England Championship Betting Tips - Derby v Sheffield Wednesday

England Championship betting predictions - Derby v Sheffield Wednesday (18/08 15:00)

Two more sleeping giants face off in a cracking opening day fixture. Derby have lost a sizeable portion of their squad over the summer as Nigel Clough was tasked with cutting the wage bill. Derby face a tough season as they have very little quality there. Sheffield Wednesday are looking good going into the season. Good coach and a good squad. Should go well and may even make the playoffs.

Derby seem to just want to consolidate their place in the championship. Their squad is very light now and full of lower league players. To their and Nigel Cloughs credit they did play some good football last season. The new players in don't really set the pulse racing but again they are capable players. Paul Cotts is getting rave reviews and should improve for Clough. The striking department is lacking though, they could do with a goalscorer as three forwards they have are nothing special. Sheffield Wednesday have a very capable squad and could surprise a few people this season. They turned over quite a large amount of players in the close season. Of the leavers Clinton Morrison and Ryan Lowe were allowed to go which is a negative. Jones has brought in Premiership players in Chris Kirkland, Michail Antonio and Anthony Gardner. Two arrive from the Portuguese Superliga, midfielders Diego Amado and Nejc Pecnik. Dave Jones never took up the option on Marlon Harewood which was another surprising move as he banged a hattrick for The Owls in a 4-1 win over Kilmarnock last week.

Head to Head: Games Played:72

• Derby Wins:32
• Draws:17
• Sheffield Wednesday Wins:23

Average goals per game:3.06

Predictions - Derby will struggle if they do not bring in some re-inforcements, especially the forward line. They may be still recovering from their disastrous midweek Capital One cup game where they managed to throw away two 3 goal leads in a 5-5 draw with Scunthorpe. Bowing out on penalties in the end. Sheffield Wednesday look to have a good future ahead of them and I particularly like their manager Dave Jones, a Premier league manager for sure. Early season can be a bit crazy though so we will take insurance against the draw again with Sheffield Wednesday Draw No Bet@2.25.