English Championship Round Two Review

The most popular football division two in the world started last week, and we have already witnessed some amazing games, great goals, and surprising results. Leeds United, WBA, Cardiff City, and Huddersfield Town should play a big role in the upcoming months, but not all of them had a good start. All duels of the second round are played on Saturday 10th August, with the action starting at Elland Road, West Yorkshire. With the help of the Championship tipsters at Bettingtips4you.com we have reviewed two of the most important games of the second round and also looked at expectations of those squads in the upcoming season. 

Leeds United v Nottingham Forest 1-1

Marcelo Bielsa and his squad have done tremendous work during the pre-season period, demonstrating fine form and winning a big majority of their friendly matches. The only downside was a loss to Manchester United, but still, this team definitely has the potential to win the league. In case you forgot, Leeds United were the 1st placed team in the Championship on last season’s Christmas Day. Series of losses in the second part of the season pushed them into the playoffs and loss to Derby County. Leeds have opened the new campaign in a dominant performance. They had a tough away day to Ashton Gate Stadium and faced Bristol City. Full time result was 3-1 in their favor though. Pablo Hernandez had an amazing game, scoring the first goal and providing an assist to Bamford for the second one. Leeds dominated the whole match and deservedly took all three points. 

Nottingham is hardly going to make it into the top six this season. They are struggling with inconsistency for the last month, being able to beat Crystal Palace in a friendly match but also get demolished by Olympiakos. In the premiere match of the season, Nottingham Forest has lost in front of the home fans to West Bromwich Albion 2-1. Interestingly, they had a lead thanks to an early goal of Matty Cash in the 8th minute but conceded two quick goals ten minutes later. Tradition is not going in Leeds’ favor when it comes to the recent head to head matches. Nottingham has won the last meeting as hosts 4-2 in January. Two games before that have ended without a winner. Eventually the match ended with a draw which is surely disappointing for Bielsa’s men.

Derby County v Swansea City 0-0

Many experts have claimed that there is a big hole in Derby County left after the departure of Frank Lampard. Chelsea’s former star has pushed the Rams to the playoffs finals last season, where they got knocked out by Aston Villa and got their EPL membership card denied. Can Philip Cocu continue with good results? Judging by the first match this season, yes, he definitely can! The Rams were considered a big underdog in the opening clash on Monday night against Huddersfield Town. It was a decent match on both sides, with Derby County snatching the 2-1 victory thanks to the two goals scored by Thomas Lawrence in the first half. A lot of fans were skeptical about Derby’s form after two straight losses in the preparation period to Girona and Glasgow Rangers without scoring one single goal. The upcoming match against Swansea City is going to show us if the Monday victory was a coincidence or a sign of better performances in upcoming weeks. 

Swansea City is one of the most underrated teams going into this season in our opinion. All of the bookies have given them slim chances to reach the playoffs this time, which does come as a surprise after taking a look at their results during the pre-season. Swans have defeated Yeovil Town 6-1, Exeter City 3-1, Bristol Rovers 3-0, Atalanta 2-1… It seems like Hull City underestimated the Welsh side in the premiere match as well. The Tigers have gained an early lead in the opening game but eventually lost it 2-1. Borja Baston and Van Der Hoorn scored goals in the early stages of the 2nd half and secured three points for the hosts. Derby v Swansea ended with a draw which was a fair reflection of the two teams strengths.