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Championship

Sky Bet Championship: Pre-match stat pack

5 May 2023

Check out the pre-match stat packs for the final weekend in the Sky Bet Championship!

Birmingham City v Sheffield United

  • Birmingham lost 2-1 at home to Sheffield United last season, last losing consecutive home games against the Blades in August 1972.
  • Three of the last five league meetings between Birmingham and Sheffield United have ended as draws (one win each in the other two games), with the game earlier this campaign ending 1-1.
  • Birmingham City have lost their final league match in each of the last three seasons, losing twice to Blackburn and against Derby in this run.
  • Sheffield United have won their final league game in four of the last six seasons (D1 L1), with those wins coming across the Championship (2), League One (1) and Premier League (1).
  • Birmingham have lost 20 league matches this season, the fourth consecutive Championship season they’ve lost 20+ games. They are only the third side to lose 20+ games in four consecutive second tier seasons without being relegated, along with Crewe (1997-98 – 2000-01) and Queens Park Rangers (2016-17 – 2019-20).

Burnley v Cardiff City

  • Burnley are unbeaten in their last 15 home league games against Cardiff City (W7 D8), with this their first against the Bluebirds since April 2019 in the Premier League, a 2-0 win.
  • Of the last 14 league meetings between Burnley and Cardiff, 10 have been drawn (both sides two wins each), including a 1-1 stalemate earlier this campaign.
  • Burnley have lost their final league game in each of the last six seasons, although all defeats were in the Premier League. They are unbeaten in their final game in their previous six Championship campaigns (W3 D3) since a 5-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in 2007-08.
  • Cardiff City haven’t lost their final league game in any of the last eight seasons (W5 D3) since a 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea in 2013-14 in the Premier League.
  • A win for Burnley in this match would see them hit 100+ points in the Championship (101). They’d be the first team to win 100 points in a Championship season since Leicester City in 2013-14 (102).

Huddersfield Town v Reading

  • Huddersfield have won four of their last six home league games against Reading (L2), winning 4-0 last season under Carlos Corberan.
  • Reading are looking for their first league double over Huddersfield Town since the 2001-02 campaign.
  • Huddersfield’s final league game last season was a 2-0 win over Bristol City. They last won their final game in consecutive seasons in 2006-07 vs Leyton Orient and 2007-08 vs Luton Town.
  • Reading haven’t ended their league season with a victory since 2016-17 against Burton Albion and are winless in five since (D3 L2).
  • Since the start of last season, Reading have lost more games (46) and conceded more goals (153) than any other side in the Championship.

Luton Town v Hull City

  • Luton Town have won their last four league games against Hull City since a 3-0 defeat back in September 2019.
  • Hull have won three of their last four league visits to Luton Town but did lose 1-0 last season under manager Grant McCann.
  • Luton have won their final Football League match in six of the last eight seasons (D1 L1), with all six of those wins coming on home soil.
  • Hull have won their final league game in just one of the last 18 seasons (D7 L10), a 5-1 win over Rotherham in 2015-16. Away from home, they’ve not ended their campaign with a win since 1994-95 against Blackpool.
  • Hull City are winless in their last nine away league matches (D5 L4) since going seven away games unbeaten between October and January (W5 D2).

Middlesbrough v Coventry City

  • Middlesbrough are unbeaten in their last 10 home league games against Coventry City (W7 D3) since losing 2-0 in February 1993.
  • Coventry City are looking for their first league double over Middlesbrough since the 1992-93 Premier League campaign.
  • Middlesbrough have lost their final league game in each of the last two seasons, losing to Preston last season and Wycombe in 2020-21. They haven’t ended their league season with a defeat in three campaigns in a row since doing so between 2001-02 and 2003-04.
  • Should Coventry finish in the top-six of the Championship this season, it would be the third consecutive season to see a team win none of their first seven games but then finish inside the play-offs (Barnsley in 2020-21, Nottingham Forest in 2021-22). Between 1968-69 and 2019-20, no side winless in their opening seven games in a second tier season managed to finish in the top-six positions.
  • Viktor Gyökeres has been involved in 31 Championship goals this season for Coventry (21 goals, 10 assists). The last Sky Blues player to score more league goals in a season was Marc McNulty in 2017-18 in League Two (23, excl. play-offs).

Millwall v Blackburn Rovers

  • Millwall have won one of their last 14 league games against Blackburn Rovers (D5 L8), a 1-0 win in July 2020.
  • Blackburn have lost just one of their seven league visits to Millwall this century (W3 D3), with last season’s meeting ending 1-1.
  • When Millwall’s final league game has been played at home, they are unbeaten in 11 such matches (W9 D2) since a 1-0 defeat to Luton in 1998-99.
  • Blackburn Rovers have ended their league season with a win in seven of their last nine seasons (D1 L1), with both sides scoring in all nine of those games, seeing 42 goals scored across those games.
  • Millwall have won 19 league matches this season – the Lions haven’t won 20 games in a second tier season since winning 22 in 2001-02, finishing 4th.

