Win over Pompey put Birmingham third in table(credit:
Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
West Ham remain favourites to win the Championship this season, but Birmingham City closed the gap with a win over Portsmouth on Tuesday night.
Blues continued their fine run of form with a 1-0 win over Pompey, thanks to a superb Nathan Redmond strike, and that victory moved them up to third in the table, two points behind second-placed Southampton and six behind leaders West Ham United. Chris Hughton’s men are becoming the team to watch in the second tier and they are 7/1 (
bet365) to pip them both to the title, 7/4 (
Paddy Power) to be promoted.
The Hammers have overhauled Southampton at the summit and recent weeks, and Sam Allardyce’s side are Evens favourites at bet365 to make an immediate return to the Premier League as champions, with Nigel Adkins and his Saints side 5/1 (
Coral) to win the title and earn promotion for the second straight season. Southampton are now 6/5 (Coral) to be promoted.
Cardiff City are another team hot on the heels of the top two and are level on points with Birmingham City after 29 rounds of fixtures. The Bluebirds have experienced several near misses and are 13/8 (bet365) to finally make it to the top flight, with Blackpool, who are two points further back, 11/2 (
BetVictor) to head back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
At the other end of the table Doncaster Rovers, and Nottingham Forest and Coventry City are stuck in the relegation zone, and Millwall have opened up a five-point gap between themselves and the bottom three. Rovers’ chances of staying in the top flight took a huge hit when Billy Sharp departed for Southampton, and the Yorkshire club are 1/2 to drop to League One. Forest, who missed out in the play-offs last season, are 9/10 to go down, while Coventry are 2/7 (all
Betfair).