Championship Best Bets

Let's start the weekend Football League in South Yorkshire, where Leeds make the short trip to Barnsley.

We'll kick off with a few stats about Leeds to set the scene. The season started in explosive manner for Leeds - their opening nine matches saw them score 17 and concede just 5 for a +12 goal difference. Since then those things have turned around badly - 10 goals scored since for 19 against over the following nine, taking them all the way back down to a +3 goal difference.

Those opening nine matches saw them score 73% of goals in their matches, while more recently that number has dropped to a concerning 34%. Looking at the shot data, and you see it's not entirely unexpected - Leeds got 62% of the total Shots on Target in their opening nine matches, and that's down to 40% now. Basically, they were probably a touch fortunate early in the season, but were creating plenty more opportunities than they were allowing. Since the end of September, the tide has turned and they've been second best, although may have been slightly unfortunate to have collected just six points from a possible 27. Nevertheless, they look a club who are struggling a little right now.

Barnsley look to be picking up as the season progresses, and have lost just twice in nine now - to Cardiff and Hull which are both forgivable. They always seem to get up for this match, winning five of the last six at Oakwell against Leeds since 2006. They look great value at 13/8 in this one.

2pts Barnsley to beat Leeds at 13/8 (General)

Down in East Anglia, Norwich v Preston could be a tight affair as Alex Neil heads back to his old stomping ground. He won't want to lose this one, and could be forgiven for setting his troops up in a less than positive manner as Preston look to get a steady footing again after a tough little period.

Norwich's last 6 at home have been:

Norwich 1-1 Barnsley

Norwich 0-2 Wolves

Norwich 1-2 Derby

Norwich 1-1 Hull

Norwich 0-0 Bristol City

Norwich 0-0 Burton

Norwich 1-0 Birmingham

With all that in mind, the even money available on Under 2.5 Goals looks decent enough in our eyes.

2pts Under 2.5 Goals at Norwich v Leeds at Evens (General)

#Football