Lays of the Weekend: Fading Forest hopes to flounder

 

After a rip-roaring three-from-three success in last week's column, Christian Crowther is back with another trio of last-day bumblers in the Championship...

 

Lay Nottingham Forest to beat Leicester @ 2.42

As important as the Yorkshire derby at Huddersfield is to the relegation landscape, this east midlands version could have huge bearing on the promotion picture. Having appeared to be nailed on play-off participants following six straight wins heading into mid-March, Nottingham Forest have inexplicably crawled to just one more victory in the subsequent seven. Now they must not only win this local feud with Leicester, themselves a potential win away from clawing back an unlikely looking top-six finish, but Forest must also hope that Crystal Palace or Bolton slip up at home. Forest haven't beaten Leicester in their last five attempts, with those games ending level on four occasions.

 

Lay Huddersfield to beat Barnsley @ 2.36

As far as Yorkshire derbies go, this last day duel between Huddersfield and Barnsley is up there in the importance stakes, on the concluding day of the Championship. There is potential for either side to relegate the other, though it's the visiting Tykes whose position is far more precarious, as defeat for them spells curtains, unless Peterborough get hammered by seven goals more at Crystal Palace. Meanwhile, the Terriers could lose and in all probability stay up as other results must also conspire against them, while a draw would ensure their survival. It's Barnsley's greater need for all three points, but even more crucially, not to lose, that gives rise to the attraction of laying the hosts.

 

Lay Burnley to beat Ipswich @ 2.34

A far cry from the potentially tearful scenes at the John Smith's Stadium is this match at Turf Moor, where the two teams are floating like croutons in a comforting mid-table soup. A mid-season surge had briefly threatened to make Burnley play-off contenders but, like so many sides in this division, continuously winning matches proved unsustainable. The decline in form has been so severe for Sean Dyche's side that they've only picked up three wins in the league from 17 games since late January. Ipswich, meanwhile, will be ruing their disastrous early-season form as the Tractor Boys' rapid ascent up the league since Mick McCarthy's appointment has only left them seven points shy of the play-offs.

 

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