With the international break now over we can resume our focus back to the Championship this weekend. Cardiff remain top while Leeds continue their poor form. Bolton still sit bottom without a win and Aston Villa hope to continue their current four-win game streak. We at Accumulator Tips have looked closely at the upcoming fixtures to help you this weekend on any tips.

The Championship games are as follows:

Birmingham v Cardiff

The first of our Friday matches. Still struggling this season, Birmingham City recently got rid of manager Harry Redknapp. Now with Lee Carsley being the caretaker manager, there is much to do. Eight points so far and their last outing to Hull ended up as a 6-1 defeat. With 19 goals conceded they have one of the worst defences in the league. Still top of the table, Cardiff City drew to Derby but remain unbeaten in four games. The Welsh side have one of the better defences in the league only letting in nine goals. Our first tip is for a simple Cardiff away win. Birmingham have been struggling and Cardiff are top of the table right now. In that case, with Birmingham recently losing 6-1, we are backing a Cardiff -1.

Back a Cardiff win – 5/4 with Winner

Back a Cardiff -1 – 3/1 with Bet365

Bristol City v Burton

In fine form right now, Bristol City are currently in fourth place. Lee Johnson’s side are actually unbeaten in nine Championship league games. Their only loss coming on the opening day of the season. With two consecutive wins right now, Bristol City are in great form right now. Burton are 21st with just nine points and have conceded 23 goals. The worst defence in the league. Burton have no win in three and have lost the past two matches. Nigel Clough’s side also have one of the worst attacking threats in the league with only six goals scored. We will be opting for Bristol City to win to nil as Burton have lacked in the goal department lately. Our second expert tip is for a half-time Bristol City/full-time Bristol City result as we feel that they will dominate the game throughout.

Back Bristol City to win to nil – 6/5 with Betway

Back a half-time Bristol City/full-time Bristol City result – 19/20 with Betway

Barnsley v Middlesbrough

The first of our Saturday fixtures, in 18th position, Barnsley have 11 points and won their last game 3-1 at Millwall. A great result for the Tykes as they leapfrog a number of teams in the table. Middlesbrough are 11th and lower than expected with 16 points. No win in three games means Garry Monk needs to start producing again to be able to push back for at least playoff places this season. A recent draw with a struggling Brentford side shows the lack of results that Middlesbrough have been finishing with. We are backing both teams to score as both sides have been scoring lately. We also feel there could be a few goals, backing over 2.5 match goals.

Back BTTS – 5/7 with 888

Back over 2.5 match goals – 9/10 with Betfair

Bolton v Sheffield Wednesday

Still with no win is Bolton Wanderers. Unable to cope with Championship football after their recent promotion from League One, Phil Parkinson’s side have now lost eight consecutive league games. With 22 goals conceded they have the worst defence in the league. Sheffield Wednesday are doing pretty well with 16 points so far. They did recently go on a run with no win in three games but beat Leeds in their last game at home, 3-0. Carlos Carvalhal will be quite content with how the Owls have started their campaign. We feel this game can only go one way, unfortunately. Backing a Sheffield Wednesday -1 we are also going to tip both teams not to score as Bolton have really found it hard lately.

Back a Sheffield Wednesday -1 – 12/5 with William Hill

Back BTTS (no) – 19/20 with William Hill

Brentford v Millwall

Starting off their season not too great, Brentford have started to pick up the pace a little bit. Unbeaten in four matches and picking up six points in those games has brought the Bees from the depths of the relegation zone. The draw against Middlesbrough will have been a great morale booster for Dean Smith’s men. Millwall lie around mid-table in 14th place on 13 points. A recent loss to Barnsley will not be what Neil Harris will have wanted as they were unbeaten in four games prior. The past two games played by each side has seen both sides score, so we are tipping both teams to score. We are also opting for over 2.5 goals as both teams do have threats up front.

Back BTTS – 8/13 with Winner

Back over 2.5 match goals – 8/11 with Bet365

Fulham v Preston

In 10th on 17 points, Fulham are on a two-game win streak and haven’t lost in three games. Their last win against QPR will have put the Cottagers in great moods for the upcoming game against Preston. Up in sixth place, Preston are on 20 points and in fantastic form with three wins in their last five and haven’t lost in eight league games. Alex Neil will be aiming to take something away from this game at Craven Cottage. A recent draw with Sunderland may have been seen as points dropped but Preston still sit pretty in the Championship. Our first tip is a full-time draw as both sides will probably cancel each other out. With that in mind, we are backing under 2.5 match goals as teams have reasonable defensive records.

