EFL Betting Tips: Who will claim bragging rights in South Wales?

We have had an enthralling start to the EFL season and are treated with another full slate of games this weekend. 

As ever we look at the three Championship TV games, with Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds locking horns, Wayne Rooney looking for his first league win as Plymouth manager and a ferocious South-Wales derby taking centre stage.

In League One, I predict a chaotic game at the Pirelli stadium, before a goal-hungry Colchester United side host lowly Harrogate. 

Sheffield Wednesday vs Leeds

Friday August 23
Kick Off: 20:00
Sky Sports

The weekend EFL action kicks off in South Yorkshire, as Sheffield Wednesday host Leeds at Hillsborough, live on Sky Sports.

Sheffield Wednesday opened their season with a resounding 4-0 win against relegation-threatened Plymouth, before losing by the same scoreline at the Stadium of Light to Sunderland. 

The Owls are strong at home, only losing to Leeds and Coventry in 2024. They will take confidence in the growing unrest at Leeds, coupled with the visitors’ poor start to the season. 

Leeds opened their campaign with a dramatic 3-3 draw with Portsmouth – a game the Whites should have won given their chances. This was followed up by a 0-3 home loss to Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup and a drab 0-0 at the Hawthorns against West Brom.

Leeds are now three away games without a goal and have only won one of their last six on their travels. The departures of creative maestros Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter further weaken Leeds’ impotent attack on their travels, so Danny Rohl’s side will fancy their chances of taking at least a point. 

Prediction: Sheffield Wednesday Double Chance @ 1.86

QPR vs Plymouth

Saturday August 24 
Kick Off: 12:30
Sky Sports

QPR, like Sheffield Wednesday, looked destined for relegation last season, until the appointment of Spaniard Marti Cifuentes. Only two teams accumulated more points from mid-January to the end of the season than the Hoops, and the aim is at least a top half finish this year. 

While the opening day collapse to lose 1-3 to West Brom was disappointing, QPR showed great resilience to fight back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Bramall Lane, despite playing the last 10 minutes with ten men.

They host a Plymouth side who have had a poor start to life under Wayne Rooney, having lost 4-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in a drab performance, before being held 1-1 by Hull in an end-to-end game. 

The Pilgrims endured a torrid season away from home last season, picking up just 16 points in 23 games, and winning just three times. With much uncertainty around the appointment of Wayne Rooney, in addition to QPR’s strong home form, Plymouth could be in for a long afternoon in West London. 

Prediction: QPR -1 Asian Handicap @ 2.08

Swansea vs Cardiff

Sunday August 25
Kick off: 15:00
Sky Sports

This season’s South Wales derby is the earliest in a season since 1957 and both sides may feel under-prepared due to the lack of summer activity. 

Swansea vs Cardiff is always a fiercely contested derby, with it being the only ‘bubble fixture’ remaining in the EFL. The magnitude of the game cannot be understated, with both sets of players understanding the importance of the game for the fans. 

Three of the last five head-to-heads have seen at least five cards, with an average of over five cards per game in this timeframe. 

Refereeing this affair is Oliver Langford who showed six cards in his only game thus far this season. Swansea’s opening day defeat to Middlesbrough saw five cards brandished, with the 3-0 win over Preston only seeing four cards, with the scoreline perhaps having an effect in the latter stages of the game. 

It is a sold-out Swansea.com Stadium, so a boisterous, feisty atmosphere is expected. 

Prediction: Over 4.5 cards @ 2.08

Burton vs Stevenage

Saturday August 24
Kick Off: 12:30
Sky Sports X

Burton survived relegation to League Two last season by just two points. This summer, it’s all change at the Pirelli Stadium. After being bought by the Nordic Football Group, the Brewers appointed Chelsea u21 manager Mark Robinson as manager, who started a major rebuild of a faltering squad that looked destined for an eventual relegation to League Two. 

As many as 15 players have departed, with 19 arriving. The recruitment has been intriguing, with players from clubs such as FC Den Bosch, Cove Rangers, Elfsborg, Tormenta and Chorley arriving. Due to this, it has taken Robinson’s side longer to gel than anticipated, with Burton’s games very chaotic so far. 

The opener saw an end-to-end 3-2 defeat to Lincoln before Burton drew 3-3 at Mansfield in another classic. The two cup games – a 4-0 EFL Cup defeat to Blackpool and a 3-1 EFL Trophy victory over Leicester have followed a similar theme. In fact, dating back to last season, the last 10 Burton games have seen over 2.5 goals.

Stevenage are also in a new era, after the in-house appointment of Alex Revell following the departure of Steve Evans to Rotherham. While the opening day 1-0 win over Shrewsbury won’t do much to inspire goal backers, the Salop were drab, only achieving four shots all game, compared to Borough’s 13 and 2.35 xG. Revell’s side put in valiant efforts in their next two away games, losing 4-3 to Championship side Norwich in the EFL Cup and 2-1 to one of the promotion favourites Huddersfield. 

It's a game that both teams will feel they can win and that should breed chaos. 

Prediction: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.95

Colchester vs Harrogate

Saturday August 24
Kick Off: 15:00

Colchester endured a torrid 2023/2024 campaign, surviving relegation to non-League by just three points – despite Sutton and Forest Green looking dead and buried for so long. 

Still, a strong summer of recruitment under EFL specialists Danny and Nicky Cowley has built up optimism in Essex, with the U’s hopeful for a successful season. The sales of Jay Mingi and Jayden Fevrier to Stockport had weakened the squad, but in typical Cowley’s fashion, the recruitment has been imperious.  

A heap of experience has been added to complement the talented youngsters at the club, most notably Samson Tovide. Goal-scoring midfielder Jack Payne arrives from Charlton and forms a formidable partnership with Teddy Bishop – a player who would be playing up the leagues had it not been for injuries. The Colchester side has a nice blend to it and they have started the season playing some positive football. 

They raced into a 2-0 lead after just 10 minutes in the opener at AFC Wimbledon, eventually losing 4-2. This was followed up by a commanding 2-0 win over title favourites MK Dons. Had it not been for MK stopper Tom McGill who made six saves, The U’s might’ve had four or five. 

They host a Harrogate side with one draw and one defeat from their opening two games. Simon Weaver’s side welcomed EFL new boys Bromley to the Exercise Stadium in the first game of the season, succumbing to a disappointing 0-2 defeat. A dramatic 3-3 draw at Accrington followed – a game in which Stanley had a whopping 23 shots. 

Despite four seasons of comfortably surviving in League Two, there is genuine worry in Yorkshire that this might be the season Harrogate are relegated back to the National League. 

Back Colchester to score over 1.5 goals @ 1.89

Recommended Bets: 

Back Sheffield Wednesday to win or draw vs Leeds @ 1.86
Back QPR to beat Plymouth with a -1 Asian Handicap @ 2.08
Back Over 4.5 cards in Swansea vs Cardiff @ 2.08
Back Over 2.5 goals in Burton vs Stevenage @ 1.95
Back Colchester Over 1.5 goals vs Harrogate @ 1.89