The race for the last automatic promotion spot is on in the Championship, there are three teams that know they can finish in second: Ipswich, Millwall and Middlesbrough. I'm expecting their three games to produce plenty of corners and goals, and a good few cards with how high the tensions are.

Ipswich v QPR

Ipswich are leading the pack on 81 points, and have scored more goals than Millwall and Middlesbrough, but find themselves in the worst form of the three. Their last game against Southampton finished 2-2, had two cards and 14 corners - I can see their game against QPR being similar as they know they probably need to win.

Looking at their last five games, four have seen 2+ goals, whilst three have had 9+ corners. The cards have been flying in too, 2+ has landed in all of Ipswich's last five games.

Wrexham v Middlesbrough

This is the game of the day in the Championship, Wrexham are sixth and level on points with Hull, with Derby only one point behind them - meaning it's a three-way shootout for the last play-off spot. Whilst Boro are in fourth hoping they can sneak into second place by the end of the day.

Both teams are coming into this after high scoring games (Middlesbrough 5-1 Watford & Coventry 3-1 Wrexham). Boro will also know there's a slim chance they can go up automatically on goal difference if the five goal gap to Ipswich is reduced. Middlesbrough games are also great for corners, they've had 9+ in all of their last five matches.

Millwall v Oxford Utd

Oxford are already relegated, however they could definitely cause issues for Millwall, in fact, they've only taken one less point across their last five matches. Millwall have had 2+ goals land in 36/45 matches so far this season, and with what's on the line here I expect them to cover that line on their own.

Here's a fun fact: despite having earned the fewest corners in the league, Oxford Utd have the highest Hit Rate for matches that go Over 8.5 Corners in the Championship, 35/45 of their games this season have seen that line covered. And the referee for this one is Anthony Blackhouse, who's dished out more yellow cards than any other referee in the Championship this season (4.79 per game).

Last week's Saturday Acca won @ 4.04 ✅

This is a straight shootout for a spot in the Champions League next season with Hoffenheim sitting below Stuttgart in the Bundesliga table on goal difference alone. Hoffenheim have seen 3+ goals in each of their last four matches across all competitions, most recently registering 2-1 victories over the likes of Hamburg and Dortmund to keep their Champions League qualification hopes alive.

Stuttgart have seen 3+ goals in three of their last five matches in the Bundesliga, and have notably seen 64 goals across their 15 away games in the Bundesliga top flight this term (4.26 per game). Hoffenheim have seen 49 goals across their 15 home games in the German top flight this season (3.26 per game), so this clash is set up to produce goals given the records of these sides across the season as a whole and the direct fight that they find themselves in. 

There are only four goals between these sides when it comes to goal difference as well, with Stuttgart having the advantage in that particular metric, so Hoffenheim may need to get a convincing win here to ensure that they don’t miss out on a spot in the Champions League next season from goal difference alone.

Last week's Saturday Acca won @ 4.04 ✅

The initial league meeting between these sides finished 2-2, which is a bit of a snapshot of how entertaining Nijmegen’s games have been in the Eredivisie this season. Nijmegen have seen BTTS in four of their last five matches in the Dutch top flight, and have notably only kept five clean sheets across their 31 matches (16%), which is a very low figure for a side competing for a spot in the Champions League next season.

Nijmegen can play like this due to how forward thinking they are, they don’t mind giving up goals as they often feel as though they can outscore the opposition - which is a tactic that has worked for them so far this campaign. Their 15 home games have produced 61 goals (4.06 per game), and they’ve conceded 23 goals across these games - suggesting that there is a vulnerability about them that Telstar can look to exploit.

Telstar are battling at the bottom of the Eredivisie, giving them all the motivation they need to get on the scoresheet in this encounter. They scored twice when the sides last met, and have scored at least once in each of the last six head to head meetings between the sides. They’ve also scored 15 goals across their 15 away matches, which is a steady record for a relegation threatened side.

Last week's Saturday Acca won @ 4.04 ✅

PSV don’t keep many clean sheets for a side that has dominated the Eredivisie (again), sitting 19 points clear at the top of the table but only keeping seven clean sheets across their 31 matches in the Dutch top flight this campaign (22%).

They’ve seen BTTS in four of their last five matches, and have also seen 53 goals across their 15 away games in the Eredivisie (3.53 per game) - impressively winning 13 of these matches. 

They take on an Ajax side who are chasing down Nijmegen and Feyenoord for a spot in the Champions League next season, Ajax managed to earn a 2-2 draw when these sides met earlier in the campaign and have seen 42 goals across their 15 horn games in the Eredivisie this term (2.8 per game). 

BTTS has landed in five of the last six head to head meetings between these sides, and Ajax’s desperation to break into the Champions League spots partnered with PSV’s slight complacency having already secured the title should see both sides be able to get on the scoresheet here.

Last week's Saturday Acca won @ 4.04 ✅

This is a game that Arsenal simply have to win, Manchester City travel to face Everton on Monday, which is no easy assignment, so this could be the weekend for Arsenal to open up a convincing gap at the top of the table given that they take on an easier opponent in Fulham at home.

Arsenal played pretty well in Madrid during the week, but only came away with a 1-1 draw from the game - leaving the tie in the balance until the sides meet at the Emirates next week, complicating matters further for Mikel Arteta as he can’t really afford to rotate his side for either crucial game. Arsenal have won 13 of their 17 home matches in the Premier League this season, collecting more points than any other side at home (41) and conceding fewer goals than any other side (11). 

Fulham have been really poor on the road this campaign, winning just four of their 17 away games in the Premier League. Only Leeds (14), Burnley (9) and Wolves (5) have picked up fewer points on the road than Fulham in the top flight this campaign, so Arsenal really should be collecting all three points in this game given the situation with the title race and factoring in Fulham’s poor record away from home in the Premier League this season.