Tuesday night’s Championship football includes some crucial matchups at the top of the table, including Sunderland v West Brom and Sheffield United v Oxford United.
Football tipster James O’Rourke is all over the midweek action and has a tasty-looking Acca for us.
So, let’s get into it…
Tuesday’s EFL Acca tips
7:45pm Norwich v Plymouth – Borja Sainz to score
7:45pm Sheffield United v Oxford United – Sheffield United to win to nil
7:45pm Watford v Bristol City – Vakoun Bayo to score
8pm Sunderland v West Brom – West Brom double chance
19:45 – Norwich v Plymouth
Borja Sainz to score
Seven games without a win is not great reading for Norwich. They’ve somewhat digressed, having enjoyed a good time in September/October when winning three in four. Injuries have mostly bit them hard in recent times, which is a valid excuse; however, that doesn’t wash with supporters these days.
One shining light throughout their seven-match winless run and throughout the entire season in general has been winger Borja Sainz. The 23-year-old Spaniard is the top scorer in the Championship, which is more impressive knowing he has not been featured as a centre forward.
If The Canaries are to succeed in any match, then there is a strong likelihood he has played a significant part in them doing so.
Sainz tops the Norwich squad in league action not just for the goals scored but also for shots, shots on target, and collective xG.
He is averaging 3.125 shots in league contests this season, with 42% of those hitting the target. Last weekend, in the 2-2 draw at West Brom, he recorded six shots, his joint-highest shot return in any of his season appearances.
Considering he is facing a Plymouth side with the worst away record in the division, a confident chance is taken on him to end his three-game scoreless run despite his best efforts.
19:45 – Sheffield United v Oxford United
Sheffield United to win to nil
To say Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder was somewhat ‘cheesed off’ after conceding late in their 2-2 weekend draw at Coventry was an understatement! It halted their four-match winning streak, during which they kept three clean sheets.
It was only the third time in league action this season when conceding more than one goal. Their xGA (Expected Goals Against) reads 15.61 despite shipping only nine, meaning they have arguably been running their luck conceding as few as they have done.
Still, this xGA is ranked the sixth-best in the Championship, and they’ve conceded the second-least goals of any team in their league.
Although drawing their last game, it would have felt more like a defeat for The Blades.
Therefore, they’ll be eager to return to the pitch and right that wrong. In the nicest possible way, they’ll probably be glad to be facing Oxford right now. Nothing can, of course, be taken for granted.
But Oxford are starting to find life considerably tougher at this level compared to their opening matches after winning last season’s League One Play-Off Final. Des Buckingham’s team have won only one of their previous 11 and lost four of their most recent five.
Wilder’s side have won ten league encounters this season, nine of which came with a clean sheet. They simply know how to get the job done in contests such as this. A professional but efficient display should be enough to get the better of their bottom-half opponents.
Oxford are also yet to win away and travelling to a hostile Bramall Lane will be another acid test for them.
19:45 – Watford v Bristol City
Vakoun Bayo to score
Watford have made some headlines recently, finding their way to in and around the play-off positions and enjoying some good recent results. The 6-2 away win at Sheffield Wednesday caught the eye, largely thanks to the contribution of striker Vakoun Bayo.
The Ivory Coast international bagged four of those six goals, and he hasn’t looked back since. The striker scored in back-to-back club games and netted for his nation over the international break. Seven goals over his last six appearances for club and country reflects a player in the form of his life.
These goals have propelled Bayo up the league top scorer charts, with only Borja Sainz and Josh Maja currently having more Championship goals to their name. Another reason to expect Bayo to potentially have a productive night is how strong Watford are at Vicarage Road.
It has simply been a fortress for them, as they possess one of four unbeaten home records in the division. Seven home games have returned six victories, with Bayo netting in two of their home triumphs.
The 27-year-old has recorded an average of 2.75 shots and 2.00 shots on target across his previous four club matches. The fact he is regularly in the right place at the right time and being a frequent goal threat raises hopes of him scoring again on Tuesday.
20:00 – Sunderland v West Brom
West Brom double chance
Sunderland’s time at the top of the table ended after a fourth consecutive draw, combined with Leeds’ win at Swansea the following day. It isn’t quite crisis time or anything close to that for The Black Cats, they are having a season that nobody expected sitting in second place.
No wins in four will concern them a little, even if they didn’t lose any of them, but injuries and suspensions have taken their toll of late. That situation improves here as some key players should come back into the fray, but they are facing a West Brom side that are also proving very tough to beat recently.
The Baggies are eight unbeaten, although they have caught the ‘draw bug’ even more than Sunderland, as seven of those ended all-square! Like any draws, some are good, and some are bad, but recently, they’ve turned a corner regarding performance levels.
They can now say they’re playing well and will travel to Sunderland, believing they can get a good result. West Brom have lost only twice in league action out of 16 games this season, both by a slender one-goal margin. They know how to make life awkward for whoever they face.
Sunderland also fits that category, which means the draw has to be a player in this televised encounter. They’ve actually conceded more and have the worst xGA compared to Albion.
West Brom’s biggest problem has been scoring goals; however, they do have a strong defensive base that they can rely upon. Sunderland are understandably favourites as home, but there is value in finding ways of getting Carlos Corberán on side.
Tuesday’s EFL Acca tips
7:45pm Norwich v Plymouth – Borja Sainz to score
7:45pm Sheffield United v Oxford United – Sheffield United to win to nil
7:45pm Watford v Bristol City – Vakoun Bayo to score
8pm Sunderland v West Brom – West Brom double chance
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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