Playing Away: Cardiff, Leicester and Burnley
With a full midweek Championship programme, here's three visiting teams who look set to build on their opening-day victories.
Having all recorded clean sheets and home victories on the opening day of the Championship season, Cardiff City, Leicester City and Burnley have every chance of replicating their success on the road this evening.
While each team provide great value as single bets and should ideally be backed individually, those who feel lucky and punt on the treble would see a return at almost 22/1 or a mouth-watering £458.15 for anyone registering with bwin and using their free £20 bet.
Read on to find out why the Bluebirds, the Foxes and the Clarets can make it back-to-back league wins.
Cardiff to beat Brighton @ 7/4
| Confederation Cup - Group B | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 0-1 | Uruguay | £135.00 | (23/4) |
| Nigeria | 1-1 | Uruguay | £140.00 | (6/1) |
| Nigeria | 0-2 | Uruguay | £155.00 | (27/4) |
| Nigeria win | £94.00 | (37/10) | ||
| Draw | £74.00 | (27/10) | ||
| Uruguay win | £34.00 | (7/10) | ||
Tipped by many for automatic promotion, Cardiff got their season off to a winning start on Friday evening courtesy of an injury-time winner from captain Mark Hudson as they saw off Huddersfield 1-0 in South Wales.
The Bluebirds travel to the Amex this evening in what will be a difficult test, but unlike the Terriers, Brighton won’t sit so deep, a tactic which frustrated Malky Mackay’s side at times and almost earnt Simon Grayson’s men a point.
Mackay has recruited well this summer, adding quality to his attack in the shape of Heidar Helguson and Craig Bellamy, and Cardiff will be looking to go one step further and collect all three points on the south coast after a 2-2 draw last term.
Gus Poyet’s side followed up a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Swindon in the League Cup with a 1-0 loss at Hull City on Saturday and they appear to be lacking someone who can stick the ball in the net on a regular basis.
More was expected of record signing Craig Mackail-Smith last season, with the former Peterborough striker bagging just ten goals, and unless their attacking options are strengthened, Brighton may yet find the play-offs just out of reach once again.
Leicester to beat Charlton @ 29/20
Having invested heavily in their squad last year, Leicester City fans were expecting a much better season from their side, who ended in a disappointing ninth place, nine points behind the final play-off position.
The Foxes have recruited wisely over the summer, including the capture of Jamie Vardy from Fleetwood Town, who bagged 33 goals last season to help the Cod Army clinch the Conference Premier title.
A trip to League One winners Charlton certainly won’t be an easy one, with the Addicks claiming a more than credible 1-1 draw with Birmingham at the weekend, having been denied victory by an injury-time equaliser.
Leicester will, however, be looking to secure successive victories after they saw off Peterborough 2-0 at the King Power Stadium, which followed a 4-0 thrashing of Torquay in the League Cup last Tuesday evening.
With a solid defence and an attack that also includes former Premier League players Jermaine Beckford and Dave Nugent, Nigel Pearson’s men should have just enough extra quality to leave south London with maximum points tonight.
Burnley to beat Middlesbrough @ 12/5
While a Burnley win in this fixture might not stand out, the Clarets head into the game on the back of a 2-0 victory at home to local rivals Bolton on Saturday and they could be one of the surprise packages this season if they can find consistency.
Despite losing star player Jay Rodriguez to Southampton last month, manager Eddie Howe still has good options in attack, with Martin Paterson, Charlie Austin and new signing Sam Vokes all likely to cause problems among opposition defences.
Burnley recorded an impressive ten victories on the road last campaign compared to their seven wins at Turf Moor, including a 2-0 success at the Riverside back in January, and they have every chance of repeating that feat on Teesside this evening.
Boro began their league season with a 1-0 defeat away at Barnsley, who are fancied for the drop having fought relegation to League One in the last two seasons, and Tony Mowbray doesn’t appear to have someone he can rely on to score goals on a regular basis.
Middlesbrough will need to improve on their home record from last term if they are to be in with a shout of promotion this season, having collected maximum points on just eight occasions from 23 games, and there’s every possibility their fans will head home disappointed this evening.
New customers can register here to claim a free £20 bet or click here to see all our Championship odds.
Follow us on Twitter @bwin