CHAMPIONSHIP: MATCH 34 PREVIEW

Match Previews

The Bluebirds will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to an impressive six games with the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon. The visitors collected all three points in the reverse tie thanks to a fortunate last-ditch own goal in an even encounter back in August but it was City who won the last fixture on Welsh soil thanks to a Peter Whittingham hat-trick. With a win Russell Slade’s men could end the day as high as 10th while Wolves will be looking to close the gap on the play-off places currently lying five points behind sixth placed Watford.

Battle at the Bottom

Its crunch time at the bottom of the Championship with six of the bottom seven meeting this weekend.

Wigan Athletic and Blackpool are the league’s lowest placed sides and they meet this Saturday. If results go against the bottom two they could both be double figures from safety come Saturday evening. An extra dimension to the already important tie is just 40 miles separate the two Lancashire clubs. Athletic edged their first meeting 1-0 back in August and a close affair could be on the cards again. The Tangerines will be glad of the home fixture as they are still winless on the road but have won four at Bloomfield Road, while The Latics have not won away since Boxing Day.

The make up of the relegation zone could change all depending on the result of Rotherham United versus Millwall. Currently, the Londoners take up the final place in the drop zone but could leapfrog United with three points and a five goal swing in Yorkshire. The Millers are teetering on the edge of the bottom three after a winless run of four but all four games were against teams from the top 10. The visit of Millwall could provide a return to winning ways with the Lions coming into the tie after a home defeat against another Yorkshire club, Sheffield Wednesday. One positive for Ian Holloway’s squad is that they have the seventh best away defence in the division conceding just 21 in 14 despite finding themselves 22nd in the overall table.

The third battle at the bottom involves Bolton Wanderers and Brighton and Hove Albion. Albion have hit a purple patch in recent games with two draws and two wins in their last four outings, a run which has lifted them to six points and four places above the relegation spaces. In contrast Wanderers have struggled as of late losing three on the bounce conceding nine in the process. Goals could be in order as the teams have never been part of a goalless draw and both teams have scored in 13 of their 17 meetings to date.  The Trotters and Seagulls both lie on 37 points and could go nine points from danger with a win.

Local Feud

Norwich City and Ipswich Town have been battling for East Anglian bragging rights since a Division 3 South meeting in 1946 but this season there is even more riding on it with both battling for promotion to the Premier League. Suffolk based Ipswich have been second best to their Norfolk neighbours conceding 10 goals and scoring just twice in three consecutive defeats. The Tractor Boys do have a superior position in the league standings but that could all change if the Canaries can pull off a fourth win in a row as only one point separates the two rivals in a top six divided by just a total of six points.

Full Fixture List
Unless Stated 3:00pm

Saturday 28 February
Birmingham v Brentford
Blackpool v Wigan
Bolton v Brighton
Bournemouth v Blackburn
Cardiff v Wolves
Charlton v Huddersfield
Fulham v Derby
Leeds v Watford
Reading v Nottingham Forest
Rotherham v Millwall
Sheffield Wednesday v Middlesbrough

Sunday 1 March
Norwich v Ipswich (2:05pm)