The second leg of the Easter weekend in the Sky Bet Championship sees all 24 teams back in action on Easter Monday when the race for promotion and the battle to avoid the drop intensifies with matches beginning to run out.
It is a massive day in the second tier on Monday and as such there are four TV matches to enjoy and they all come one after the other so you can sit back and watch 10 hours of continuous football. Seven other matches are available behind the red button.
Monday’s fixtures are as follows: (3pm unless stated – UK TV in brackets)
Huddersfield Town v Blackburn Rovers (12.30 – Sky Main Event & Sky Football)
Birmingham City v Stoke City
Cardiff City v Sunderland
Coventry City v Watford (Sky Main Event & Sky Football)
Hull City v Millwall
Luton Town v Blackpool
Norwich City v Rotherham United
Preston North End v Reading
West Bromwich Albion v Queens Park Rangers
Wigan Athletic v Swansea City
Bristol City v Middlesbrough (17.30 – Sky Main Event & Sky Football)
Burnley v Sheffield United (20.00 – Sky Main Event & Sky Football)
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Big Matches
The TV action on Monday begins with a big clash at both ends of the table where Huddersfield Town look to pull further away from the bottom three when they host a Blackburn Rovers side who are clinging onto their top six spot by the skin of their teeth and really need a win to keep the chasing pack at bay. When they are done the attention turns to the CBS Arena where Coventry City and Watford look to revive fading play-off hopes. Middlesbrough will look to stay relevant in the automatic promotion race in the third of the TV games when they head to Ashton Gate to take on a Bristol City team who are playing for nothing. We end with the clash between the top two. Burnley got promoted on Friday night but they will want revenge for a 5-2 battering in the reverse meeting against Sheffield United while three points for the home side will move them to within five points of the title. Sheffield United will be looking to keep the chasing pack at bay.
Best of the Rest
Luton Town start the afternoon third in the table and they will hope to move to within five points of second placed Sheffield United for a few hours when they welcome Blackpool to Kenilworth Road. The visitors will be beginning life after Mick McCarthy in that match. Millwall are the other team in the top six and they make the trip to Hull City while Norwich City and Preston North End will be hunting a slip up from those in the top six. Norwich host Rotherham while Preston welcome relegation threatened Reading to Deepdale. West Brom are drinking at the last chance saloon but might find perfect drinking partners when they get there as they host a QPR side who are fading into League 1 seemingly without much of a fight.
Betting
After going with four out of five winners on Good Friday, I’m looking to back that up with a couple more winners on Easter Monday and we start in the early game where I think Huddersfield Town are a great bet on a draw no bet Asian line when they host Blackburn Rovers. There is a case to be made that exiting the FA Cup prior to the international break has impacted the league campaign of Rovers because they have lost both matches since and I think they lose again here. Interestingly, Sorba Thomas has started nine matches for Blackburn and they have lost just once. He has been on the bench for the last two and they have lost them both and I’m not sure that is a coincidence. The problem Blackburn have is that Thomas is on loan from Huddersfield so he won’t be featuring at all in this match. Huddersfield went into the international break seemingly dead and buried despite a win at Millwall prior to it but they have beaten Middlesbrough and Watford since then and are showing good form under Neil Warnock. Blackburn have lost 11 of their 20 matches on the road this season and I think if anyone loses this it will be them.
The other bet I like on Monday is for West Bromwich Albion to pile even more misery on a QPR side who are sinking without trace. West Brom are without a win in three matches but actually they are unbeaten in 11 at The Hawthorns and only Blackburn and Millwall have left with a point in that time. QPR are nothing like either of those sides. They are bottom of the form table by a distance and their only win in 17 came against a Watford side who haven’t cared all season. They only have two wins in their last 24 matches and the nine matches either side of that win over Watford were all defeats. QPR have lost their last four away from home which includes a 6-1 mauling by Blackpool and a 1-0 loss at Wigan. It is now or never for West Brom if they are going to make the play-offs and I think they’ll get it done in front of their own fans.
Tips
Back Huddersfield Town (0AH) to beat Blackburn Rovers for a 3/10 stake at 2.04 with Bet365
Back West Bromwich Albion (-1AH) to beat QPR for a 3/10 stake at 2.07 with Bet365
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