggests this could be one of the more likely shocks due to the season their opponents are experiencing. Albion’s manager, Paul Peschisolido, is no stranger to the FA Cup as he has been around clubs such as Fulham, West Brom and Sheffield United. He reached the semi-finals of this competition with United so will be hoping that his experience and knowledge cup football in this country can help some of his younger players as they prepare for what is their biggest match since hosting Manchester United five years ago. They done ever so well to hold United to draw at home before losing the tie in the replay. That match should prove that they have little to fear in these fixtures as the pressure is all on the ‘big’ sides.

Tony Mowbray replaced Gordon Strachan in a job for the second season running when taking over the reins at Middlesbrough. Success and progress has not been instantaneous but performances are slowly getting better even if the results are much the same. Mowbray has always sought to get his teams playing attractive and expansive football, in order to do that, however, he needs his own players. The frustrating thing for him is that he is working with players that he deemed surplus to requirements in his previous job with Celtic. The likes of Barry Robson, Scott McDonald, Stephen McManus and Willo Flood were all shipped out last January but has fate would have it, they are now under his stewardship once again.

Burton have lost just three games at home this season and have won two of the last three at the Pirelli Stadium.

Middlesbrough will need to improve their results if they wish to move up the table, but they also have to fight and scrap for a win tomorrow to save any more embarrassment and criticism. That is exactly what they would get as the wages some of their players are on would probably eclipse the total wage bill for the whole Burton side.

I watched ‘Boro’s last match at home to Norwich and I was impressed with their passing and the amount of chances they created. If they can replicate that performance then the odds against them winning tomorrow could prove to be silly come 5pm.

My selection: Middlesbrough to beat Burton Albion

Best odds available: 23/20 available with William Hill 

English FA Cup

Bristol City v Sheffield Wednesday

An intriguing matchup at Ashton Gate is in store when high flying Sheffield Wednesday of League One hope to get the better of Championship side Bristol City.

This season started with so much optimism for Bristol City as they had Steve Coppell in charge; David James chose to sign with them as they pushed towards the Premier League and the board backed the new manager with some big wages. Things, however, quickly turned sour. Coppell left, James came in for criticism and the new players failed to gel at first. The man entrusted to get things back on track was Keith Millen. Millen oversaw things towards the end of last season and now has the job permanently. His side currently sit five points clear of the relegation places which is a vast improvement on where they were earlier in the campaign. The main reason for their rise up the table is their home form. They are undefeated in eight matches at home with five wins and three draws. It’s excellent form, even more so when you consider they have three goals during that run.

Alan Irvine saw his charges turnaround their indifferent form and put a run together which catapulted them right back into the automatic promotion shake up. He has also witnessed a capitulation again as Wednesday are on a run of five games which has returned just one solitary victory. He must be banging his head against a wall with all the inconsistency which has plagued them for much of the season. Their away form has bore the brunt of this as they have lost the last four on the road which makes them vulnerable heading into this match. Irvine’s priority is obviously getting the Owl’s back into the Championship and making this fixture a regular thing. However tomorrow’s game could be just the tonic needed to go on another run of form over the next few weeks.

Bristol City have a lot of attacking options going forward and having made Ashton Gate a bit of a fortress of late, it’s no surprise that I feel they are the safest option and the odds suggest value to me.

My selection: Bristol City to beat Sheffield Wednesday

Best odds available: 21/20 available with Victor Chandler

There’s often some tremendous value to be gleaned from the Top Goalscorer markets outside of the Premier League. While the bookmakers know the English top flight very well (and a player from a big club nearly always wins the Golden Boot), the same cannot always be said of the Championship which is a much more competitive division.

Season after season, we see a big-priced winner on this particular market, although perhaps the bookies have the favourite spot-on this season. Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan has been busy in the transfer market this summer, signing players north of the border and the most eye-catching of these was Kris Boyd. The striker scored a phenomenal 101 goals from 118 league starts for Rangers and Ladbrokes’ 8/1 looks like a price worth taking.

It was Nicky Maynard who led the way last season by finishing joint-top scorer and the Bristol City forward will be confident of getting somewhere close to that 20-goal haul again. Steve Coppell has become the new Robins manager and the striker is open to improvement at the tender age of 23. There should be plenty of each-way money for him at odds of 14/1 (Sky Bet).

