CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
Championship football returns to spread bettors’ screens on Friday evening as Hull meet relegated Blackpool at the KC Stadium. Ian Holloway’s side went down on the final day of the campaign and those that fancy them to be in the promotion hunt again can buy their Championship outright index (60pts – winner, 40pts – Runner-up, Third place – 30pts etc) at 8.
Leicester City’s Sven Goran-Eriksson has been busy in the transfer market and the Sporting Index traders have set the Foxes as 25-28 spread favourites for the title. Any spread bettors looking to sell Leciester’s Championship Index at 25 might recall that Middlesbrough were favourites last season and the Teesside club could only manage 12th in the table.
West Ham are available at 24-27 in the outright index and spread punters may see the club’s appointment of Sam Allardyce as a positive factor. The Hammers were last in the Championship in the 2004/05 season and won promotion via the play-offs having finished sixth.
Spread punters looking at Sporting Index’s Championship points market might like to know that QPR won the league last year with 88 points. The highest points total in the Championship since 2000 was Reading’s 106 in the 2005/06 term, which will please spread punters buying total points.
The Royals made a fantastic run in the second half of the Championship last year and finished with 77 points and a play-off final spot. Spread sellers of their points at 72 this year will be hoping for a repeat of the Royals’ total in 2009/10 season when they only managed 63 points and finished outside of the top six. Spread buyers of any of the other playoff hunting side’s outright index should be alert that the highest total a sixth-placed side has reached was Nottingham Forest’s 75 last year, which was also matched in 2006/07, 2005/06 and 2001/02.
Since 2000, no Championship winning side has taken less than 81 points – when West Brom pipped Stoke to top spot in 2007/08. Those keen on getting involved with the league’s points spread should be aware that three clubs have crossed the 100 point mark in the past eleven seasons – Newcastle in the 2009/10, Reading in 2005/06 and Fulham in 2000/01.
At the other end of the table, Coventry City are bottom in Sporting Index’s points index at 50.5-52.5, while Barnsley at 51-53 and Doncaster at 51.5-53.5 make up the bottom three clubs. Spread sellers of these club’s points will be intrigued to learn that the lowest points total since 2000 was Stockport’s effort of 26 in the 2001/02 campaign. Spread enthusiasts looking at Coventry’s points prediction may be interested to find that the highest total a side has made and still been relegated is 42 points – which all three relegated sides reached last season. The average points total of the club bottom of the league since 2000 is 36.
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