Tuesday Championship Tipsheet: Take the Robins to win with ease

Bristol City 1.56 v Bolton 6.80; The Draw 4.40

Bolton had one of the worst records in recent Championship history when they were relegated at the end of the 2015/16 season, winning just five of their 46 games and finishing with a goal difference of -40. Few would bet against them being even worse this time around.

Phil Parkinson's men are already rock bottom of the table and five points adrift of safety after winning none, and losing seven, of their opening nine games. Their goal difference reads -15 currently, so if they continue at that rate - highly unlikely I know - then you're looking at around -75 after 46 games.

The Trotters have lost their last six in all competitions and have failed to score a single goal in that sequence, and their last three away games resulted in 4-0, 2-0, and 3-0 defeats.

So it really is no surprise to see Bristol City trading at long odds-on to take all three points on Tuesday night. Lee Johnson's men couldn't quite make the breakthrough at Norwich on Saturday when they were a selection in this column but there was nothing wrong with a goalless draw at Carrow Road, a result that stretched the Robins' unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions.

Johnson's men have scored 15 goals in six games at Ashton Gate including scoring six in their last two home matches, thrashing promotion contenders Derby 4-1 in the Championship and Premier League outfit Stoke 2-0 in the EFL Cup.

City really should have few problems securing three points against hapless Bolton but I believes it's worth risking that they do so in comfortable fashion by backing them to win by at least two goals.

Recommended Bets
Back Bristol City -1 to Win @ 11/8 (Sportsbook) (best bet)

Cardiff 2.16 v Leeds 3.70; The Draw 3.60

There's little to separate Cardiff and Leeds in the early Championship table and I expect that to be mirrored when the two sides meet in Wales on Tuesday night.

The Bluebirds are locked together with Leeds and Wolves on 20 points at the top of the table after winning six, and losing just one of their opening nine games. They've taken 10 points from a possible 12 at the Cardiff City Stadium, securing impressive 3-0 and 2-0 wins over Aston Villa and Sheffield United respectively, along with a narrow win over QPR and a draw with Sheffield Wednesday.

Boss Neil Warnock puts his team's success down to team spirt more than anything, saying, "They are a great bunch of lads", before adding, "We've not got that top class, but we've got a great camaraderie and we've got ability. The bench is fantastic too."

It's an excellent ingredient for further success, and there's arguably no better manager in the Championship equipped at getting a club promoted.

But the Bluebirds face a stern test on Tuesday night when Leeds roll into town. Thomas Christiansen's men have an identical record to Cardiff but their goal difference is far more impressive, while they have the second best defensive record in the division, this despite conceding two at home to Ipswich on Saturday.

Early-season wins at Sunderland and Nottm Forest without conceding were impressive at the time, but we now know that the Wearsiders are dreadful on home soil and Forest don't appear to be anywhere near as good as their early form suggested.

That's not to take anything away from Leeds. They are where they are on merit but my gut feeling is that there's very little between a lot of teams in this division, including these two, and that a draw on Tuesday night will be a satisfactory outcome for both managers.

Recommended Bets
Back The Draw @ 3.60


Brentford 2.38 v Derby 3.20; The Draw 3.60

If there's to be a few highscoring games in the midweek round of fixtures then this match has the potential to be one of them.

We always have to consider goals when Brentford are involved as they have that blend of being able to attack in numbers and score plenty, but they're never the most reliable side defensively. Only Fulham and Norwich were involved in more goals than Brentford through last season and already this term the Bees have seen games finish with scorelines of 1-3, 3-4, 2-2, 1-4, and 1-3.

After a poor start to the league campaign I think it was inevitable that Dean Smith would try and tighten up at the back to grind out a result, but given they got back to winning ways on Saturday, scoring three at Bolton, I'm happy to forgive some recent low-scoring matches involving the Bees.

It's actually Tuesday night's opponents Derby that have been the Championship side to be amongst the goals recently, and I can easily see that continuing at Griffin Park.

Gary Rowett's men have been involved in 21 goals in their last five outings, including games that finished 3-1, 5-0, 3-2, and 4-1, which is an average of over four goals per game.

Rather worryingly however, the Rams have lost their last three away matches, conceding an alarming 10 goals in the process. Brentford will be fully aware of this and they'll set up to get amongst the goals themselves, knowing how fragile the visitors are at the back currently.

It should lead to a very entertaining, and hopefully goal-filled encounter.

Recommended Bet
Back Over 3.5 Goals @ 3.10