The other player to finish on twenty goals last season was Peter Whittingham, although firms are far from convinced that the Cardiff midfielder can make the same impact in front of goal this time around. He’s on offer at 28/1 (William Hill) to finish top of the pile, with Bluebirds team-mate Michael Chopra (12/1 Ladbrokes) looking to increase his quota this time around. However, it’s the former who does take the penalties for Dave Jones’ team.

Grant Holt is a striker that catches the eye at bigger odds (25/1 Bet Fred), with the Norwich striker having scored loads of goals for the Canaries last season. City are looking as though they will have a strong season on their return to the Championship, although Holt’s former club Nottingham Forest are expected to go even better. That could see Robert Earnshaw (25/1 Ladbrokes) score on a consistent basis, although the Welshman could be subjected to a lot of rotation.

Leicester City finished in the play-offs last season and it was thanks in no small part to the attacking prowess of Matty Fryatt. The 24-year-old is not yet the finished article for the Foxes, although he has scored 49 goals since arriving in 2006 and might benefit from Paulo Sousa arriving at the club. You can back him at odds of 25/1 (Blue Square).

The two other players worth mentioning are Derby’s Rob Hulse (33/1 Bet Fred) and Crystal Palace’s Darren Ambrose (40/1 William Hill). Both are experienced professionals who are capable of scoring twenty goals plus for their respective clubs this season and they should go well at big prices.

There are only six teams that can realistically win the Premier League, although there are at least a dozen sides who have the potential to finish top of the Championship. While Newcastle cruised to the title last season, it looks set to be more competitive this time around, with fifteen teams currently trading at 20/1 or lower.

It’s Middlesbrough who are the favourites to win the English second flight and potentially join fellow north-east clubs Newcastle and Sunderland in the Premier League next term. They have certainly been the big spenders of the Championship this summer, recruiting Barry Robson, Willo Flood, Scott McDonald and Stephen McManus from former club Celtic. However, the real coup de grace is the acquisition of Kris Boyd and that means the bookies are offering no bigger than 7/1 (Victor Chandler) about Boro.

Most firms have Nottingham Forest as second favourite to win the league and they should certainly be featuring at the right end of the table come May. Billy Davies steered his team to third place last season and there are several young players in the squad who should improve. The Tricky Trees should have plenty of firepower in Robert Earnshaw and Dexter Blackstock, with Coral offering a best price 9/1 that they win the league.

The team that finished like a train in the Championship last season were Reading, who were relegation candidates after the first few months of the campaign but ended up close to the play-offs. Brian McDermott deserves tremendous credit for turning around the Royals’ fortunes and they are 14/1 (Sporting Bet) to continue making progress by winning the league.

Former Reading boss Steve Coppell is sure to get a warm reception when he returns to the Madejski Stadium next season with his Bristol City team. It’s a shrewd appointment by the Robins as they look to finally make the big time and Sky Bet offer 20/1 that the supporters at Ashton Gate are toasting a title-winning campaign. Striker Nicky Maynard is one reason why they might be riding high, although the manager will be concerned by how many goals were conceded last term.

It’s unusual to see the three relegated teams from the Premier League so low in the outright betting list. Burnley are 11/1 (totesport) to bounce back from last season’s relegation, although the bookmakers expect Hull City (22/1 bet365) and Portsmouth (28/1 Coral) to have a much tougher time of things on their return to the Championship.

Queens Park Rangers are back among the favourites this season, two years after Flavio Briatore bought the west London club. In that time, several managers have come and gone, although Neil Warnock is a manager well-versed in the Championship and the Super Hoops are 12/1 (Coral) to win the league. Roy Keane’s Ipswich Town (16/1 Paddy Power) are also among the favourites, although it could be a couple of promoted teams that feature near the top.

Leeds United have finally made it out of League One and are 18/1 (Blue Square) to make it a double promotion by winning the Championship. However, they were faltering badly towards the end of the campaign and that allowed Norwich (18/1 Victor Chandler) to win the league. Perhaps the Canaries can have another season to remember.

Apologies for the brief analysis of my tips today and for the length of time it’s taken to get them up. I’ve had a few problems with my connection this week so I’m just getting on for a short period of time thanks to a friend. Let’s hope they are more successful than the last couple of week’s efforts.

Saturday 31^st October

Bristol City v Sheffield Wednesday

Bristol City have an excellent home record with 5 wins from 7 matches, drawing the other two. Their strength lies mainly in their defence as they have only conceded 4 goals in this run of matches. Sheffield Wednesday have a poor away record with 4 defeats from 7 matches, winning only once. They were soundly beaten in their last away match against Watford. The Hornets had far too much quality going forward for Wednesday’s defence and with Nicky Maynard in good form for Bristol City, the Owls can affect another rough ride tomorrow.