Norwich City v Blackpool

  • Norwich City have won their last three league matches against Blackpool, scoring eight goals and conceding just once in this run.
  • This is Blackpool’s first league game at Carrow Road to face Norwich since February 2015, losing 4-0 under Lee Clark.
  • Norwich City are winless in their final league game in each of the last three seasons (D1 L2), with those two defeats ending in 5-0 losses to Spurs (2021-22) and Man City (2019-20).
  • When their final league game of the season has been away from home, Blackpool have won none of their last six (D2 L4) since a 1-0 win over Swansea in 2008-09.
  • Blackpool have lost 24 league games this season – they’ve only lost 25+ games in three seasons before: 27 in 1966-67, 25 in 1993-94 and 28 in 2014-15.

Preston North End v Sunderland

  • Preston North End are unbeaten in their last six league games against Sunderland (W4 D2) since losing 3-1 in September 2004.
  • Sunderland have won one of their last eight away league matches against Preston (D2 L5), a 2-0 victory in the 2003-04.
  • Preston have won their final league game in three of the last five seasons (D1 L1), winning each of the last two against Nottingham Forest (2020-21) and Middlesbrough (2021-22).
  • Sunderland have won their final league match in each of their last six seasons in the second tier of English football, spanning between 1998 and 2018.
  • Sunderland have scored 65 Championship goals this season – they are first side newly promoted to the Championship that season to score as many as 65 goals since 2014-15, when Brentford (78) and Wolves (70) both did so.

Queens Park Rangers v Bristol City

  • QPR are looking to complete their first league double over Bristol City since the 2002-03 campaign under Ian Holloway.
  • The away team has won each of the last six league meetings between QPR and Bristol City, a run stretching back to February 2020.
  • QPR have won their final league game in three of the last four seasons (D1), one more than in their previous 14 campaigns (W2 D1 L11).
  • Bristol City haven’t won their final league game of the season in any of the last seven seasons (D2 L5) since hammering Walsall 8-2 in League One in 2014-15.
  • QPR have won each of their last two league games, as many as in their previous 27 combined (W2 D8 L17). They haven’t won three in a row since October under former manager Michael Beale.

Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion

  • Swansea have won their last three league games against West Bromwich Albion, winning 2-1 last season at the Liberty Stadium.
  • West Bromwich Albion have lost five of their last seven away league matches against Swansea (W1 D1), winning 2-1 in 2018-19.
  • Swansea have lost their final league game in each of the last two seasons, last losing their final game in three consecutive seasons between 1990-91 and 1992-93.
  • West Brom won their final league match last season, beating Barnsley. They last ended a campaign with a win in consecutive seasons in 2006-07 (vs Barnsley) and 2007-08 (vs QPR).
  • Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, Jed Wallace has been involved in more Championship goals than any other player (93 – 44 goals, 49 assists), with 14 of those coming this season with West Brom (6 goals, 8 assists).

Watford v Stoke City

  • Watford have won their last three league matches against Stoke, with a different manager winning each game (Ivic, Xisco, Bilic).
  • The last four league meetings between Watford and Stoke at Vicarage Road have been won by a one-goal margin, with Watford winning one and Stoke three of those four games.
  • Watford have won their final league game of the season just once in the last 10 seasons (D2 L7), a 2-0 home win over Swansea in 2020-21.
  • Stoke City haven’t lost their final league game of the season in any of the last 11 seasons (W7 D4) since losing 1-0 to Wigan in 2010-11.
  • Watford have won just three of their last 18 Championship matches (D8 L7) and have lost six home games this season, only one fewer than they did in their previous two Championship seasons combined in 2014-15 and 2020-21 (7).

Wigan Athletic v Rotherham United

  • Wigan Athletic have lost none of their last eight league meetings with Rotherham United (W5 D3) since a 3-2 defeat in December 2016.
  • Rotherham United have lost three of their last four league visits to Wigan (D1) since a 2-1 victory in 2014-15 under Steve Evans.
  • Wigan Athletic have won their final league game in three of the last five seasons (D1 L1), beating Shrewsbury Town last season.
  • Rotherham haven’t ended their league season with a win in any of their last 12 campaigns in the second tier (D6 L6) since a 3-0 win over Bury in 1966-67.
  • Wigan have been relegated to League One – they were only relegated in one of their first 34 seasons in the Football League but have since gone down in five of their last 11 campaigns, including four of their last five in the Championship.

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