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English Championship Predictions - Round 13

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 1 hour ago

Simon Lewis 1 hour ago

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Goals to be scarce between Stoke and Preston.
Norwich and Watford to entertain with goals.
Plenty of goals in store between Southampton and QPR.
Middlesbrough set for a home win over Charlton.

Southampton have won 3 of their last 5 Championship matches (Getty Images).

Stoke City vs Preston

Stoke have drawn 0-0 with Bristol City and beaten Derby 1-0 in their last two fixtures, continuing an encouraging run with three victories in five league games. The defeat came in a 3-2 thriller against Middlesbrough, showing they can still be vulnerable against stronger attacking sides.

Preston sit bottom of the Championship, with just one victory from 12 league outings. Their 1-1 draw against West Brom halted a three-match losing streak but they have scored only 10 goals in the campaign. Stoke should impose themselves at home although the payout is on the low side, so backing a lower-scoring clash will open up better-priced options.

Norwich City vs Watford

Norwich ended a four-game losing sequence with an impressive 3-1 victory at Charlton last Saturday. Before that result they had lost to Portsmouth, Southampton, Swansea and Bolton, leaving them in the bottom five despite scoring 20 league goals.

Watford are also in difficulties after suffering four defeats in their last five outings, most recently a 1-0 loss at Wolves. They have conceded 20 times in 12 matches and may struggle against Norwich's forward line. The hosts should have more of the ball but both defences have shown weaknesses and a high-scoring match offers more attractive odds than the short home-win price.

Southampton vs QPR

Southampton returned from West Ham with a significant 3-2 victory and have now won three of their last five Championship fixtures. Their recent form also includes wins over Norwich and Portsmouth, along with a goalless draw against Bolton. QPR responded to a 3-0 loss at Birmingham by thrashing Swansea 5-0, taking their five-game sequence to two wins, two draws and a defeat.

The London club have enough attacking quality to trouble the hosts, so this is unlikely to be completely one-sided. Southampton deserve to start favourites at St Mary's, but a four-goal match is worth considering.

Middlesbrough vs Charlton

Middlesbrough lead the Championship with 25 points from their opening 12 games and arrive after a thumping 5-1 win at Bolton. They also beat Stoke and Wolves during an unbeaten five-match run, combining effective finishing with resilience in difficult moments.

Charlton have taken only two points from their last five fixtures, losing 3-1 to Norwich and 2-0 to Watford in consecutive outings. Their 11 goals across 12 Championship games underline the difficulty of matching the league leaders in open play. Middlesbrough should dominate, but the standard home-win odds fall below our 1.80 threshold and a priced alternative is required.

Verdict

England Championship

I’m backing a win for Middlesbrough, a low-scorer between Stoke and Preston, over three goals between Norwich and Watford as well as the match between Southampton and QPR.

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Simon is a talented sports writer in South Africa with a strong focus on cricket having played first-team level for UCT, including playing at two Universities Weeks.

From a young age Simon was an avid reader of cricket magazines and books, and went on to be Editor of The Googly, CricketScene SA and SA Cricket, in addition to being a Features Writer on SA Sports Illustrated.

He has interviewed most of South Africa's premier cricketers and was the first writer to interview a teenaged Jacques Kallis.

Simon has also written about English and local football, rugby and cricket, in addition to major international tennis and golf stars and competitions.

You can follow more from Simon at Muckrack, X and LinkedIn.