City have defeated the likes of Middlesbrough, Blackpool and QPR at Ashton Gate this term so the visit of a poor unorganised and dispirited Wednesday side should not pose too many problems at all tomorrow.

My selection: Bristol City to beat Sheffield Wednesday

Best odds available: 10/11 available with several bookies including Bet365

English Premier League

Portsmouth v Wigan

I tipped Portsmouth last weekend as I have seen quite a bit of them already this season but was foiled by Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill. Pompey followed up last week’s draw with Hull by easily brushing aside Stoke City in the Carling cup in midweek. Paul Hart’s side were excellent against Stoke and finally converted some chances.

Wigan had a good win away at Burnley last week but they are pretty inconsistent at the moment as they have won twice and lost 3 on the road. Roberto Martinez will know that Pompey are performing much better now than they were at the start of the season so will be wary of tomorrow’s match.

Portsmouth are in desperate need of a win in the league and I doubt they’ll get many better chances than tomorrow. The crowd will be up for it, the players have been playing well and if they continue to make chances, I see no reason as to why they cannot record their 2^nd league win of the season.

My selection: Portsmouth to beat Wigan

Best odds available: 6/4 with Boylesports

English Premier League

Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers

The home side will be hurting after their defeat to arch rivals Liverpool last Sunday so it may not be an ideal game for the swine flu ridden squad of Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers.

Sir Alex Ferguson has fought back against the criticism levelled at his defenders this week after some recent dismal displays in the league. He has defended with his proven stoppers and fully expects them to get back to keeping clean sheets sooner rather than later. However, it may be the case that Ferguson will have to do without the services of Vidic and Ferdinand tonight. This may not be a bad thing as Wes Brown and Johnny Evans have proven to be more than adequate and are both no-nonsense centre halves.

Rovers have been hit with several call off’s in the last week due to an outbreak of swine flu in the dressing room. David Dunn, Christopher Samba and Jason Roberts have all contracted the bug and look very unlikely to play any part tonight with the latter definitely out of the match. Blackburn have already visited the Emirates and Stamford Bridge, losing heavily on both occasions.

United will be like a wounded animal after last week’s defeat and the media’s criticism of the team. The normal result is a resounding win next time out. I don’t see the status quo changing much and fully expect the Red Devils to get back on track today. They’ll start keeping clean sheets sooner rather than later and I don’t think they’ll have a better opportunity than today. Rovers have lost all 4 of their away matches this term, scoring in just two of those games.

PaddyPower go 5/6 for United to win to hill whilst others are as low as 4/9 so there is obvious value to be had.

My selection: Manchester United to beat Blackburn Rovers to nil

Best odds available: 5/6 with PaddyPower

Saturday 20^th February

Reading v Bristol City

Bristol City visit the Madejski stadium on Saturday looking to get back on track after losing their first league match since the end of December whilst the host’s will look to continue their very impressive home record.

Reading have been nothing short of sensational when playing at home this season. From 16 matches at the Madejski in the Championship this season, they have picked up maximum points on 12 occasions, losing only once – a 2-1 defeat to lowly Southampton. The key to their success at home has been their ability to hold on to nearly all their big players from last season’s relegation from the EPL. Kevin Doyle, Stephen Hunt and James Harper have been key to their lofty position and are all Premiership class players. Stephen Hunt’s brother, Noel, has been an inspirational signing as well for Steve Coppell. The striker has already bagged 10 goals despite starting on the bench for most of the first half of the season. As well as quality going forward, Reading also have the best home defensive record in the league, conceding just 8 all season.

Bristol City suffered their first defeat, since losing at home to Burnley in December, against Doncaster on Tuesday night. By all accounts they were poor that night, and also lucky against Southampton last weekend, despite picking up 3 points. Their recent good run has found them just outside the promotion places and credit must go to manager Gary Johnson who stuck by his philosophy of playing good football. Their overall away record has been more than decent. They have been victorious seven times on the road, losing 6. Those statistics may not tell the whole story however. All 7 of their wins have come against sides currently in the bottom half of the table whilst 4 of their 6 defeats have come against teams currently above them in the table.

