Championship Tips: Saturday's seven best bets for MD6 | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Scott Parker will hope that his side can build upon last weekend's eyecatching victory...

There's yet another intriguing collection of 3pm KOs in the Championship and Jack Critchley has picked out a best bet in each of Saturday's fixtures...

Burnley vs Portsmouth

Entertaining 90 minutes at Turf Moor

Scott Parker praised the 'grit, determination and battling spirit' of his side last weekend. Burnley executed the perfect away performance at Elland Road with the former Bournemouth boss maintaining his impressive record of picking up results as the underdog. This is a completely different situation and the home fans will be hoping that Parker has the versatility to mix things up.

The Lancastrians have dropped points in two of their last three games and they still look a little disjointed at times. Their performance against Cardiff was far from accomplished and they don't look particularly comfortable when they are drawn into a shoot-out style contest. Nevertheless, the hosts have ample attacking talent, many of whom are yet to hit their stride this season. They should have too much for Portsmouth's defence.

Pompey have endured an incredibly tough start to the season and their fixtures aren't getting any easier. John Mousinho's side have collected just three points, yet they've received plenty of credit for their performances. Against West Brom, they gave away a sloppy goal and created numerous chances before their heads dropped in the second half.

Away from home, they've taken points from visits to Elland Road and the Riverside, despite facing 34 shots accumulatively in those matches. They are likely to give Burnley a fair few chances, yet they won't be afraid to push forward at every opportunity. It should result in a fairly open game.

Sheffield United vs Derby

Classy Blades to outclass Rams

Sheffield United have made an extremely positive start to the season and although their squad lacks some depth, their starting XI is surely one of the best in the Championship. They weren't at their best against Hull last weekend, yet still managed to breeze past the Tigers at the MKM. Gustavo Hamer and Callum O'Hare have been superb so far and Anel Ahmedhodzic looks to be enjoying his football again. The hosts dominated against Watford in their last match here and they are likely to start on the front foot on Saturday afternoon. Only three sides have faced fewer efforts on target than the Blades so far and although there is still some room for improvement in the final third, they have already put themselves firmly in the promotion conversation.

Derby recorded their ninth consecutive home victory last weekend and they will be tough to beat at Pride Park this season. Away from home, they have struggled and have looked defensively vulnerable. They surrendered a 1-0 lead against Watford and fell behind just five minutes after equalising at Blackburn. This could be a tough afternoon for Paul Warne's men.

Luton vs Sheffield Wednesday

Cagey affair at Kenilworth Road

Rob Edwards described last weekend's narrow victory as getting the 'monkey off our back' and he will be hoping that his side can finally kickstart their season. Luton have endured personnel issues at the back, yet, Edwards now appears to have settled on a back three of Reece Burke, Mark McGuiness and Teden Mengi. With Alfie Doughty having signed a new contract this week, the Hatters will now be expected to start climbing the table. Their matches have been fairly tight affairs so far with each of their last three having been decided by a one-goal margin.

Sheffield Wednesday have endured a troubled start to the season although their performance against QPR was a step in the right direction. The Owls have struggled to find the back of the net so far and Barry Bannan's injury-time wonder-strike was the first time they'd manage to notch since the opening weekend. They might struggle to find a way past Luton's organised back-line on Saturday afternoon.

Coventry vs Swansea

Well-rested visitors to take a point

Coventry have endured yet another slow start to the campaign and although he will be given plenty of time to turn things around, questions are starting to be asked of long-serving boss Mark Robins. Furthermore, the Sky Blues were defeated in injury time by Premier League Spurs on Wednesday night and although plenty of changes were made to the XI, it is unlikely to help with morale. Nevertheless, they were the better side against Watford last weekend and they do possess plenty of attacking options. They came up against a well-organised Norwich outfit in their last home match and this game is more likely to mirror their 3-2 victory over Oxford United.

Swansea have been fairly unremarkable so far. Their two away defeats have been narrow and have both come against decent opposition. They aren't the easiest to break down this season and having conceded just three times, they are likely to battle their way through 90 minutes. It should be an open game which could easily end in the points being shared.

Bristol City vs Oxford

Highly watchable contest at Ashton Gate

Liam Manning continues to praise his side's performances in training, yet they've comprehensively failed to deliver on the pitch. The Robins have endured back-to-back away losses and have looked fairly inept in both defeats. The hosts are better at Ashton Gate and have taken four points from a possible six here, yet they continue to leak goals at an alarming rate. They've been breached 11 times so far and seemingly struggle to hold onto a lead. Manning will be keen to avoid an embarrassing result against his former employers.

Oxford have made a surprisingly good start under Des Buckingham and although they've been far more effective on their own patch, they have competed fairly admirably on their travels. They've been level until the final ten minutes in each of their last two away games and they will fancy their chances of taking something from this game. There have been eight goals across their first two away games and that trend looks set to continue.

West Brom vs Plymouth

Another professional performance from the Baggies

Carlos Corberan's reputation continues to grow with each passing game. The Spaniard has been linked to Premier League vacancies in the past and it is unlikely to be long before another top-flight outfit comes calling. He has managed to get WBA playing some superb football despite overseeing a tricky transfer window. The Baggies have dropped just two points so far and have conceded just twice. They come here off the back of consecutive clean sheets and players such as Alex Mowatt and Josh Maja have caught the eye over the last couple of weeks.

Plymouth picked up a much-needed victory last weekend as they left it late to edge past high-flying Sunderland. The Pilgrims have struggled on their travels so far, although they should be buoyed by last weekend's success. Nevertheless, this is probably the worst possible fixture for Wayne Rooney and they may just need to write this one off and move on quickly.

Cardiff vs Leeds

Whites to put the final nail in Bulut's coffin

Erol Bulut has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks. Amid rumours of senior players questioning his tactics, the Turkish boss has struggled to get a tune out of his side and refused to do his post-match interviews last weekend. Cardiff haven't been comprehensively outplayed by anyone so far this season, yet their lack of cutting edge in the final third is a huge concern. They've netted just once in their opening five matches and they could find it tough to perforate the visitors' defence on Saturday.

Daniel Farke will be looking for a response from his side after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Burnley at Elland Road. This looks like the perfect fixture in which to bounce back. The Whites are yet to be breached on their travels and have kept three clean sheets in their last four. Once the visitors take the lead, it could be tough for the home side to muster a response.

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