The remainder of the first of three match days in the Sky Bet Championship over the next week or so concludes on Saturday when the 11 games yet to take place this weekend are played out on a key day in the second tier.
As ever on a Saturday we have a live game to enjoy to open up the day and then the majority of the action comes along at the traditional time where to follow them will require the updates in all of the usual places.
Saturday’s fixtures are as follows: (3pm unless stated; UK TV in brackets)
Bristol City v Cardiff City (12.30pm)
Huddersfield Town v Leeds United (12.30pm – Sky Main Event & Sky Football)
Birmingham City v Southampton
Leicester City v Queens Park Rangers
Millwall v Watford
Norwich City v Sunderland
Plymouth Argyle v Ipswich Town
Preston North End v Hull City
Rotherham United v Sheffield Wednesday
Stoke City v Middlesbrough
Swansea City v Blackburn Rovers
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Big Matches
The TV cameras focus on the race for automatic promotion on Saturday afternoon when the Yorkshire derby between Huddersfield Town and Leeds United is the live game. Leeds will be looking to move to within three points of the leaders Leicester City for a few hours while Huddersfield will be hoping to move further away from the drop zone. Later in the day, Leicester City will reply to whatever Leeds do when they host a QPR outfit, who like Huddersfield, will look to pull themselves further clear of the bottom three in the table.
Best of the Rest
Ipswich Town are the other team heavily involved in the automatic shake up and they have the long trip to take on Plymouth Argyle on Saturday. Argyle are good at home so that is no walk in the park for Ipswich. Elsewhere, the bottom two also meet when Rotherham United, surely on a fast track back to League 1, play host to Sheffield Wednesday. Stoke City have dropped into the bottom three and will be looking to come out of it when they host Middlesbrough in a key game on Saturday. There is a huge match in the race for the play-offs as Preston North End in eighth host Hull City who currently occupy the last spot in the play-offs. Southampton will be looking to get back to form when they make the trip to Birmingham City while Norwich in seventh host a Sunderland side who need to end a three-match losing streak.
Betting
The decision to sack Tony Mowbray continues to look a stupid piece of business for Sunderland and I’m not convinced that is going to look any better after their trip to Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon. Sunderland go there having lost their last three and only won two of their last eight and now they are going to be without one of their better attacking options in Jack Clarke who is out injured, shortly after Alex Pritchard jumped ship so all of a sudden Sunderland look a little light in offensive areas.
This Norwich City side don’t, especially at Carrow Road where they have won 11 matches in the Championship this season. They have won their last four on their home patch and scored 12 goals in the process so they are a team who are going along nicely at the minute. That run has coincided the return to form of Josh Sargent and he is someone who could fire Norwich to victory here. The only Norwich defeat in their last nine was at Leeds where everyone are losing at the minute. Norwich are undefeated in their last nine in Norfolk and I think they win this one.
Tips
Back Norwich City to beat Sunderland for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with William Hill
Back them here:
