Championship Betting Tips

Odds-on favourites for this one, Pisa, will be looking to start the season strongly after finishing rock bottom of Serie A last season.

Empoli survived a relegation battle in Serie B, they still managed to score 1.24 goals per game in their narrow escape and have seen BTTS land in their last four games against Pisa - all taking place in Serie B.

Empoli scored two or more goals in three of those four head-to-heads.

This bet has landed in four of the last five meetings between the sides, which have all come in the Eerste Divisie.

All of those five games have seen over 2.5 goals, with over 3.5 landing in four of them.

De Graafschap finished 23 points better off than Jong AZ last season, and are strong odds-on favourites ahead of Monday’s clash.

Samsunspor were the 5th-best team in the Turkish Super Lig last season for Both Teams to Score.

Seeing the bet land in 21 of their 34 games (61%).

Goztepe did not see it as much, but proved a reliable attacking side on their travels, finding the net in 12 of 17 away league games.

Cardiff return to the Championship, after one season away, with a South v North Wales clash against much-fancied Wrexham.

The hosts were the top scorers in League One last season, and Wrexham never seem too far away from a high-scoring game.

Wrexham’s second tier games averaged 2.91 goals per game last season, the 4th-highest in the league, they also saw both teams score in 65% of them (30/46).

Benfica have seen both teams score in three of their four competitive games so far this season.

Casa Pia saw BTTS in 10 of 17 home league games last season, and Benfica conceded in 10 of their 17 league away games.

Somewhat remarkably, Benfica went unbeaten in the league last season but only came 3rd. With Jose Mourinho now gone, replaced by Marco Silva, they’ll be looking to take the handbrake off in aiming for the league title, which should produce some more entertaining games.

Yousef Salech was really impressive for Cardiff in the League One last season, netting 14 goals across 26 starts and finishing the campaign as Cardiff’s top scorer.

Salech achieved this tally from 89 shots (3.39 per 90), seeing 31 of these efforts find the target (1.18 per 90) - numbers which suggest that Salech is capable of replicating this sort of form in the Championship.

Salech has already shown he has the ability to perform at this level having netted eight goals across 14 starts in the Championship during the 24/25 campaign - averaging 1.48 shots on target per 90.

He’s started the season very strongly with a brace against Swindon in Cardiff’s EFL Cup first round victory, managing three shots on target in that game.

Lewis O’Brien was a useful player in the final third for Wrexham last season, ending the campaign with 10 goal contributions across 29 starts in the Championship.

I’m more interested in the defensive side of his game for this selection with O’Brien likely to be part of a midfield three which should be engaged in a real battle in the middle of the park.

O’Brien committed 31 fouls in the Championship last season, working out to an average of 1.04 fouls committed per 90.

If you look at O’Brien’s heat map, he spends most of his time on the left hand side of the pitch - making his direct opponents Alex Robertson (1.59 fouls won per 90) and Perry Ng (1.81 fouls won per 90).

This will be Perry Ng’s seventh season at Cardiff, and he’s played a very regular role from fullback during his time at the club.

I’m interested in his battles with George Thomason (0.74 fouls won per 90) and Nathan Broadhead (1.08 fouls won per 90) who could outnumber him at times with Wrexham often lining up with wingbacks and trying to create those overloads in wide areas.

Ng averaged 1.13 fouls committed per 90 in League One last season, and is likely to be more regularly tested in the Championship given that Cardiff won’t be as dominant as they were last season.

Cardiff were involved in a five-goal thriller against Swindon in their most recent EFL Cup tie, coming away 3-2 winners with an xG of 2.52. They did allow the visitors an xG of 1.36, which feels like a pattern we’ll see from Cardiff throughout this campaign.

They want to play attractive football, which is admirable, but it will likely come at a defensive cost in the Championship.

Wrexham saw 56 goals across their 23 away league games last season (2.43 per game), with a remarkably even split between goals scored and conceded (28 each).

These sides faced off in the EFL Cup last year, with BTTS landing on that occasion as Cardiff came away 2-1 winners over Wrexham.

There is a lot to like about Wrexham coming into the 26/27 Championship season. They’ve recruited well, signing the likes of Patterson, Imray and Whiteman having already bolstered their squad in January as well.

They finished just two points outside of the playoff spots last year, a finish that would actually gain them a spot in the playoffs this time around with the number of spots available extending down to eighth.

Cardiff were dominant in League One last season, but I do have some concerns about their style of play at this level with the players that Brian Barry Murphy has available to him. It’s clear that he’s not going to change how he sets his team up, but that could prove costly against some of the heavy hitters in the Championship.

This should be a really exciting game between two Welsh sides who will have lofty ambitions this season. They actually met in the EFL Cup last year, a game that ended 2-1 to Cardiff with both sides registering an xG in excess of 1.0 (1.14-1.97).

Cardiff saw five goals in their EFL Cup tie against Swindon last time out, coming away 3-2 winners with an xG of 2.52. They did allow the away side to record an xG of 1.36, which is a pattern I think we’ll see from Cardiff throughout this season. 

They want to play good football, which is admirable, but this will come at a defensive cost in the Championship.

Wrexham saw 56 goals across their 23 away matches in the Championship last season (2.43 per game), notably seeing an exact split in the number of goals scored and conceded (28).

Benfica are as short as 1.17 with some bookmakers to win this game, so we’re getting a slightly better price on Marco Silva’s side to score 2+ goals in their opening game of the domestic campaign.

Benfica didn’t lose a single away game in Liga Portugal last season, winning 12 of their 17 matches. They scored 33 goals across these games (1.94 per game), a tally only bettered by Sporting (38) in the Portuguese top flight. 

By contrast, Casa Pia only managed to win two of their 17 home games in Liga Portugal last term. Only three sides in the division conceded more goals at home than Casa Pia (26) last season, suggesting that Benfica should be able to come away with a comfortable victory.