2023/24 Championship Betting Preview Week 1

Another Championship season is upon us and it promises to be one of the most exciting and evenly-contested seasons than ever before. For the 2023/24 season, Spreadex Sports are partnered with Sunderland, Blackburn, West Brom, Norwich, Huddersfield, Watford and Cardiff, and we will be bringing betting previews for all of their league fixtures this season!

BLACKBURN V WEST BROM, SATURDAY 3PM

The first 'Spreadex derby' of the new season takes place on Saturday as two sides who were in contention for promotion last season look to once again aim to return to the top flight after several years away. The home side in particular has now been away from the Premier League for 11 years after a spell of 11 consecutive years in the top league, while Albion were relegated after the 2020/21 season.

In terms of our Season Points spread market, Blackburn have a starting spread of 59 - 61 points, while West Brom have a starting spread of 68 - 70, making The Baggies 5th favourites. In terms of fixed odds, Blackburn are available at 35/1 to win the league and 9/1 to secure promotion. West Brom are 20/1 to win the league and 7/2 to win promotion.

In this particular fixture, recent meetings have produced very tightly contested matches, with three draws in the last five and only a single-goal winning margin for either side in their 2-1 wins against each other. Only one of those five matches didn't see both teams finding the net - a 0-0 stalemate.

In terms of match odds, the Supremacy spread goes along with recent form and puts the away side as very slight favourites: West Brom/Blackburn 0 - 0.2, with a Total Goals spread of 2.3 - 2.5. On the fixed odds, West Brom are 13/8 to get an opening victory, with Blackburn 19/10 and the draw at 11/5. Both Teams to Score is available at 4/5.

NORWICH V HULL, SATURDAY 3PM

The Canaries will look to fly high with a winning start at Carrow Road as they welcome Hull, and the odds suggest they are favoured to do just that. Among the favourites to get promoted, Norwich are entering their second successive season in the Championship, following a disappointing 13th-placed finish in 2022/23. On our Season Points spreads market, they are available at 67 - 69, with a fixed odds price of 15/4 for promotion and 16/1 to win the Championship crown.

In this fixture, home manager David Wagner will be hoping of a repeat of the last meeting between these sides at Carrow Road which took place in February of this year and ended with a 3-1 win. The same result can be backed at 13/1 on the fixed odds. In terms of goals, four of the last five meetings have been high-scoring with over 2.5 goals being hit, and over 3.5 being hit three times! Over 3.5 goals is 5/2 on the fixed odds here while Total Goal Minutes are 125 - 135 on the spreads. Would you buy or sell?

The match odds stand at Norwich at 4/5, Hull at 15/4 and the draw at 27/10. This translates to Norwich/Hull 0.6 - 0.8 on the Goal Supremacy spread.

PLYMOUTH V HUDDERSFIELD, SATURDAY 3PM

After needing a hugely-impressive late season surge to ensure survival last season, Huddersfield will hope similar drama can be avoided during this campaign, and their first match will see them travel to newly-promoted Plymouth. The Pilgrims won League One with an impressive haul of 101 points, but know that they will need to find another gear in the tougher standards of the Championship.

The Terriers lost 13 Championship away games last term - the league’s joint-second most, but in spite of a long 626 mile round trip here, Huddersfield fans should travel confident having ended last season losing only one of their last five away games (W3, D1, L1).

Although the sides haven't met in league competition since 2011, their last meeting was in the FA Cup in 2021. Interestingly, the last five meetings have produced high-scoring affairs, with four of the five seeing over three goals. However, the home side have had the slight upper hand by winning three of the five - with no draws between the two.

On the fixed odds, the home side are again favoured to grab an opening win in the Championship at 23/20 and Huddersfield standing at 5/2. A first-ever draw between the sides is available at 12/5. On the spreads, it is Plymouth/Huddersfield 0.25 - 0.45 and Total Goals at 2.45 - 2.65.

WATFORD V QPR, SATURDAY 3PM

A new Spreadex partner club for the 2023/24 season, Watford will be looking to grab an opening home victory against QPR - but it doesn't look like an easy task after falling twice to the Hoops last season. The Hornets did end last season with 13 more points and nine points ahead of the away side, but will look to have a much stronger season on the whole this time around, and that can be started in perfect fashion if they can claim victory here. 

In our Season Points market, Watford are available with a spread of 63 - 65, and are available on the fixed odds at 12/5 to secure a top-6 finish. They ended six points off the play-off places last season.

For this match, the home side are at 87/100 to grab the three points, with QPR at 10/3 to continue hounding the Hornets and the draw is at 27/10. The last two matches have seen the opening goal scored within the opening 20 minutes, and our 1st Match Goal spread ahead of this one stands at 36 - 39. Would you buy or sell?

LEEDS V CARDIFF, SUNDAY 2.30PM

Another new Spreadex partner, Welsh side Cardiff kick-off their season with a trip to newly-relegated Leeds, who are the league's second-favourites behind Leicester with a points spread of 80 - 82. The away side begin with a much lower spread of 53 - 55, but will be hopeful of a statement victory here to begin their quest for promotion in ideal fashion.

H2H form has been an intriguingly mixed bag, with the last five meetings seeing two high-scoring draws (2-2, 3-3) and two big wins for either side (Leeds 5-2 in the last meeting, Cardiff 4-1 in 2018). As such, it is difficult to predict what to expect here. Leeds do begin as solid favourites with a Supremacy spread of 1.2 - 1.4, and on the fixed odds at 4/9, with Cardiff underdogs at 6/1 to grab an away win at Elland Road and the draw at 15/4.

Over 3.5 goals is available at 7/4 on the fixed odds, with Total Goals at 2.8 - 3 and Total Goal Mins at 142 - 152 on the spreads. Would you buy or sell?

SUNDERLAND V IPSWICH, SUNDAY 5PM

And finally, the latest match of the weekend sees our principal partners Sunderland welcome newly-promoted Ipswich at the Stadium of Light, hoping to build on the momentum of their play-off finish last season to take one step further and return to the Premier League at the end of this campaign. 

Typically solid at home, the Black Cats ended last season with a run of six-straight unbeaten Championship home games (W2, D4), despite failing to keep any clean sheets in those. Making the Stadium of Light a fortress will be a key aim, as they kept a joint-fourth worst six clean sheets here last season and were one of just seven sides to pick up fewer points at home (30) than away (39).

The last meeting between the sides was two years ago in League One, and ended with a 1-1 draw. The same result can be backed at 11/2 here. The home side are available at 6/4 to win, with any draw at 12/5 and the away side at 19/10. We also have several BOOSTS for the match, including:

Luis Semedo to score anytime - WAS 21/10, NOW 5/2!

Both Teams to Score and Sunderland to win - WAS 18/5, NOW 9/2!