A big win away at Blackburn last time out snapped a four-game losing run for Cardiff, although that run looks worse on paper than it actually was, as it included a cup loss to Aston Villa, and respectable 2-1 defeats to promotion-chasing Burnley and Sunderland.

Sheffield Wednesday have lost three of their last five, but can make a similar case, having played three of the top four in their last five league games, all three of which ended in defeat. They did win both of their other two games, thrashing Plymouth 3-0 away from home and beating Norwich 3-2, also on the road.

Cardiff will put up a strong fight here, but recent form suggests Sheffield Wednesday will have too much. A narrow 2-1 win for the Owls looks about right, although a 1-1 draw is also very possible.

Norwich have seen their play-off hopes crumble in recent weeks, whilst visitors West Brom are clinging onto sixth place and that final play-off spot by the skin of their teeth. The Canaries are winless in four, drawing against Blackburn and Oxford, and losing their last two, against Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City.

West Brom, meanwhile, are unbeaten in six league games, however, they have won only twice, drawing their other four, all of which finished 1-1. In fairness, away draws with Leeds and Burnley are highly respectable, but sharing the spoils with both Millwall and relegation-threatened Hull was less impressive.

The Baggies have scored twice or more in just two of their nine games since February 1st, so a low-scoring affair looks likely. We recommended backing either West Brom to win 1-0, or another 1-1 draw here.

Despite QPR pulling off a surprise in their last game before the international break, holding league leaders Leeds to a 2-2, draw having lost four in a row prior to that clash, we don’t see their fortunes changing here.

Both sides have been generally low-scoring, with each only scoring twice or more in one of their last five games prior to this one. Stoke have however kept two clean sheets in their last five, against Watford and Blackburn, whilst QPR have conceded in each of their last five, as well as in 11 of their last 12 league games.

Stoke have won two, drawn two, and lost one of their last five home games in the Championship, so they should get a positive result against a QPR side that have lost 5 straight on the road. Either 2-0 or 2-1 to the Potters looks like a strong choice.

The last time these two sides met it was one of the most shocking results of the season, with Nottingham Forest running out 7-0 winners at the City Ground just a week after being battered 5-0 by Bournemouth. This time, back at the Amex, we expect a much more hard-fought encounter.

The Seagulls have been in excellent form since then, winning six in a row before a 2-2 draw with Man City last time out, a game in which they may be disappointed not to have taken all three points.

Forest’s form has been patchier, scraping by Exeter and Ipswich in the last two rounds of this competition on penalties as well as losing two of their last three away games against Fulham and Newcastle. We think Brighton can make that three defeats in four here. Brighton’s six-game winning run contained four 2-1 victories, so backing 2-1 or 3-1 to Brighton looks like a smart pick here.

Preston’s FA Cup run has been an unexpected highlight in yet another middling Championship season, but this will likely be a bridge too far against Champions League quarter-finalists Aston Villa.

Home advantage is important here, with Preston having gone unbeaten in 15 straight games in all competitions at Deepdale, last losing on November 2nd, to Bristol City. They were, however, beaten 3-0 by Arsenal at home in the Fourth Round of the EFL Cup, suggesting they don’t quite have enough to challenge a top Premier League side.

Aston Villa should have too much for the hosts, but with Preston last conceding multiple goals in a home game over five months ago, a thrashing looks unlikely. We’ll be backing Villa to secure a narrow win, either 1-0 or 2-0 to the away side.

After opening the new year in style with six wins in eight games in all competitions, Bournemouth have now failed to win any of their last five, needing penalties to get past Wolves at home in the Fifth Round of this competition, and losing to Wolves, Brighton, and Brentford in the league.

Despite the shaky form, they have still scored in 12 of their last 14, whilst City have conceded in five of their last six, so we expect the hosts to get on the scoresheet.

City’s last four away league games against sides outside the top three have seen them win three games to nil, so whilst we expect Bournemouth to score, we do expect City to win this game and make it to a seventh consecutive FA Cup semi-final.

They should have enough to beat an out-of-sorts Bournemouth here, so we would recommend backing City to win 2-1 or 3-1.