Saturday Accumulator: Goals at a premium for the Cherries, plus five other Championship predictions
- Lee Bassin
- 15 October 2021
Leaders Bournemouth may find goals hard to come by at Ashton Gate, while chasers Stoke and Coventry face tricky away days.
Bristol City vs Bournemouth
Cherries midfielder David Brooks' cancer diagnosis was awful news to hear this week and his Bournemouth team-mates will look to do him proud when they travel to Bristol City. And, after West Brom's loss at Stoke last time out, the Cherries now have a chink of daylight between themselves and the Baggies at the top of the Championship.
Bournemouth are also the only unbeaten team left in the division. A 2-1 victory over Sheffield Utd last time out, where they recovered from going a goal down, was a fifth win in their last six games.
Their home form is a cause for concern with City yet to win in five attempts at Ashton Gate this season. But on the other hand, four of those matches were drawn, including a 1-1 scoreline against promotion contenders Fulham at the end of September.
Bournemouth are around 17/20 for the win but in a typically competitive Championship season, shock results involving the top six have become an almost weekly occurrence and it's only a matter of time until the axe swings the Cherries' way.
A more interesting angle is the goals market, with Bournemouth netting just once in their last three away games and Bristol City scoring just three times at home all season. So, with a tight affair in prospect, we're taking under 2.5 goals for the first leg of our acca.
Blackburn Rovers vs Coventry City
Coventry's recent ascent up the Championship table has been nothing if not dramatic. They won three out of four games in September before inexplicably losing 5-0 at Luton and following that up with a 4-1 win over promotion-chasing Fulham.
Coventry will smell blood in the water at Ewood Park with Rovers reeling after two away losses on the bounce. However, a look at Blackburn's home form gives far more reasons for optimism - they have won two and drawn one of their last three matches at Ewood Park, scoring nine goals in the process.
And while the nature of Coventry's defeat at Luton was a shock, the fact that they lost was not. Prior to that game they had lost two, drawn one and won just one of their matches away from the Coventry Building Society Arena.
With all that in mind we're sorely tempted to take 7/4 for the home win. But with two of the Championship's top three scorers in action as Blackburn's Ben Brereton Diaz takes on Coventry's Viktor Gyokeres, a more conservative punt on both teams to score is our selection here.
Nottingham Forest vs Blackpool
The dark days look to be behind Forest and their 3-0 victory at Birmingham last time out was a real statement of intent. However, a home clash with an equally in-form Blackpool looks to be a real banana skin.
Lavery's loss would be a particularly painful one as the 'Ginger Pele' has scored almost half of Blackpool's goals this season. We're expecting Forest to take full advantage, with a home win the next selection for our Saturday acca.
Millwall vs Luton Town
The Lions' lowly league position can be put down to the fact that four of those matches were draws. However, Gary Rowett's men have won their last two and will fancy their chances of taking down a Luton side with just one win in five games away from Kenilworth Road this season.
Scoring has been a problem for Millwall, though - they are averaging just one goal a game in the Championship this season and have netted twice or more on just one occasion.
Sheffield United vs Stoke City
By contrast, Stoke will be feeling much better about themselves after their most impressive win of the campaign against West Brom - their second win in three matches.
The Potters have lost just twice in the league this season and lie fourth in the Championship table, but are getting no love from the bookies who have priced them up very generously to beat the Blades.
Middlesbrough vs Peterborough United
Were it not for Derby's off-field woes, Peterborough would be bottom of the Championship after a wretched run of form that has seen them lose six of their last eight games. Their away form makes for even grimmer reading as Posh have lost five out of five this season.
Middlesbrough haven't fared much better with three losses in their last four matches, but we've seen enough from Boro at home this season to think they can get back on track against Darren Ferguson's men.
Neil Warnock's side have won two, drawn one and lost two of their five home games this campaign, and last time out at the Riverside, Boro defeated an in-form Sheffield United 2-0.
