It has been 8 matches since Sheffield United have tasted defeat in the Championship and they sit at the summit of the table, despite their points deduction, which indicates just how well they have done in terms of picking up points.

The Blades’ performance data isn’t quite as convincing as their actual results, but their ability to win games is impressive. They are the team in the Championship who have been behind for the shortest amount of time in the whole season, but yet they also showed character on Sunday to respond really positively to going behind in the first half against West Brom.

Millwall were unable to show the same response when going behind to Coventry at the weekend, and the Lions’ momentum seems to have slowed somewhat. This is partly under the weight of their injuries, especially at centre-back.

Millwall have produced a curious stat. Neither themselves nor their opponents have scored more than one goal in a Millwall match since September, that is now 11 matches in a row, ironically.

Keeping matches as tight as this obviously brings the draw into the equation. There have been five draws in that 11-match run, and Sheffield United have drawn 4 of their 10 away matches as well.

The Blades’ only defeats so far this season have come at Leeds and Middlesbrough within a week. That was a tough week to get those matches back to back, and they have looked organised, strong, and a good goal threat across the rest of the campaign. Chris Wilder has been very consistent in his selection and although their chance creation (xGF) isn’t amongst the best in the league, below Millwall in 11th, but they are in the top three for xG against (xGA).

Taking the draw as well as a Sheffield United win looks like a solid play here.

Ruben Selles will look to improve Hull City’s outcomes as the Tigers slipped to the bottom of the league at the weekend.

This position belies the talent in this squad and speaks to the reason why a change was made. Selles has been really impressive at Reading over the last season and a bit, and looks to be a positive appointment.

Hull were unlucky to lose to Blackburn at the weekend. Their performance would usually have been good enough to get something from the game, albeit they only generated 1 xG in the match. This seems to have been quite a consistent standard for Hull to hit in the Championship under Tim Walter. One has to go back to the home defeat to Sunderland 10 matches ago to find an example of Hull creating less than 0.9 xG in a Championship match, so they are consistent in their chance creation, and ‘should’ be scoring in most matches.

Watford have generally calmed their persona since the early period of the season when their games could be categorised as chaotic. However, it is still the case that the majority of their away matches see plenty of action.

3 of their last 4 away matches have seen both teams scoring, and 7 of their 9 away matches have gone over 2.5 goals, with 33 goals coming in total, over 3.5 per match on average.

This will be Omer Riza’s first game in charge since being named as manager until the end of the season. Hopefully for Cardiff this increased level of security will help them to produce better performances to help drag them away from the relegation zone.

Riza has generally improved the goal output of the team that was misfiring earlier in the season, and, as such, it is a surprise to be able to back the over 1.5 goal line here so readily.

As well as all of Cardiff’s last 4 matches exceeding this line, there was over 3 xG generated in the last game, over 2 xG at home to QPR, and around 4 xG against Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn.

Preston have had 4 of their last 5 matches go over 1.5 goals as well. They alone generated over 3 xG away at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, so if they can replicate that kind of display here then goals are likely to be on the menu.

We mentioned it in this column last week that Martí Cifuentes was beginning to look as though he was turning the tide and then a 3-0 win at home to Norwich, which was well deserved, seems to have confirmed that.

Fans at Loftus Road have never lost faith in the manager, and have always been ready to retain the support of the team despite not seeing the results that they would’ve expected. The mood is more positive now, and that should help heading into this clash with a rival in the bottom section of the league.

Oxford’s postponement at the weekend meant that they remained on 1 win in 13 Championship matches, and also meant that they remain without an away win in the league this season.

The Yellows are 23rd in the league for xGF and 21st for xGA, with QPR creating 2 xG more across the season and conceding 5 xG less than their opponents. So even though QPR are currently below Oxford in the table, their performance data is better than their opponent’s in both aspects of the game.

This data analysis, combined with current form and home advantage, makes QPR a strong fancy here, and by taking the draw out as a void, it gives us an element of a safety blanket.

Do we present West Brom’s current run as 11 matches unbeaten, or only 1 win in 13?

The fact that you are factually able to do both is quite extraordinary and obviously owes to the fact that the Baggies have contrived to draw 10 of their last 11 matches in the league.

Whilst this is obviously not a trend that can continue, it also makes sense to include the draw in the bet here, and it also makes sense to side with West Brom as the more likely victors of the 2 as well.

The performance against Sheffield United, the league leaders, demonstrated that West Brom remain capable of a good level of performance, they perhaps need a little more creativity against the better sides to give them the chance to convert more draws to wins.

Coventry haven’t been averse to a draw themselves recently, drawing 3 of their last 5. The curious thing about Coventry’s draws is that they were all 2-2.

What goes against Coventry here slightly is the ‘double away’ phenomenon having played at Millwall on Saturday and then going to West Brom on Wednesday is a fairly tough programme, especially under a new manager.