Championship Acca: Will Blackburn continue their free fall on Wednesday night?

The English Football League remains as eventful as ever. In this weekly column, Jack Goddard helps you find some value accumulator selections among the chaos.

Coventry City v Preston North End

Kick-off: 7.45pm Wednesday

I won’t be giving out any prizes to those who correctly guessed Preston’s score at the weekend as they somehow conspired to draw 0-0 yet again. Recording six clean sheets in a row is admirable, but when you’re utterly useless at the other end of the pitch it’s not going to get you anywhere other than back in this column every week.

Their opponents, Coventry, are set to play their first home game of the season after the pitch at the Coventry Building Society Arena was deemed too unsafe to play on throughout the opening few weeks of the campaign.

With that in mind, and the fact that Coventry have only gathered a single point from three away games, the Sky Blues are a difficult side to judge. They may improve a great deal back in front of their own fans.

There have, however, been 12 goals in Coventry’s league fixtures so far, which means they are currently boasting a strike rate of four goals a game. That cannot continue against the league’s stoutest defence, and the 2.96 available on under 1.5 goals looks great value. I expect Preston to continue doing what they do best - play out a dismal game of football.

Selection: Under 1.5 goals @ 2.96

Bristol City v Huddersfield Town

Kick-off: 7.45pm Wednesday

Nigel Pearson’s Bristol City are proving extremely prolific in front of goal. The Robins are the Championship’s joint-top scorers with 11 goals so far, helping them to bounce back from two early defeats to go four games unbeaten.

Meanwhile, Huddersfield are suffering an almighty hangover from last season’s play-off final defeat, which hasn’t been helped by the loss of manager Carlos Corberán just three weeks before the season started.

Danny Schofield lost four of his first five games as Terriers boss and threw away a two-goal lead at home to West Brom at the weekend. His team is also giving up more chances than any other side in the league - both home and away - as per ‘xG Against’ stats.

If Huddersfield continue to provide their opponents with unlimited opportunities, the Robins will certainly capitlise. I fancy the home side to take all three points here.

Selection: Bristol City to win @ 1.92

Sunderland v Rotherham United

Kick-off: 7.45pm Wednesday

Rotherham have started their season in fine form, suggesting that their time as the EFL’s ultimate yo-yo club might finally be over. The Millers possess the best goal difference in the Championship and are one of just two sides, along with Preston, that are yet to lose a league game.

Their opponents, Sunderland, have also made a promising return to the second tier, although Alex Neil’s surprise departure for Stoke (more on that below) has left them in a precarious position.

Tony Mowbray is now set to be appointed, a manager who has recent experience in establishing a big club back in the Championship. The Black Cats should remain hard to beat, especially at home.

Sunderland have drawn two and lost one of their games at the Stadium of Light this season, while Rotherham have drawn both their away matches so far. Only six points separated the two sides in League One last year, and they have shared the points in two of their last three fixtures against one another. They seem pretty well matched and a draw looks the likely result.

Selection: Draw @ 3.45

Stoke City v Swansea City

Kick-off: 7.45pm Wednesday

Both of these sides have suffered incredibly disappointing starts to the season, with just three wins between them so far. The Potters decided to do something about their situation last week, sacking Michael O’Neill after two-and-a-half years of his stewardship.

They moved swiftly to shockingly replace him with Alex Neil, the former Sunderland boss making the odd decision to make what at best appears a sideways step.

Russell Martin, who captained Neil’s Norwich side, is still struggling to turn possession into results at Swansea after more than a year in charge. The Swans have the ball more than anyone else in the Championship but are the second-worst at progressing it - only Burnley move up the pitch slower (but with better results).

As such, neither Swansea or Stoke have seen many goals this season, with seven of their 12 combined matches resulting in fewer than 2.5. I expect this to be a nervy game that will continue that trend.

Selection: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.89

Blackpool v Blackburn Rovers

Kick-off: 8pm Wednesday

Blackburn are in freefall, with the early Championship front-runners having lost each of their last three games without scoring a single goal.

John Dahl Tomasson’s side are seriously struggling to create any chances of note, with just three shots on target all they have to show from their last 270 minutes of football.

As a result, Rovers have the second-worst xG in the league and the worst away from home - they are currently achieving a pitiful 0.56 xG on the road. Even in their sole away win of the season - a 3-0 defeat of Swansea - they had just five shots in total, with an xG of 0.67.

Blackpool haven’t won at home since the opening day, but that victory came against Reading, who now find themselves top of the table. The Tangerines haven’t struggled for goals lately and enter this fixture off the back of two consecutive 3-3 draws. Expect them to outscore a side who can barely fashion a chance.

Selection: Blackpool to win @ 2.52

Recommended bets

Coventry v Preston: Under 1.5 goals @ 2.96
Bristol City v Huddersfield: Bristol City to win @ 1.92
Sunderland v Rotherham: Draw @ 3.45
Stoke City v Swansea City: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.89
Blackpool v Blackburn: Blackpool to win @ 2.52