Reading are currently 4 points off top spot with a couple of games in hand over the teams who occupy the automatic promotion places and know that these kind of games are crucial if they want to go straight back into the top flight. Wolves and Birmingham have been stuttering of late and Reading can put the pressure on them big time. Bristol City may prove stubborn tomorrow afternoon but I expect them to lose for the 4^th time in 5 matches at the Madejski.

My Selection: Reading to beat Bristol City

Best odds available: 8/11 with betfred

Plymouth v Sheffield United

Plymouth manager, Paul Sturrock has been under huge pressure following a run of 7 defeats from 9 games with the other 2 ending in stalemates. It could be argued that the visit of a side who have not tasted defeat in 13 away games, is not what he would have wanted.

Argyle have put up little resistance to the likes of Derby, Crystal Palace and Charlton in the last fortnight. They have conceded a total of 8 and scored just the once in the trio of games preceding tomorrow’s match. There were calls from the Plymouth fans for Sturrock to be sacked following Tuesday’s home match against Palace but the board have given the Scot a bit more time to get it sorted and Sturrock himself has come out fighting.

Sheffield United have had to contend with the loss of star man and top goalscorer, James Beattie, who was sold to Premiership side, Stoke City. Since his sale, the steel city side have struggled to win matches – they have only managed to pick up maximum points once. Having said that they are still proving stubborn to beat and their derby reverse at home to Wednesday, was the only time they have come away with nothing.

Plymouth, as you would expect from a team lying 19^th, have struggled to pick up points at Home Park this season. At what is normally a tough place to visit, they have only managed to take 18 points from a total of 16 matches, losing a staggering 8 of these (incidentally the joint worst in the division). Sheffield United on the other hand are one of the stronger sides on the road. They have won 7 of their 16 games losing just four. They have conceded the least amount of goals when playing away as well, losing just 13 all season.

You can usually tell when a team is not playing for their manager and it looks increasingly like that this is the case with Plymouth Argyle. Just 3 points outside of the relegation zone having played more games than everybody else, they are really up against it. United sit in 6^th place, the last play-off position, but know they must keep on winning to stay there. They will be looking for a repeat of their 1-0 victory in the corresponding fixture last term and I fancy them to get it.

My selection: Sheffield United to beat Plymouth

Best odds available: 5/4 with totesport

Inverness Caley Thistle v Hibs

Since Terry Butcher’s arrival as manager of ICT, Caley have held both Celtic and Dundee United in the league whilst defeating Kilmarnock at home in the last round of the Scottish cup. Hibs have had an indifferent season thus far and find themselves well off the pace for the coveted 3^rd spot behind the Old Firm pair.

Before Butcher took the reins, Inverness were on an abysmal run of 9 defeats in 10 league matches. They looked like a team in desperate need of a change and thankfully for the club, they got just that. They look much more solid and compact as a team, whilst also carrying more of a threat going forward. Dougie Imrie has been a key player for the Highlanders in the last month and he is just the type of player they need to have any chance of survival. Richie Foran has also been signed on loan, as has Filipe Morais, and both have these have added a bit more variety in the final third.

Hibs have struggled for consistency all season long and it shows in their recent results. From their last 6 matches, they have won 1, drawn 3, and lost 2. Derek Riordan is beginning to look more like the player he was 3 years ago when he was first at the club whilst Steven Fletcher and Rob Jones are both set to return to the side. The capital club will be disappointed with last week’s 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock considering their opponents barely had a fit striker. They will be determined to get back on the winning trail this week to salvage any sort of push for a European place.

Hibs’ record in Inverness is nothing short of disastrous. Not only have they failed to win at the Caledonian stadium, they have managed just a solitary goal on their trips through. They have managed an away win over ICT, but that match took place at Pittodrie which was the Highlanders home in their very first season in the SPL. Due to the feel good factor around Caley at the moment added to the mediocrity that has blighted Hibs all season long, I can’t see the home side getting beat tomorrow.

I would urge slight caution in backing ICT outright tomorrow as they have not won in the league for a long time. Instead, I’d advise backing ICT on a ‘draw no bet’. This bet means that if the game ends in a draw, your stake will be refunded or if part of a multiple, it will be declared a non-runner.

My Selection: ICT ‘Draw no bet’

Odds available:  ICT ‘Draw no bet’ = 5/6 with Bluesquare

by Matthew Chapple

With the championship season just four games old, there has already been a few surprise results with both Derby and Crystal palace occupying two of the relegation places. The biggest shock of the season so far came on the opening day with new boys Doncaster defeating Derby at Pride Park. Derby, who are widely tipped by several to be serious promotion contenders, have already given themselves a mountain to climb under Paul Jewell and are without a win after their first 4 league fixtures.

