Football Tips: 6 selections for Boxing Day's Sky TV EFL action

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24 December 2023

Football Tips: 6 selections for Boxing Day's Sky TV EFL action

SAM FARLEY’S CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

Preston North End vs Leeds United

Best Bet: Leeds -1
Long Shot: Crysencio Summerville to score first and Leeds to win

Birmingham City vs Stoke City

Best Bet: Birmingham
Long Shot: Birmingham to win 1-0

Ipswich Town vs Leicester City

Best Bet: Leicester
Long Shot: Leicester -2

When it comes to football there’s no better day than Boxing Day. It’s one of the first things fans look for when the fixtures are released each year and this season we have some great fixtures.

With the big boy stuff all locked away on Amazon, Sky are televising three big Championship games for us this year, with some huge names appearing. Let’s get to it…

12:30pm: Sky Sports Main Event

Best Bet: Leeds -1

Preston are coming into this on a really bad run having won just one of their past five. Manager Ryan Lowe’s position has come under continued speculation in recent weeks and they now face a really good Leeds team.

They may only be third in the Championship but when their attack is firing there is no other team in the division who look this dangerous. The speed in which Leeds attack is terrifying and will cause Preston problems.

They can also take games away from the opposition quickly as they accelerate through the gears as we saw in their last game, a 4-0 win over Ipswich.

Long Shot: Crysencio Summerville to Score First and Leeds to Win

You’re getting a big price here, but it feels like good value. Crysencio Summerville has been exceptional for Leeds this season and is arguably the best player in the division. He leads the team’s goalscoring charts with 11 goals and can cause carnage in the box as he comes in from out wide.

I think he’s a great price to score the opener against PNE in a game in which Leeds should have enough to go on and seal the three points, so back Summerville first goalscorer and for the away team to win.

The above two selections combine at 7/1 with Paddy Power.

5:15pm: Sky Sports Main Event

Best Bet: Birmingham to Win

Birmingham and Stoke find themselves one spot and three points apart in the Championship and both in a bad run of form. Blues come into this one after drawing against Plymouth Argyle, a point was good considering they had 10-men but to blow a 3-1 lead was poor.

That said, they played well in that game and I think they have enough about them to win at home to Stoke. The appointment of Steven Schumacher is a great one but it will take time for him to get the team playing in his image.

They drew 0-0 against Millwall in his first game and now face an away trip, which is bad news. As good as Schumacher is, he has a bad record with away matches, with his Argyle team failing to win one all season.

Long Shot: Birmingham to Win 1-0

I’m expecting a Birmingham win and I think it’ll be low scoring. Only three teams have scored less goals than Stoke and they’re all in the relegation zone, so I think we won’t see the away team score. However, the Potters have conceded less goals than any other team in the bottom nine positions in the league, so any win will be a narrow one.

This should be a tight, tense game and one in which Birmingham come out on top by a goal. So we’ll take 1-0 on the correct score market.

7:45pm: Sky Sports Main Event

Best Bet: Leicester to Win

Leicester City come into this game against second-place Ipswich at the perfect time. The home side have picked up just one point in their last two games following a 2-2 draw at home to rivals Norwich and a 4-0 thumping from Leeds. Meanwhile Leicester have won five on the bounce and look dangerous.

I’m not going to say the wheels have fallen off at Ipswich but it’s very possible that they’re been found out to a degree and we’ll begin to see them fall back slightly. They’re still a very good team, particularly in attack, but I worry about their defence and think Leicester are great value here.

Long Shot: Leicester -2

Both Leicester and Ipswich have scored 47 goals this season, tied for the highest in the Championship. The big issue is that Ipswich have conceded 32 goals, double that of Leicester’s 16. In fact only two teams in the top half have given up more goals than the Tractor Boys and that’s going to be the issue that stops them reaching the Premier League this season.

It’s also one of the reasons they can get hammered when against top attacks, like they did against Leeds this past weekend. I think they and Leicester are the Championship’s exceptional attacking teams, as well as Ipswich obviously, and I think we’ll see another heavy defeat here.

All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.