After a week off, Tom Carnduff is back in the EFL hotseat and has four big-priced goalscorer selections to consider.
Recommended bets
1pt Reece James to score anytime in Birmingham v Wigan at 15/1
1pt Will Vaulks to score anytime in West Brom v Rotherham at 13/2
1pt Sergi Canos to score two or more goals in Bolton v Brentford at 16/1
1pt Julian Jeanvier to score anytime in Bolton v Brentford at 12/1
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Birmingham v Wigan
Two sides who have now secured their Sky Bet Championship status meet in a game that has little implication, bar final league positions.
Both can only finish as high as 16th this season. It may not seem much, but it's an achievement for a Wigan side who are in their first season back in England's second tier.
It's also a positive for Birmingham who were hit with a nine-point deduction, that's alongside the transfer restrictions that have limited Garry Monk in his ability to add quality to his squad.
Wigan's away form has been poor, but they can take confidence in their Good Friday victory over promotion-chasing Leeds, a defeat that derailed Marcelo Bielsa's hopes of finishing in the top two.
There's a big price available on Reece James to score anytime, as he did in their recent draw against champions-elect Norwich, and that's the headline bet.
The youngster is on loan from Chelsea and has been one of the stars of the season in the Championship. Primarily playing at right-back, James has been moved into midfield recently and should again fill that position here.
His biggest impact comes from set-pieces. James has the ability to score from free-kicks and is a confident penalty taker, as we saw in that Norwich game.
Birmingham being the home side may limit the Latics' opportunities but James is dangerous from distance and double-figure prices about him scoring again look generous.
Birmingham look a sound enough bet at a price of 11/10, but with little to play for it's a game that could go either way.
Instead, it may be worth considering odds-on quotes about both teams scoring for those weekend accumulators.
Best bet: Reece James to score anytime at 15/1
Opta facts
- Birmingham haven’t completed a league double over Wigan since the 2009-10 Premier League campaign.
- Wigan have won two of their last three away league visits to Birmingham (W2 D0 L1) since winning none of their first seven games there between 1990 and 2010 (W0 D4 L3).
- Birmingham City’s 3-1 win over Rotherham was the first time they’d come from behind at half-time to win a league match since April 2014 against Doncaster Rovers.
- Wigan are looking to win three consecutive league matches at Championship level for the first time since a run of six in February and March 2014.
- After a run of 16 consecutive league goals scored by Englishmen, each of Birmingham’s three goals in their 3-1 win at Rotherham were scored by non-Englishmen of different nationalities – Jacques Maghoma (Congo DR), Jota (Spain) and Kerim Mrabti (Sweden).
- Wigan’s 2-1 victory at Leeds in their last away league game was the first time they’d conceded first in a Championship away match and gone on to win since October 2014 against Derby County.
West Brom v Rotherham
Unfortunately for Rotherham, it looks as if they are heading straight back down to Sky Bet League One.
Paul Warne's men are three points behind Millwall with a significantly worse goal difference. Millwall have a game in hand though and the Millers are strongly fancied to be the side who join Bolton and Ipswich in dropping down a division.
As for West Brom, they are likely to finish in fourth and set up a play-off semi-final meeting against Aston Villa. That said, Leeds' poor form means that they could move up a spot. They would need to win both remaining games with Leeds picking up no more than a point.
It's not much of an incentive, but the Baggies should be too good for a struggling Rotherham side regardless. Paul Warne's men need to find a way to secure a result and this contest means more to them. Unfortunately, though, their away record leaves a lot to be desired.
I'd expect this to be a game which produces goals as Rotherham have nothing to lose at this point.
Their 50 goals scored is the best of any team who have been threatened with relegation but they've also conceded the most in the entire league and that's been their problem.
Rotherham have conceded 18 in their last six games, but have scored ten during that same period. They have also scored five goals across their last two away games against Stoke and Swansea.
The 8/13 on offer on both teams scoring shows that Rotherham are fancied to contribute, but from a value perspective it's worth considering the 13/2 available on Will Vaulks to score anytime.
The Millers' midfielder has been their main attacking threat and probably should have had more goals than the seven on his tally this season.