Crystal Palace are the other side who have made a dreadful start to the season. Two draws and two defeats see them lye in 22nd in the league and are also without a win from their first 4 fixtures.

Several have made undefeated starts to the season with Wolves, Preston, Birmingham, and Bristol City all yet to taste defeat. Wolves currently occupy top spot on goal difference which was largely down to their two terrific home victorys over Sheffield Wednesday which finished 4-1 and their 5-1 rout over Nottingham Forest.

Another surprise is that none of the three new clubs occupy any of the relegation places with Nottingham Forest the lowest out of three in the league in 16th. After Doncasters opening victory at Derby they went on to get 4 points from their next 3 matches.

Outright Betting: With Birmingham winning 3 out of the first 4 fixtures they are justified 10/3 favourties to win the league and judging by their early performances, they should go close. Wolves look good value at 11/2. They eased past their first few league games especially at home and look the team to beat in my opinion. Reading will be thereabouts come the end of the season and the bookies think so too and have priced reading up as third favourties at 7/1 while the new rich boys, QPR are currently 9/1 to win the Championship outright.

Relegation Odds: With both Blackpool and Barnsley not getting particularly good starts the bookies have priced them up as favourites for the drop with Blackpool 5/4 and Barnsley 11/8. The value looks to be with Derby County at 7/1. They are winless in 4 games and have just 1 point to their name. Their performances have been poor and haven’t really looked like winning any of the first 4 fixtures. Burnley lack quality and at 11/4 they look a fair bet for relegation and they should be around the foot of the table come the end of the season.

How we rate each team chances individually.

Barnsley
Players In: Luke Steele, Iain Hume, Roberto Colace, Mounir El Haimour, Darren Moore
Players Out: Paul Reid, Sam Togwell
Key player: Iain Hume
Prediction: 21st Despite making it all the way to the semi-final of the Fa Cup last season they struggled in their domestic campaign and finished 18th. They have a distinct lack of quality especially up front and they will struggle for fire-power in front of goal. We expect them to be around the bottom again this season.

Birmingham
Players In: Lee Carsley, Kevin Phillips, Marcus Bent, Kemy Agustien, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
Players Out: Adam Lezgdins, Fabrice Muamba, Daniel de Ridder, Olivier Kapo, Sone Aluko
Key Player: Kevin Phillips
Prediction: 2nd They were unfortunate to be relegated last season as they got some decent results in the Premiership. They have kept the basic structure of the team while adding the likes of Everton’s Lee Carsley and West Brom’s Kevin Phillips. They have made a decent start to the season and they should be challenging for the automatic spots this season.

Blackpool
Players In: Matt Gilks, Joe Martin, Alex Babtiste, Steve Kabba, Jermaine Wright, Adam Hammill, David Vaughan, Marlon Broomes, Rob Edwards, Sone Aluko, Alan Gow
Players Out: Marcus Bean, Keigan Parker, Michael Jackson, Wes Hoolahan, Kaspars Gorkss
Key Player: Daniel Nardiello
Prediction: 23rd They did extremely well to avoid any sort of relegation battle come the end of the season but with a lack of quality, we fancy them to have a difficult season this time around. With just 4 points from the first 4 fixtures it doesn’t look too good.

Bristol City
Players In: Nicky Maynard, Gavin Williams, John Akinde
Players Out: Alex Russell, Nick Carle, Darren Byfield, Richard Keogh
Key Player: Nicky Maynard
Prediction: 9th They had a fantastic season last year and were unfortunate in the play-off’s. Once again they have made a great satrt to the season and with 8 points from the first 4 games they currently lye in 4th position and look on course for another good season. They were the surprise team last season but we doubt they will beat that and we fancy them to settle in the top half of the table this time around.

Burnley
Players In:Martin Paterson, Kevin McDonald, Christian Kalvenes, Diego Penny, Remco van der Schaaf, Chris Eagles, Russell Anderson, Steven Thompson
Players Out: John Spicer, Kyle Lafferty, James O’Connor, Jon Harley, Djemba-Djemba, David Unsworth
Key Player: Martin Paterson
Prediction: 22nd Burnley finished in mid-table last term and will be lucky to surive this season in our opinion. Chris Eagles should provide them with creativity while fan will be looking towards Martin paterson for goals this season after they let Kyle Lafferty go to Rangers. With just a single points form the opening fixtures the writing looks on the cards already. They lack quality and look set to face a relegation fight this season.