Back a full-time draw – 27/10 with 888

Back under 2.5 match goals – 8/7 with 888

Leeds v Reading

Two consecutive losses for Leeds means they have slipped from first position down to fifth. Still, with 20 points they look in a good position. Recent losses to Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday will have dented their confidence and Thomas Christiansen will try his best to get his side back on track. The Royals aren’t doing so well so far as they are down in 20th place. No win in their last five games, Reading have also lost back to back games recently against Millwall and Norwich. They do have one spare game to play but have only managed to score nine goals in their ten games. Despite Leeds’ recent demise we are tipping them for the home win as Reading haven’t seen any good form lately. We are also opting for both teams to score as Leeds have conceded in their past three games.

Back a Leeds win – 10/11 with Betway

Back BTTS – 4/5 with Betfair

Norwich v Hull

Ninth in the table with 18 points, Norwich haven’t lost in six games and are currently on a two-win game streak. Pushing for playoffs right now, Daniel Starke’s side are hoping to continue their good run of form. Midfielder James Maddison has shown his qualities with two goals in the past two games for the Canaries. Hull look to be struggling but a recent 6-1 thrashing against Birmingham looks as though everything isn’t as bad as it seemed. They have actually scored the most goals by a team in the Championship so far with 22. With that recent result, Leonid Slutsky will be hoping to carry that performance over to Carrow Road against Norwich. Both sides have been scoring many goals lately and we are going to tip over 3.5 match goals. Our other choice is for both teams to score with that in mind.

Back over 3.5 match goals – 17/10 with Winner

Back BTTS – 4/7 with Winner

Sheffield United v Ipswich

Losing to Nottingham Forest in their last outing, Sheffield United wouldn’t be too disheartened. Still, in third place, they are on 21 points after 11 games. The Blades will be relishing this home game against Ipswich as they have already won four out of five home games this season. Ipswich started their season off quite well but have been on and off recently. Three wins and two losses in the past five games isn’t too bad but Mick McCarthy will want his side to produce more results in the near future. Their past two away games have been defeats and they will hope to put things right at Bramall Lane. With Sheffield United at home, we are going to back the home win. We are also backing the second half as highest scoring.

Back a Sheffield United win – 3/4 with Bet365

Back second half as highest scoring – 11/10 with William Hill

Sunderland v QPR

Simon Grayson and his side are still attempting to find their first win since the second game of the season. With only seven points, Sunderland will be desperate to grab any kind of results at the moment. A draw with Preston in their last fixture is a plus but a result at home to QPR would also be seen as a positive for the Black Cats. With 13 points, QPR are also in poor form. No win in their past five games has resulted to them slipping down to 16th place. Ian Holloway will be trying to conjure something up at the Stadium of Light this weekend. Both sides have been struggling and we don’t expect there to be many goals in this one, tipping under 2.5 match goals. Our other expert tip is both teams not to score.

Back under 2.5 match goals – 9/10 with Betfair

Back BTTS (no) – 11/10 with Betfair

Wolves v Aston Villa

Second, in the Championship, Wolves are looking pretty good right now. With 23 points from 11 games, Nuno Espirito Santo has really worked wonders for the West Midlands side. A 4-0 victory at Burton showcased what they are capable of this season and with Aston Villa arriving at the Molineux, it will be a bigger test. Climbing the table into seventh place, Villa have now won four straight games. Steve Bruce’s side started their campaign off not so well but have really turned things around as of late. This game will be tight but we are opting for Diogo Jota to score anytime with Wolves as he has proven to be a threat. We also feel that Wolves will score first with the home crowd behind them.

Back Diogo Jota to score anytime – 13/5 with 888

Back Wolves to score first – 10/13 with Winner

Derby v Nottingham Forest

The Sunday game takes place at Pride Park. Derby have drawn their last three games and haven’t won in four. Accumulating 13 points from ten games isn’t great, nor is it bad either. They do have that spare game to play which would come in handy to earn a few extra points. Their recent draw with Cardiff is a good result for the Rams as they push to continue some form of momentum. Forest are mid-table with 15 points and beat Sheffield United after a three-game losing streak. Mark Warburton will be relieved about their recent result and will be aiming to push on by picking up more results. The next task at hand will be at Pride Park. Derby’s recent games have shown not many goals so we are backing under 2.5 match goals. Our final tip is both teams not to score as Nottingham have struggled away recently.