Oddshark
The sixth round of action in the EFL Championship promises to be a dramatic one, with one of the promotion favourites making the tough trip to Yorkshire to take on Sheffield United. Beforehand, however, the two top teams in the league – Leeds United and Middlesbrough – will lock horns at Elland Road on Friday night (31 August).
Getting the ball rolling
First things first, head on over to the Oddsshark website, procure your favourite betting agency and sort out your own account with a username and password. As a new customer and with the EFL Championship season already up and running, there should be a wide range of promotions and offers available to you.
Where should I be investing my money?
Leeds and Middlesbrough, current first and second in the table, meet on Friday night to kick off the round six action. Both teams have four wins from five matches and 13 points, and this is likely to be a closely fought contest as they look to make it back to the Premier League.
Middlesbrough have the best defensive record in the division and have conceded just two goals in five games so far. Leeds, by way of comparison, have the best attack, having already netted 14 time this season at a rate close to three goals per game.
And with home advantage, it is Leeds who come into this game as the favourites to take all three points and secure top spot for themselves. The Yorkshire club are at 2.20 to make it five wins from six, while visitors Middlesbrough – who have won four matches in row – are at 3.20 to keep that run going, according to the Oddsshark site.
With Middlesbrough looking to keep things tight, this could well be a low scoring game. A narrow, 1-0 win for Leeds is priced competitively at 7.50.
Aston Villa are also undefeated so far this season
Aston Villa are also unbeaten in the league so far this season but will face a stern test when they travel to Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon. Unites sit seventh in the table but have won their last three league games in a row, including a hugely impressive 3-0 win away to Bolton Wanderers last time out.
Villa, meanwhile, may not have lost yet in the league but have won just two of their five matches, drawing the other three. In addition, they were dumped out of the League Cup this past Tuesday night after losing 1-0 to Burton Albion.
In total, Villa have not won any of their last four matches across all competitions and that run may well continue after this weekend. This is likely to be another close game but Sheffield United are just ahead in the betting.
You can more than double your money by backing United to make it four league wins in a row this Saturday at a price of 2.30. Villa, meanwhile, are out at 3.20 to finally get back to winning ways.
There could be goals in this one, and a 2-1 win for Sheffield United is priced at 9.50, offering close to a ten-fold return on any investment. You could also more than double your money by backing over 2.5 goals in the game at 2.10, while both teams to score is at 1.83.
Local derby could kick start season for Ipswich
And on the Sunday, fierce rivals Ipswich Town and Norwich City meet with both teams in desperate need of three points. Ipswich sit rock bottom of the table with no wins in five games and are facing up to the reality that this will be a grim season battling against relegation – they are at just 2.37 to drop down to League One.
Norwich however are not faring much better and have won just one of their opening five matches. The Canaries have lost three of their last four games and leaked four goals against West Brom and were thrashed 3-0 by table toppers Leeds United.
Ipswich meanwhile have also lost three of their last four games and confidence is likely to be low in both camps this Sunday afternoon. Despite home advantage, Ipswich are considered the underdogs and are at 3.00 to get their first win of the season, while Norwich are at the shorter price of 2.40.
Ipswich have looked shorn of confidence despite the month of August not yet being finished, and a 2-1 win for Norwich is priced competitively at 9.50. You could also more than double your money by backing more than 2.5 goals in the game at 2.05.
EFL Championship round 6 fixtures:
Friday, 31 August
(2.20) Leeds United x Middlesbrough (3.20); draw (3.40)
Saturday, 1 September
(2.05) Birmingham x QPR (3.80); draw (3.20)
(1.80) Brentford x Nottingham Forest (4.50); draw (3.50)
(2.70) Hull x Derby County (2.60); draw (3.20)
(1.53) Preston North End x Bolton Wanderers (6.00); draw (4.00)
(2.20) Reading x Sheffield Wednesday (3.40); draw (3.20)
(2.30) Sheffield United x Aston Villa (3.20); draw (3.20)
(1.90) West Brom x Stoke City (4.20); draw (3.30)
(1.55) Wigan x Rotherham (6.00); draw (4.00)
(2.05) Millwall x Swansea (3.60); draw (3.30)
Sunday, 2 September
(3.00) Ipswich Town x Norwich City (2.40); draw (3.20)
(2.25) Bristol City x Blackburn Rovers (3.20); draw (3.30)