Cardiff
Players In: Darren Dennehy, Ross McCormack, Mark Kennedy, Jay Bothroyd, Eddie Johnson, Peter Encklemen
Players Out: Aaron Ramsey, David Forde, Warren Feeney, Robbie Fowler, Steven Thompson, Jimmy Flyod-Hasselbaink, Trevor Sinclair
Key Player: Joe Ledley
Prediction: 7th Cardiff somewhat sacrificed their league campaign for a great cup run in the FA Cup which seen them lose 1-0 to Portsmouth in the final. They will be disappointed with the departure of Aaron Ramsey who had a lot of potential and doesn’t seem as if Cardiff have found a replacement. Joe Ledley will be key if they are to push for the play-off’s this season but we think they will just come up short.

Charlton
Players In: Stuart Fleetwood, Martin Cranie, Hameur Bouazza
Players Out: Patrick McCarthy, Darren Randolph, Chris Iwelumo, Marcus Bent, Madjid Bougherra, Osei Sankofa, Sam Sodje, Ben Thatcher, Jerome Thomas, Amdy Faye,
Key Player: Marcus Bent
Prediction: 8th We’re not impressed with their lack of incoming transfers but they do posses some decent players in the final third. I think their season will rely heavily on a good start. If they hit a win less streak then they could start struggling. 6 points from 4 games isn’t the ideal start they would have hoped for and we doubt they will make a claim for one of the play-off spots.

Coventry
Players In: Guillaume Beuzelin, Aron Gunnarsson, Keiren Westwood, Freddy Eastwood, Steven Wright, Clinton Morrison
Players Out: Liam Davis, Julian Gray, Donovan Simmonds
Key Player: Freddy Eastwood
Prediction: 10th They had a poor season last year and were lucky not to go down. A new manager at the helm in Chris Coleman and their new signing Freddy Eastwood could one of the buys of the season. The welsh international is a proven goalscorer at this level and his goals this season will be crucial for Coventry’s ambitions. I don’t think they have the credentials to push for promotion and might have to settle for a mid-table finish.

Crystal palace
Players In: Patrick McCarthy, Johannes Ertl, Darryl Flahavan, Jos Van Nieuwstadt, Jose Fonte, Simon Thomas, Nick Carle, John Oster, Leandre Griffit, Alan Lee
Players Out: Jeff Hughes, Lewis Spencer, Mark Kennedy, John Bostock, Tony Craig, Clinton Morrison, Tom Soares, Dougie Freedman
Key Player: Nick Carle
Prediction: 6th Crystal palace made it to play-off’s last season and we fancy a repeat this season despite their poor start to the season. Neil Warnock has built a decent side at Palace and his side have the ability to push for promotion back to the top flight once again. One negative for me was them letting go of Clinton Morrison to league rivals Coventry. The forward bagged 16 goals in the championship last season and will be missed.

Derby
Players In: Kris Commons, Steve Davies, Nathan Ellington, Paul Connolly, Ruben Zadkovich, Paul Green, Jordan Stewart, Martin Albrechtsen, Liam Dickinson, Przemyslaw Kazmierczak, Rob Hulse
Players Out: Robert Earnshaw, Kenny Miller, Michael Johnson, Lee Holmes, David Jones, Darren Moore, Jason Beardsley, Craig Fagan, Tyron Mears, Eddie Lewis
Key Player: Rob Hulse
Prediction: 12th Despite them dropping down from the premiership we reckon they will have a difficult season. They were the worst ever team to play in the Premiership last season and they haven’t strengthen enough for us to think they will bounce straight back up. Add that to their poor start to the season we reckon they will find things tougher then they first expected in the Championship. Kris Commons and Rob Hulse look decent signings but we’re not too confident of their defence. A tough season ahead predicted which could see the end of Paul Jewell.

Doncaster
Players In:John Spicer, Darren Byfield, Tomi Ameobi, Matthew Mills, Jos van Niewstadt, James Chambers
Players Out: Paul Green, Stephen Roberts, Mark McCammon
Key Player: Darren Byfield
Prediction:19th Doncaster made it into the championship via the play-offs from League one and although they didn’t go up through automatic promotion, we fancy them to do well this season. They have a solid look about them and they could give some of the bigger sides in the league a surprise when they play them. Derby have already found this out when they lsot at home to Doncaster 1-0. Going by their first few performances they should have enough to stay up.

