Welcome to the third edition of our Championship Review series for the 2019/20 season. This week saw no side able to make it three wins from three in the second tier, while two former Premier League sides within the last three years take up two of the three relegation spots.
Championship Review: Matchweek 3
Millwall Dislodge The Owls
Millwall continued their unbeaten start to the season by ending the same feat of Sheffield Wednesday. Matt Smith scored the only goal with a towering header to give the Lions a 1-0 win at The Den.
A slow start to the game came to life when Conor Mahoney’s delivery was missed by Kieren Westwood in the Wednesday goal, and 6’4″ figure of Smith was on hand to power his header into the empty net.
Millwall’s task wasn’t made easy by the fact that Jed Wallace received a straight red card ten minutes after the opener, but they defended doggedly against a Wednesday side that are still without a permanent manager.
They drop down to sixth, while Millwall climb above them into fifth.
Borja’s Back for Swansea
When Borja Baston signed for Swansea in 2016, he was expected to be the focal point that could send them up a gear in the Premier League. Instead, he failed to adapt to life in England and spent two years back on loan in Spain instead.
New Swans boss Steve Cooper has given Baston’s career a lifeline in the second tier, and he appears to be taking it. He found the net in the Carabao Cup in the week and now scored a brace against Preston North End this weekend.
It was the visitors who took the lead when Joe Rafferty’s effort beat Freddie Woodman at the near post, but a Baston finish coupled with George Byers’ powerful effort had Swansea in front by just after the hour mark.
A penalty from Daniel Johnson levelled proceedings once more, but Baston completed his brace just two minutes later to restore the lead, one which they held onto.
Spanish clubs are still hovering around Baston ready to swoop if he still feels as though his future lies away from South Wales, but if Swansea can keep hold of him and keep him in this goalscoring mood, then Baston has the ability to light up the Championship.
How Did We Do?
Each week we take a crack at predicting the results of each match. How did we get on this weekend? Actual results are shown in bold whereas our predictions are in italics.
Huddersfield Town 1-2 Fulham – Huddersfield Town 0-2 Fulham
Barnsley 2-2 Charlton Athletic – Barnsley 1-2 Charlton Athletic
Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Middlesbrough – Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Middlesbrough
Brentford 1-1 Hull City – Brentford 1-1 Hull City
Bristol City 2-0 Queens Park Rangers – Bristol City 2-1 Queens Park Rangers
Luton Town 1-2 West Bromwich Albion – Luton 2-2 West Bromwich Albion
Millwall 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday – Millwall 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Nottingham Forest 3-0 Birmingham City – Nottingham Forest 1-1 Birmingham City
Stoke City 2-2 Derby County – Stoke City 0-2 Derby County
Swansea City 3-2 Preston North End – Swansea City 1-0 Preston North End
Wigan Athletic 0-2 Leeds United – Wigan Athletic 1-3 Leeds United
Reading 3-0 Cardiff City – Reading 1-1 Cardiff City
Not our greatest set of predictions for the Championship review, but at least we got one correct score!
Up Next
It’s the first round of Tuesday league fixtures this week. All matches to take place on Tuesday, August 20 and Wednesday, August 21. 7.45pm kick-offs unless otherwise stated.
Tuesday
Birmingham City v Barnsley
Derby County v Bristol City
Hull City v Blackburn Rovers
Middlesbrough v Wigan Athletic
Sheffield Wednesday v Luton Town
Wednesday
Cardiff City v Huddersfield Town
Charlton Athletic v Nottingham Forest
Fulham v Millwall
Leeds United v Brentford
Preston North End v Stoke City
Queens Park Rangers v Swansea City
West Bromwich Albion v Reading – 8.00pm kick-off
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