Championship Best Bets

Derby haven't exactly been our lucky side this campaign, but they look good value once again when they travel to Reading this weekend.

The Royals have won just won just three home league matches all season and have scored less than a goal a game, and have now lost eight of their last 14 matches, so come into this somewhat low on confidence.Millwall, Brentford, Birmingham and Burton have all come away with maximum points since Christmas from the Madejski Stadium so are Derby really a 27/20 shot in this one?

The Rams have lost just twice since the start of December - Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday inflicting those defeats and they showed the tremendous spirit in the camp in midweek as they struck late on to rescue a point against Leeds.

2pts Derby to beat Reading at 27/20 (Bet365)

Preston v Ipswich is highly unlikely to be a classic - the Ipswich fans have been vocal in their appraisal of McCarthy's approach to getting points on the board, while Preston have been arguably the best organised unit in the division for much of the season.

Let's start with the goal expectancy in this one. The last 14 Ipswich matches have produced a total of 23 goals - an average of just 1.64 per match - hardly rivetting stuff. 12 of those matches have gone "Under 2.5 Goals" and Town have failed to score in half of those.

It's a very similar story for Preston - their last 14 have produced 32 goals - 2.28 per match, but don't forget there was a 5-1 win over Wycombe in that run. 10 of the 14 have gone "Under 2.5 Goals". In that entire run, only Middlesbrough have managed to score more than once against North End.

So it's going to be a tight match, we know that. With just two defeats in 19 matches, Preston will fancy their chances, and Ipswich have won just twice in 12 matches. Let's back a tight Preston win to get the best value here.

3pts Under 2.5 Goals in Preston v Ipswich (General)

1pt Preston to win 1-0 at 5/1 (General)

1pt Preston to win 2-0 at 7/1 (General)

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