Whilst the Championship has been an under 2.5 goal per game league this season, and this price is a short one for Both Teams To Score in the league in general, it is still likely to shorten further before kick-off.

This is because Norwich have a) reached the stage of the season where they have very little to play for, but b) have to take risks if they are going to possibly remain in a play-off race, and c) have established a really strong form line in both teams scoring in their matches.

BTTS has now landed in each of Norwich’s last six matches in the Championship, and in five of their last six home matches. The Canaries are the 2nd-highest scoring team in the league, with the highest individual scorer in Borja Sainz, and the 4th-highest individual goals per 90 scorer in Josh Sargent, but they are also the 7th-worst overall defence in terms of goals conceded.

Johannes Hoff Thorup has instilled a lot of interesting and entertaining aspects of play in his first season in charge, but he has also struggled to get the balance right between creating the appropriate number of chances and preventing their opponents from doing the same. The overall xG in matches involving Norwich this season has been 98, an average of 2.58 xG per match.

West Brom play a bit more attacking football under Tony Mowbray and have developed a handy knack of scoring regularly, even at tough away venues. They’ve only failed to score twice under Mowbray, and have scored in each of their last six matches, including at Elland Road and Turf Moor on their last two away matches.

Thirteen of West Brom’s last 17 matches in all competitions have seen BTTS come in. Combining this with Norwich’s recent record and both teams’ attacking natures makes this a strong bet.

Portsmouth are rightful favourites here, and still worthy of backing in the Draw No Bet market, which voids the bet in the event of a draw.

Pompey have gained strength throughout their first season back in the Championship after a difficult start. Taking their home record as a whole they have the 10th-best points haul in the league, and the 9th-best goal difference, which is impressive for a newly promoted team.

They have won nine of their last 13 Championship home matches, including victories against Leeds, Bristol City, Middlesbrough, and Coventry, all teams above Blackburn in the table. Of the four matches that they didn’t win, Pompey won the xG battle in all except the Millwall defeat, so their recent performances have been really strong.

The reason that this qualifies as a best bet worthy of inclusion though is the drop-off that Blackburn have demonstrated of late. It is tempting to put this alongside the departure of John Eustace, and indeed, the appointment of Valerien Ismael, but it isn’t really that reductive.

Blackburn have been overperforming their data all season, with a chance creation record that has rarely left the bottom half, and whilst their defensive organisation has been good, they couldn’t be categorised amongst the top defences in the league either.

Valerien Ismael’s record since being appointed at Ewood Park has been poor. He is yet to oversee a win, with Blackburn on a run of five matches without a win and four defeats in those five. Indeed, Blackburn have lost over half of their away matches in the Championship as well, recent defeats at Swansea, Derby, and Stoke also indicate that they are vulnerable away from home to teams around Portsmouth’s area in the table.

The play-off dreams are fading fast for Rovers, and with the fanbase openly considering protests and boycotting of the new season tickets, there is a concerning feeling around the club at the moment. This could transmit itself to the pitch and the confidence of the players.

It looks as though it will take a minor miracle for Birmingham to not be eventual League One champions and for bottom of the table Shrewsbury to avoid relegation into League Two. The Blues have a nine-point advantage ahead of Wrexham in top spot and with two games in hand. The visitors are now a whopping 14 points from safety with only 27 points left for them to play for. The sheer gulf in class between these two is there for all to see.

Shrewsbury could be about to feel a Birmingham backlash after Chris Davies’ side could only draw away to Northampton before the international break. Saturday’s home side hold a very good chance of winning by two or more goals. One reason for this is they’re unbeaten at home this season. They have kept clean sheets in 18 of their 36 league clashes and face an opponent that has netted the 2nd-fewest goals in League One.

Furthermore, Salop have not scored in five of their last six matches. Also, Gareth Ainsworth left Shropshire to join Gillingham this week with Michael Appleton, who has failed at Blackpool and Charlton in his last two roles, replacing him.

It might appear likely that Crawley will be back in League Two next season, but victory over Bristol Rovers has given them a small glimmer of hope of retaining their League One status. The gap to safety is nine points but there are recent positives for them to cling onto. The 1-0 triumph being the obvious one, especially as it ended a run of eight without winning and 11 since keeping a clean sheet.

Most significantly, last weekend was their first match since Scott Lindsey returned as manager. He guided them to promotion last season, only to depart for an unsuccessful stint at MK Dons. Now back, he has made an immediate impact and he’ll be hoping to continue that travelling to Rotherham.

Although Rotherham have strong players on paper, the reality is that it has been a disappointing season by their standards. They are in mid table and are not totally out of the relegation picture, either. The last time The Millers overcame a -2 handicap was in their 3-0 success versus Northampton back on 14th November 2024. In fact, this is the only time in league action all season they’ve managed to do so.

With Crawley having a real cause to play for, they can be backed to make things at the very least awkward for Steve Evans’ men, who have won only twice in their previous 11 in all competitions. They should be competitive, particularly with Lindsey back in the dugout and returning the team back to a style of play they are more comfortable in executing.

5th placed Doncaster host second from bottom Carlisle on Saturday, with the home side looking to break into the automatic promotion spots.

Donny have faced 11 of the 12 teams currently in the bottom half of the table on home soil, with a record of W9 D2 L0. The teams they drew too were 14th placed Cheltenham and 15th placed Swindon, but both of those sides would be top half had the league started from November.

The arrival of Mark Hughes has not really had the impact the decision makers at Carlisle would have been hoping, with The Cumbrians only accruing one point per game under his stewardship. Whilst that is an improvement on what went before, and performances have picked up, they still find themselves six points away from safety with eight games to go.

With Doncaster’s record of dispatching the poorer teams in the division at the Eco-Power Stadium, we have to side with them in this one.

A meeting between two sides still hoping to put a run together which might see them finish in the top seven when the music stops, as Bromley host Salford City.

Both teams have scored in Bromley’s last three league games, against varying level of opposition. The Ravens fail to convince at home, where their record is the 20th-best in the division in terms of points gained. They both score and concede over one goal per game at home.

Salford City have seen both teams score in four of their last six away games. Both sides will realise time is running out if they are going to reach the play-offs, so we think we can expect goals here.