Matchday 23 in the EFL Championship marks the halfway stage of the season. Fulham lead the way, with Bournemouth hot on their heels in second. At the other end, Derby County, Barnsley and Peterborough United occupy the bottom three places.
We have another big round of fixtures from England’s second tier to look forward to over the course of the weekend, including the Middlesbrough vs Bournemouth game on Saturday afternoon. Check out our matchday 23 Championship predictions.
EFL Championship Matchday 23: Best Betting Football Tips
Barnsley vs. West Bromwich Albion: EFL Betting Tip
West Bromwich Albion have closed the gap on the leaders after back-to-back victories. Valerien Ismael’s men will be looking for three wins out of three when they travel to Yorkshire this Friday night to face lowly Barnsley.
Ismael did a remarkable job at Oakwell last season, guiding the Tykes to fifth place. However, things have gone downhill for Barnsley ever since Ismael left to take over at West Brom. The Yorkshire club are languishing in the bottom three with just 13 points to their name.
With both Fulham and Bournemouth dropping points lately, West Brom have closed the gap on the top two. They are five points away from the leaders and just three behind the Cherries. After wins over Coventry City and Reading, can the Baggies make it a hat-trick of victories on Friday night?
Barnsley are in dreadful form, losing 11 of their last 14 Championship games. Unfortunately for Poya Asbaghi and his team, we can see the Tykes crashing to another damaging defeat on Friday. Have a punt on West Brom to win -1 at 11/5.
Barnsley 19/5
Draw 5/2
West Bromwich Albion 3/4
* Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 11/5 odds taken 1950 GMT, Thursday 16 December
Middlesbrough vs. Bournemouth: Best Football League Betting Predictions
On Saturday afternoon, Chris Wilder’s Middlesbrough and Scott Parker’s Bournemouth go head-to-head in a fascinating Championship fixture at the Riverside Stadium. Despite being 13 points below in the table, Boro are the bookies’ favourites in this one.
Since taking over from Neil Warnock last month, Wilder has won two, drawn two and lost one of five games. Before a solid 0-0 draw with Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium last time out, Middlesbrough secured much-needed wins over Huddersfield Town and Swansea City. They are currently five points away from the play-offs in sixth.
Bournemouth made a stunning start to the season under new boss Parker, but the Cherries have hit a rough patch of form. They have won just one of the last seven, losing three times along the way. Last weekend, Bournemouth were beaten at home by in-form Blackburn Rovers.
Bournemouth would love to get back on track with three points at the Riverside, but we fancy the pair to cancel each other out. Check out the solid odds of 7/2 for the draw and both teams to score.
Middlesbrough 31/20
Draw 9/4
Bournemouth 9/5
* Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 7/2 odds taken 1954 GMT, Thursday 16 December
Blackburn Rovers vs. Birmingham City: EFL Betting Odds & Predictions
Blackburn entertain Birmingham City at Ewood Park this Saturday. Tony Mowbray’s men are one of the form teams in the division, firing themselves up to fourth after a string of wins. Rovers will be eyeing up another three points from this one.
Apart from an embarrassing 7-0 home loss to Fulham, Blackburn have been excellent of late. Mowbray’s Blue and Whites have picked up seven wins from their last nine to turn themselves into genuine promotion candidates.
Birmingham are in patchy form, collecting just five points from the last 18 on offer. Last weekend, the Blues let a 2-0 lead slip at home to draw 2-2 with Cardiff City. They have won just once away from home since August.
Blackburn have won five and drawn one of six since losing to Fulham in early November. Rovers have won the last four without conceding a single goal – back the home team to win to nil in this one at the decent price of 2/1.
Blackburn Rovers 22/25
Draw 14/5
Birmingham City 29/10
* Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 2/1 odds taken 2002 GMT, Thursday 16 December
Fulham vs. Sheffield United: Best EFL Championship Betting Tips on Matchday 23
The final Championship fixture of the round is set to take place on Monday night when Fulham entertain Sheffield United. The leaders will be hoping to stop of a run of four straight draws with three points at Craven Cottage.
Fulham are enjoying an exceptional season in the Championship and are unbeaten in 11 league games. However, after seven successive wins, the Cottagers have drawn four in a row. Marco Silva’s boys will be desperate to return to winning ways in this one.
Sheffield United are starting to find some form, securing consecutive Championship victories over Reading, Bristol City and Cardiff. The Blades have put themselves in play-off contention, as they are six points behind sixth with a game in hand.
Paul Heckingbottom has done a fine job at Bramall Lane since taking over again, but we fancy Fulham to get the job done on home soil on Monday. It could be a close one on the scoreline, so take a punt on the home side to win by one goal at 13/5.
Fulham 3/4
Draw 14/5
Sheffield United 17/5
* Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 13/5 odds taken 2010 GMT, Thursday 16 December
