Coventry vs. Middlesbrough (Saturday, 12.30pm)
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Coventry City and Middlesbrough square off in the Championship on Saturday afternoon looking to bounce back from disappointing starts to the season.
Having each lost in the playoffs in 2022-23, these two teams begun their campaign with defeats to Leicester City and Millwall respectively.
We say: Coventry City 2-1 Middlesbrough
Based on their results over the last week, this is a difficult match to predict. Middlesbrough will be buoyed by seeing off Huddersfield in the EFL Cup, yet we feel that Coventry have done everything but win, leading us to predict a narrow home victory.
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Birmingham vs. Leeds (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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After both drawing in the opening round of Championship matches last weekend, Birmingham City and Leeds United meet at St Andrews on Saturday as they each aim to put a first victory of the new season on the board.
The Blues kicked off their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Swansea City last Saturday, while the visiting side held Cardiff City in dramatic fashion at Elland Road following their relegation back to England's second tier.
We say: Birmingham City 1-1 Leeds United
Leeds United do still have plenty of quality in their squad, but mood in the camp may have taken a big hit, and playing with a weakened side away at a Birmingham City team who are full of optimism with a new-look XI, we do not see the newly-relegated side taking all three points and instead opt for a share of the spoils.
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Cardiff vs. QPR (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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Cardiff City will be looking to record their first win of the Championship season when Queens Park Rangers visit the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Bluebirds started their campaign with an exciting draw at Leeds United, while QPR were well beaten by Valerien Ismael's Watford at Vicarage Road.
We say: Cardiff City 3-1 Queens Park Rangers
Cardiff will be full of confidence after their performance against Leeds last time out, and the home faithful will be expecting maximum points against an out-of-form QPR side.
The R's need a decent performance to ease worries of a fruitless campaign, but we cannot envisage them getting anything from their trip to South Wales this weekend.
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Huddersfield vs. Leicester (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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Leicester City will aim to make it two wins from their opening two outings of the Championship season on Saturday, when they travel to West Yorkshire to take on Huddersfield Town.
The Foxes began their bid to win an immediate promotion back to the Premier League with a home triumph over Coventry City last weekend, while their hosts kicked off away at Plymouth Argyle and suffered a defeat.
We say: Huddersfield Town 0-2 Leicester City
While Huddersfield should be resolute and disciplined on home turf, we do not see them having enough to fend off a Leicester side who are full of quality and playing with confidence under their new boss.
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Hull City vs. Sheff Weds (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday will both go in search of their first points of the Championship season on Saturday, when they square off at the MKM Stadium in the second round of league games this term.
The hosts fell just short away at Norwich City in their curtain-raiser, while the visiting side were beaten by Southampton last Friday, with both sides having then experienced differing fortunes in the EFL Cup in midweek.
We say: Hull City 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Both sides should see Saturday's fixture as a good opportunity to score their first victory of the season against closely-matched opposition, and we cannot quite pick a winner and instead see them each taking a point from a hard-fought encounter.
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Ipswich vs. Stoke (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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Ipswich Town and Stoke City will both be looking to continue their 100% starts to the season when they meet at Portman Road on Saturday.
Each of these sides also prevailed in the EFL Cup in midweek, and top spot in the Championship could be theirs if they win in East Anglia.
We say: Ipswich Town 1-1 Stoke City
While Ipswich are the narrow favourites for this contest, Stoke have put together a squad capable of a promotion push this year. With that in mind, we feel that a competitive draw is the most likely outcome, one which neither side will turn down.
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Millwall vs. Bristol City (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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Millwall will be hoping to make it two wins from two matches at the start of the new Championship season when they welcome Bristol City to The Den on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions recorded an impressive victory away at Middlesbrough on the opening day of the 2023-24 term, whilst Bristol City shared the spoils with Preston North End at Ashton Gate.
We say: Millwall 2-1 Bristol City
Millwall have shown their best and worst sides over the past week, but they have a good chance to amend for their EFL Cup exit as they face Bristol City on Saturday.
The Robins will officially begin life without Scott at the Den this weekend, and we believe that Pearson's men will taste defeat for the first time this season.
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Preston vs. Sunderland (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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Preston North End and Sunderland meet at Deepdale on Saturday afternoon, with both sides looking to earn their first Championship victory of the new campaign.
The Lilywhites shared the spoils on the opening day of the second tier against Bristol City, whereas Sunderland were conquered on their own patch by newly-promoted Ipswich Town.
We say: Preston North End 2-1 Sunderland
Preston will be looking for a response following their EFL Cup exit in the week, and they will be presented with a chance to put things right against Sunderland on Saturday.
The Black Cats were stunned by both Ipswich and Crewe at the Stadium of Light over the last week, and we are expecting a third loss in succession for Mowbray's men.
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Rotherham vs. Blackburn (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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Rotherham United and Blackburn Rovers will do battle at the New York Stadium on Saturday in the second round of Championship fixtures this term, after experiencing differing starts to the campaign last weekend.
The hosts will search for their first points of the season after losing away at Stoke City on the opening day, while the visitors made a winning start to the term before both were involved in EFL Cup action in midweek.
We say: Rotherham United 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Rotherham United failed to impress on the opening day, while the visitors scored an encouraging victory, but we do fancy the Millers to be more resilient on home turf and do not see Blackburn leaving with all three points, instead envisaging a low-scoring draw in South Yorkshire.
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Southampton vs. Norwich (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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Southampton and Norwich City meet in the Championship on Saturday having both come through their opening fixtures with hard-fought wins.
While the visitors had a free midweek, Southampton surprisingly lost to lower-league opposition in the EFL Cup.
We say: Southampton 1-1 Norwich City
Well-rested from their opening-day victory, Norwich will be confident of prevailing for a second time in succession. However, despite lacking the presence of Ward-Prowse, we expect Southampton to do enough to earn a share of the spoils.
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Watford vs. Plymouth (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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Watford will be looking to make it back-to-back wins at the start of their Championship campaign when they welcome Plymouth Argyle to Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon.
The Hornets were the big winners on the opening weekend of the second-tier season, thrashing Queens Park Rangers, while Plymouth marked their return to this level with a win over Huddersfield Town.
We say: Watford 3-2 Plymouth Argyle
Watford are back at Vicarage Road after EFL Cup disappointment in the week, and the Hornets faithful will be expecting a response against newly-promoted Plymouth.
The Pilgrims burst back onto the second-tier scene in the contest with Huddersfield last time out, but a trip to Hertfordshire will prove a much sterner test for the League One champions.
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West Brom vs. Swansea (Saturday, 3.00pm)
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West Bromwich Albion play host to Swansea City in the Championship on Saturday looking to bounce back from losing both of their opening fixtures of the season.
Meanwhile, the visitors begun with a draw against Birmingham City, and they will be hoping to maintain their unbeaten run on the visit to The Hawthorns.
We say: West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Swansea City
This has all the makings of an entertaining encounter, particularly with West Brom playing in front of their own fans for the first time this season. However, the visitors could be strong in attack this campaign, and we are backing this contest to end all square.
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Oliver Thomas