Ipswich
Players In: Pim Balkestein, Gareth McAuley, Kevin Lisbie, Richard Wright, Ivan Campo, Ben Thatcher, Moritz Volz, Johnathan Stead
Players Out: Gavin Williams, Gary Roberts, Nick Colgan
Key Player: Johnathan Walters
Prediction: 3rd Ipswich are a team with a great home record. They were the best home side of last season with just the on defeat at Portman Road. We didn’t think many would beat them at Portman Road this season but with two straight home defeats it has certainly made us concentrate harder. Although they have made apoor start to the season by their own standards, we still fancy them to at least get one of the 4 play-off positions. A distinct lack of transfers into the club is a slight concern but we fancy them to go well and possibly sneak automatic promotion.

Norwich
Players In: Sammy Clingan, Wes Hoolahan, Ryan Bertrand, Dejan Stefanovic, Elliot Omozusi, Arturo Lupoli, David Bell, Stuart Nelson
Players Out: Matt Gliks, Andrew Cave-Brown
Key Player: Arturo Lupoli
Prediction: 14th Norwich finished 17th last season which is unacceptable for a club with their recent history. They lacked goals last season and have brought in some strikers wit h the aim of putting it right this season. However they still lack quality in the midfield and there is a lack of quality creative players in their squad. If they can provide the former Arsenal youngster, Lupoli with regular service then they may go well but they are very incocnsistent and we fancy them to have another poor season.

Nottingham Forest
Players In: Robert Earnshaw, Guy Moussi, Andy Cole, Joe Garner, Paul Anderson, Mickael Darnet, Lee Martin
Players Out: Kris Commons, Matt Lockwood, Alan Power, Sammy Clingan, Grant Holt, Junior Agogo
Key Player: Robert Earnshaw
Prediction: 17th Last seasons League two runners-up Nottingham Forest look to have enough to see off relegation for one season at least. The signing of Robert Earnshaw from Derby County is a massive positive. The welsh international has bags of pace and can score at this level. If Nottingham are to survive then his goals will play a key part. A 5-1 hammering against Wolves won;t go down too nciely with the players but their other 3 performances look good enough for us to think they should settle nicely in the bottom half of table.

Plymouth Argyle
Players In: Jason Puncheon, Karl Duguid, Yala Bolsaie, Graham Stack, Emlie Mpenza, Nicolas Marin, paul Gallagher, Chris Barker, Simon Walton
Players Out: Paul Connolly, Paul Wotton, Najim Abdou, Peter Halmosi
Key Player: Emile Mpenza
Prediction: 15th I live near Plymouth and the fans are not too optimistic about the season ahead. Plymouth have let several of their best players go over the past year with the likes of Ebanks-Blake going to Wolves in January and their most high profile of them all in Peter Halmosi who couldn’t resist the lure of the premiership with Hull City. Emile Mpenza is a fantastic signing for Sturrock and he could be crucial for Plymouth this season. After a decent season last year we fancy them to finish in mid-table this term.

Preston
Players In: Barry Nicholsen, Ross Wallace, Jon Parkin, Stephen Elliott
Players Out: Tamas Priskin
Key Player: Neil Mellor
Prediction: 13th Preston struggled for the majority of last season and spent a lot of the time near the foot of the table. The eventually finished in 15th and with the lack of activity in the transfer market this summer they won’t be too far away from where they finished last season. They have made a great start to the new season though and have 10 points from their first 4 games beating some of the favourites for promotion. Their start to the season is very good but they are a inconsistent side and we doubt they can keep it up throughout the season.

Queens Park Rangers
Players In: Radek Cerny, Peter Ramage, Emmanuel Ledesma, Kaspars Gorkss, Dani Parejo, Samuel Di Carmine
Players Out: Stefan Bailey, Jake Cole, Daniel Nardiello, Zesh Rehman. Simon Walton, Chris Barker
Key Player: Emmanuel Ledesma
Prediction: 4th QPR fans are confident they can win the title this season. With new investors from the world of Formula 1 they have the cash to push for promotion and a minimum of a play-off spot will be expected from the fans. They have brought in a decent keeper in former spurs shot stopper Radek Cerny and Ledesma is a classy winger who can deliver a good ball. The board have already expressed that they aim to be in the premiership within the next couple of season and we think this could be their year but it will take a lot of work.

