As Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest extended their winnings runs in the Championship, we’re looking at some of the weekend’s biggest market movers.
Blackburn’s humiliating 7-0 defeat to Fulham in early November understandably prompted calls from some quarters for Tony Mowbray to go, but his side could have hardly responded better.
They’ve now won five on the bounce, keeping five consecutive clean sheets in the process.
Last season’s top scorer Adam Armstrong was sold to Southampton in the summer, and they’ve been without the talismanic Bradley Dack all season following his second cruiciate ligament injury, yet they’ve managed to close the gap on then-leaders Bournemouth from 14 points to just one.
Ben Brereton Diaz is three behind Aleksandar Mitrovic in the race for top goalscorer – and can be backed at 5/1can be backed at 5/1 – with nine goals in his last nine games taking him to 19 for the season
Despite Fulham’s recent wobble, the Cottagers should still have enough to take one of the two automatic promotion spots, with the Cherries and West Brom most likely to take the other, but a top-six finish for Mowbray’s men is now well in sight.
After being 12/1 for promotion after that hammering to Fulham, Rovers are now 7/2 for promotion – and 1/2 to finish in the top six.
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Another side who’ve undergone a resurgence in recent weeks is Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest.
After losing their first four games last season, Chris Hughton replaced Sabri Lamouchi and steered Forest to safety, but with just one point from their opening seven games leaving them rooted to the bottom of the table, he was in turn replaced by Steve Cooper.
Cooper, who guided Swansea to the play-offs in both of his seasons at the Liberty Stadium, immediately transformed the Reds’ fortunes, taking 16 points from a possible 18.
Something of a hiccup followed, as they won just one of their next seven, but three wins on the bounce have seen them on the brink of the play-offs, and they’re now into 7/2 to finish in the top six, after being as big as 12/1 before Hughton’s dismissal.
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How refreshing it was to hear fans at Elland Road belting out their manager’s name despite the recent troubles they’ve faced.
There have been some dissenting voices though, and it is fair to say Leeds have been a long way off what was expected of them.
While many wondered if they had the quality in their squad or if their style would see them exposed on their return to the top flight, they secured a top-half finish upon their return to the Premier League – finishing just two points behind Arsenal.
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They were 12/1 for relegation this season, but have been dragged into a scrap for survival.
They have been dogged by defensive injuries, while Patrick Bamford picked up a hamstring injury against Brentford after a lengthy lay-off. Kalvin Phillips is another recent addition to Leeds’ treatment table.
While Leeds fans will likely be optimistic about their survival chances considering the performances of sides below them, picking up just six points from their last eight games has seen them shorten to 9/4 for relegation.
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The wheels have very much come off for Thomas Tuchel’s men. It wasn’t long ago they were on course to break their own record for goals conceded in a season, with Edouard Mendy conceding just three goals in their opening 10 Premier League games, but even their once-watertight defence is now being regularly breached; the clean sheet in the 0-0 draw with Wolves their first in six.
Prior to that, they’d conceded eight in five games against Manchester United, Watford, West Ham, Leeds and Everton – and that’s omitting the 3-3 draw with Zenit which saw them finish second in their Champions League group.
There have been mitigating circumstances of course – N’Golo Kante has spent half the season out injured, Mateo Kovavic has only just made his return from a two-month absence, and Jorginho has been playing through the pain barrier as he nurses a back injury.
But it’s hard to have too much sympathy, considering the wealth of options they have all over the pitch. Even though Romelu Lukaku – who was 5/2 for top goalscorer after scoring three goals in his first three games – hasn’t started a game since mid-October, they’ve still had the likes of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner to call upon.
It feels a long time since the Blues looked very much like title contenders – they were as short as 2/1 to win the league when they beat Newcastle 3-0 on 30th October, the same day Liverpool drew at home to Brighton and Manchester City suffered that shock defeat at home to Crystal Palace.
And although they’ve had a favourable draw in the Champions League – where they’re 1/4 to qualify for the quarter-finals – they’re now six points behind a relentless Manchester City, and at 12/1 to win the league, it looks like their race is run.
By Steve Freeth
