The festive period has always been a busy one for English football, and this year is no different. The upcoming week will see the Premier League play on Boxing Day, then again over the weekend, and then once again on New Year’s Day – three rounds of fixtures condensed into one action-packed week. This is, of course, a long-standing tradition – Christmas and the New Year just do not feel the same without football. Of course, jam-packed weeks like this one bring the opportunity to ‘earn’ some extra Christmas cheer, if you will. One can come to a rating and conclusion about bet365 mobile by using it.
The EFL Championship will also be in action over the festive period, and we have seen some scintillating action so far this season. Slaven Bilic’s West Brom side are leading the table, with Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds side in hot pursuit. Sheffield Wednesday, Fulham, Preston and Brentford currently occupy the playoff spots, but Swansea, Bristol City, Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers are all within three points of the final playoff spot, once again showcasing the intense competitiveness of this league. West Brom have been supremely entertaining, having scored 46 goals so far, at least nine more than the next highest team, while Leeds have carried on from where they left off last season, using Bielsa’s tactics to play teams off the park at times. It is extremely tight at the bottom too – Wigan are currently last in the league, but are only two points from safety, with Stoke City and Barnsley accompanying them in the relegation zone at present. Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic currently leads the goalscoring charts with 16 goals, with Jarrod Bowen of Hull City and Ollie Watkins of Brentford making up the top three. Note how nobody from West Brom or Leeds is in the top three; in fact, they are not even in the top seven, showing just how much of a team effort it has been at these two clubs, and thus why they are both likely to make it to the Premier League via automatic promotion.
There are a plethora of options for punters looking for a pick from the Championship. Leeds are currently favourites to win at 1.90 despite trailing West Brom in the table. The Baggies are at 2.10, with the rest of the candidates all too far off. Fulham and Brentford are at 1.25 to finish in the playoff spots, while Sheffield Wednesday are at 1.61 and Preston are at 2.25. Fulham are third favourites to be promoted at 2.75, thus showing the bookies faith in Scott Parker’s project at Craven Cottage. Fulham could represent good value for punters, while the rest of the league remains unpredictable outside of Leeds and West Brom. Aleksandar Mitrovic’s lead at the top of the goalscoring charts is reflected in his price of 1.72 to finish as the top scorer, with Jarrod Bowen far off at 5.50. Fans looking for almost-certain returns should not look beyond West Brom and Leeds, with a possible punt on Fulham for greater returns.