Reading
Players In: Noel Hunt, Chris Armstrong
Players Out: Adam Bygrave, Ben Hamer, Glenn Little, Dave Kitson, Scott Davies, Ibrahima Sonko
Key Player: Kevin Doyle
Prediction: 5th Despite Reading being relegated from the Premiership they have managed to keep the majority of their best players. Leroy Lite, Steven Hunt and Kevin Doyle have all stayed at the club with their only big departure being Glen little to Portsmouth. They have started fairly well and are in 6th position after 4 games. They have enough quality to regain their premiership status and we expect them to be in the play-off’s come the end of the season.

Sheffield United
Players In: Greg Halford, Sun Jihai, Darius Henderson, Justin Haber, David Cotterill
Players Out: Chris Lucketti, Rob Hulse, Ben Starosta, Luton Shelton, Johnathan Stead, Michael Tonge, Chris Armstrong,
Key Player: James Beattie
Prediction: 11th A disappointing season last term saw them finish in 9th. They are a club expected to push for promotion each season but are very inconsistent. They did well to keep hold of James Beattie who scored 21 league goals last season. Even with Kevin Blackwell at the helm i can’t see them mounting a promotion challenge this season and will have to settle for another average campaign in mid-table.

Sheffield Wednesday
Players In: James O’Connor, Tony McMahon, Jimmy Smith
Players Out: Burten O’brien
Key Player: James O’Connor
Prediction: 24th Sheffield Wednesday seem to struggle each season and were tipped for relegation last season. They do lack fire-power in front of goal and with no recognised signings they will be in for another difficult campaign and a dogfight at the foot of the table looks inevitable.

Southampton
Players In: Chris Perry, Lee Holmes, Paul Wotton, Tommy Forecast, Morgan Schneiderlin, Anthony Pulis, Jack Cork
Players Out: Cedric Baseya, Andrew Davis
Key Player: Bradley Wright-Phillips
Prediction: 20th Another former Premiership club on the decline. After their stint in the top flight they have seriously struggled for results in the championships and were very fortunate not to go down last season and their survival went down to the last day of the season which saw Leicester take their place in the last relegation spot. A team who lack goals and confidence and if they get off to a bad start, their could be no way back for the Saints.

Swansea
Players In: Ashley Williams, Mark Gower, Federico Bessone, Albert Serran, Fabien Brandy, Stefan Morrision
Players Out: Kevin Austin, Kevin Amankwaah, Darryl Duffy, Darren Way
Key Player: Jason Scotland
Prediction: 18th Last season League one champions will be hoping to avoid a relegation fight but with a lack of depth within the squad they could have one on their hands. Despite manager Martinez making some signings over the summer they do lack a potent striker and could struggle somewhat for goals. Going on their first couple of performances they should have enough to pull off survival though.

Watford
Players In: Jon Harley
Players Out: Nathan Ellington, Jordan Stewart, Toumani Diagoura, Steve Kabba, Darius Henderson, Moses Ashikodi, Danni Shittu
Key Player: Tommy Smith
Prediction: 16th After a great start to last season which seen them top of the league at Christmas, they fell off the pace and only just managed to get the last play-off spot. They went out at the first hurdle to eventual play-off winners Hull City. Their does seem to be cash problems at the club also with Boothroyd being forced to sell several key players with Nathan Ellington, Steve Kabba and Darius Henderson all departing the club. With very little coming into the club they look in trouble. They are widely tipped to struggle this season and we reckon they will finish 10 places behind their position last season in 16th.

Wolves
Players In: Sam Vokes, Richard Stearman, David Jones, Chris Iwelumo, Matthew Hill
Players Out: Freddy Eastwood, Matt Bailey, Seyi Olofinjana, Elliott Bennett, Lee Collins, Jay Bothroyd, Charles Mulgrew
Key Player: Michael Kightly
Prediction: 1st Manager Mick McCarthy has made some decent signings over the summer in a bid to improve on last seasons finish of 7th. Wolves had a disappointing season last term and were fancied to at least get a play-off spot. Welsh international Sam Vokes looks a decent proposition for the future while Chris Iwelumo should be what they need to get the goals to push them higher up the league. They have made the best start to the season out of any of the championship clubs and with them currently in first place, we fancy them to remain their aslong as they keep up the good performances.