The English Football League gets back underway this weekend, with action from across the Championship, League One and League Two kicking off on Friday with Southampton’s clash with Sheffield Wednesday.
With the return of competitive domestic football in England, we have picked out a five-fold for punters to get their teeth into.
Recommended five-fold: Watford to beat QPR, Under 2.5 goals in Bristol City v Preston, Swansea v Birmingham BTTS, Barnsley to beat Port Vale and Swindon to win at Colchester.
- Watford to beat QPR
- Under 2.5 goals in Bristol City v Preston
- Both teams to score in Swansea v Birmingham
- Barnsley to beat Port Vale
- Swindon to win at Colchester
Watford vs QPR
QPR had a shocking end to the 2022-23 season and stayed up narrowly after leading the league at one point early in the campaign.
Gareth Ainsworth managed to steer them to safety by the skin of their teeth last term and has been retained, but their summer recruitment has left plenty to be desired.
In goal, the solid Seny Dieng left for Middlesbrough and was replaced by 36-year-old Asmir Begovic, while Jack Colback comes into midfield despite uncertainty about whether he can still perform at this level.
Pre-season results may not mean much, but QPR supporters will not have been happy after they were beaten 5-0 by Oxford recently and Ainsworth’s post-match comments had a defeated attitude. They look set to struggle this season.
Watford will miss talisman Joao Pedro but they have supported new boss Valerien Ismael this summer with some shrewd signings, including Matheus Martins, Tom Ince and Rhys Healey.
The Hornets were solid at Vicarage Road last season, taking 39 points at home compared to 24 on their travels, and they have a good chance of starting the campaign with a win in this clash against an R’s side who look undercooked for the new season.
Tom Ince joins Watford from Reading
Bristol City vs Preston
Preston were involved in plenty of low-scoring affairs last season, particularly at the start of the campaign, and they may be involved in another cagey clash when they face Bristol City in this curtain-raiser.
Preston were the lowest-scorers in the top half during the 2022-23 campaign, netting just 45 goals in 46 games, and their success was primarily due to defensive solidity.
Both teams have strengthened at the back over the summer, with Preston signing Calvin Ramsay on loan from Liverpool and the Robins picking up Rob Dickie from QPR and Ross McCrorie from Aberdeen.
The fact that this is the first game of the new campaign could also lead to a cagey clash as both teams will be reluctant to leave themselves open by going for it with gusto at the start of a long season.
In what may be a cautious first game of the campaign at Ashton Gate, fewer than three goals is the selection between two competitive teams.
Swansea vs Birmingham
Plenty has happened at Swansea and Birmingham since the last time both teams played competitive football, with Russell Martin departing the Swans for Southampton and a takeover bringing new ownership for the Blues.
Only Middlesbrough and Sunderland were involved in more matches that saw both teams find the net last season than Swansea and even under new boss Michael Duff, the same outcome is fancied in this clash.
The two league head-to-heads in 2022-23 finished 2-2 and 4-3 and this looks likely to be another cracker with both sides adding to their attacking ranks over the close season. Jerry Yates has joined Swansea and Tyler Roberts has signed for Birmingham.
Both men will be hoping to have a major impact on their competitive debuts for new sides and can contribute to an entertaining affair, so back both teams to score.
New Swansea signing Jerry Yates will be looking to impress
Barnsley vs Port Vale
There were 37 points between Barnsley and Port Vale last season and there has been little evidence that the huge gap between the sides will have been narrowed this summer.
After play-off heartache just months ago, the Tykes are fancied to get the new season off to the perfect start by taking all three points from this outing.
Vale won just one of their final 11 games last season and they have also lost key defender Will Forrester to Bolton this summer.
The visitors have signed plenty of players under Andy Crosby’s tutelage, but they may take some time to get used to each other and they look likely to struggle in this one.
Colchester vs Swindon Town
Colchester United boss Ben Garner will face one of his old teams when his side host Swindon in their opening game of the new season and the visitors are fancied to come out on top.
Long-term Robin Ellis Iandolo also made the switch from Swindon to Colchester this season, so there should be an air of familiarity between these teams as they line up in Essex.
Michael Flynn overachieved at Newport County and will be hoping for similar success with this young Swindon side. Former Premier League forward Charlie Austin is the obvious exception to that rule.
Colchester flirted with relegation last season and should have improved this time around. Given the level of talent in the two teams that were promoted, they are unlikely to find themselves in a relegation battle.
Swindon look set to improve this season with a young, progressive squad and they are fancied to get off the mark with an away win.