He leads the way for shots taken by any Rotherham player and his style results in plenty of efforts towards goal. That's reflected in the 13 shots he's had in their last four games and he's become more dangerous as the season has gone on, with at least one shot in every league game since the 3-1 away defeat to Birmingham at the start of October.
Vaulks also has an impact from set-pieces and that could be a key avenue for the visitors in what should be an entertaining game. At the prices he looks the bet.
Best bet: Will Vaulks to score anytime at 13/2
Opta facts
- West Brom have won four home matches against Rotherham – but have never beaten them in league football (P3 W0 D2 L1), with their four wins coming in the FA Cup (twice) and League Cup (twice).
- Rotherham have lost their last two matches against West Brom in all competitions, conceding four in each match (3-4 in August 2009, 0-4 in December 2018).
- West Bromwich Albion have won all four home league matches under James Shan, scoring 13 goals in those victories.
- Rotherham have picked up one win in their last 47 Championship away matches (W1 D11 L35).
- West Brom striker Dwight Gayle has scored six goals in his last three home Championship appearances.
- Rotherham have lost their last three Championship matches when scoring first, losing to Aston Villa, Swansea City and Birmingham City.
Bolton v Brentford
Brentford will finish outside the top-six while Bolton have been doomed from the first minute this season.
Wanderers have seen off-the-field issues damage their chances on it and they have been sent back down to Sky Bet League One in dire need of a rebuild.
They're going down with little fight, and given how the players have been treated this season, it's hardly a surprise. A side with Brentford's away form would usually be backed for defeat here, but they should pick up a rare win on the road.
That's because Bolton have lost ten of their last 12 games, with wins coming against fellow strugglers in QPR and Millwall. Ipswich's trip to Sheffield United should at least mean that they won't finish bottom of the standings.
There's a good chance that they will be relegated 14 points adrift of safety though, with just 32 points from a possible 138 gained throughout a miserable campaign.
Brentford are a side filled with goals and they should exploit one of the weakest defences in the league. Only Rotherham have conceded more than Bolton's 76 so far, and they currently have a goal difference of -47.
With that in mind, there are two goalscoring options to consider here. The first is the slightly shorter price of the two, and that's backing defender Julian Jeanvier to score anytime at a best price of 12/1.
The centre-back has five goals across all competitions this season, which is impressive considering he was barely involved in the league during the first half of the campaign.
He struck in league draws with Norwich and Derby, both headers from corners, and we could see a repeat here based on Bolton's woes at defending set-pieces.
The Bees should have a fairly high corner count as they are expected to be on the front foot throughout the contest. That will give Jeanvier opportunity to strike, and despite Bolton's decent presence in the air, they have a tendency to be fairly flat-footed at the back.
With Brentford expected to score, another bet to look at is the 16/1 for Sergi Canos to hit two or more in this contest. Canos is a likely starter, especially in Said Benrahma's absence, and posted a goal and an assist in the 2-0 win over Leeds last time out.
The winger has had direct involvement in 12 league goals this season, along with posting the fourth-highest number of shots in this Brentford side. He averages two per game, but we can expect him to exceed that here.
He looked like a player with confidence in that win over Leeds and will want to carry that on against one of the division's poorest sides. Back him to deliver at a massive price.
Best bet: Sergi Canos to score two or more goals at 16/1
Best bet: Julian Jeanvier to score anytime at 12/1
Opta facts
- Bolton have lost their last four league matches against Brentford, failing to score in each of their last three.
- Brentford are looking to win consecutive league visits to Bolton for the first time since March 1987.
- Bolton have failed to score in 23 Championship matches this season – four more than any other team.
- Neal Maupay has scored 24 league goals for Brentford this season – although he hasn’t scored more than once in a Championship game since September 2018, when he netted a brace against Wigan.
- Bolton have lost 14 home league matches this season – the last second tier side to lose more in a single season were Wimbledon in 2003-04 (16 home defeats).
- Brentford have won only three of their last 28 away matches in all competitions (W3 D11 L14).
Odds correct at 1335 BST (25/04/19)