Betting tips / Mike Norman / 30 December 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

With several games scheduled in the Championship New Year's Eve fixture, Mike Norman sees cellar-dwellers Coventry ending the year on a high and West Ham winning away.

Derby v West Ham
Match Odds: Derby [3.8], West Ham [2.16], The Draw [3.6]

Derby recorded an excellent win over Leeds on Boxing Day - just their fifth win in 19 league games - but now face arguably the toughest home game of the season, against the division's best away side West Ham.

Nigel Clough's side are capable of playing some lovely flowing football at times but they lack a cutting edge and someone who can stick the ball in the net on a regular basis; their last six league goals have been scored by six different players. I opposed the Rams in that win over Leeds and was wrong, but I'm going to oppose them again on the basis that they haven't been in great form of late and that the Hammers are an excellent side who really should be doing better, despite being just three points off the top of the table.

Sam Allardyce's men won four consecutive away games prior to losing to in-from Reading this month, and there was certainly nothing wrong with the point they took from St Andrews (Birmingham) on Boxing Day. However the fact that they've won just one of their last four games means they need to start getting their skates on if they are to strengthen their position in the top two, and they ought to be able to take three points off a side like Derby.

Back West Ham @ [2.16] to beat Derby

Coventry v Brightona
Match Odds: Coventry [2.8], Brighton [2.8], The Draw [3.3]

If there's one club from the top half of the table that could get sucked into a relegation battle then I fear it could be Brighton. Gus Poyet's men made a tremendous start to life in the Championship but their last 17 games have yielded just 16 points, which is bottom-six form. The Seagulls have lost three on the bounce without scoring a single goal, and in their last six away trips they've managed to find the net just once, and that was at equally out-of-form (at the time) Derby.

Coventry have endured a miserable season so far and currently sit rock bottom of the table, but at the Ricoh Arena they aren't as poor as their record leads us to believe. In recent weeks they scored two against league leaders Southampton, narrowly lost to West Ham, held promotion-chasing Cardiff to a draw, and on Boxing Day they beat a revitalised Bristol City side. In fact, against some top clubs the Sky Blues have failed to score on home soil just once in their last 10 outings. A home goal on Saturday could be enough to secure another valuable three points and condemn Brighton to yet another away loss.

Back Coventry @ [2.8] to beat Brighton

Nottingham Forest v Cardiff, KO: Saturday 15:00, Match Odds: Nottm Forest [2.82], Cardiff [2.78], The Draw [3.4]

Steve Cotterill couldn't have wished for a better start to his new job as Nottm Forest boss, beating promotion-chasing Middlesbrough and Blackpool back-to-back. Sadly for Forest fans those wins were back in October, and since then Cotterill has overseen just two more victories (in 10 games). What's more, Forest have taken just one point from the last 18 available and they've gone over nine hours without scoring a single goal. They couldn't even score against Peterborough on Boxing Day, a side that had previously failed to keep a clean sheet all season away from home.

Malky Mackay's Cardiff side have lost just once in their last 11 league games - to third place Middlesbrough - and they are unbeaten in six on their travels. True, they've had a lot of draws away from home but the only way I can see this ending in a draw is virtue of a 0-0 scoreline. And given the fact that the Welsh outfit have scored in 21 of their 23 league fixtures this term and averaged two goals scored per game in their last 12 outings then I'd have to fancy them to score a few times at least here.

Back Cardiff @ [2.78] to beat Nottm Forest