Eng. Championship
2012-12-21 - Derby County vs Hull City
A Sports Betting Pick by Lamps
Football : England : Championship
Friday 21st December - Kickoff 7:45pm
Derby County
Derby County won well at Bristol City (0-2) to move into 10th place in the Championship table. The Rams trail the playoff places by 3 points and 4th placed Hull City by 8 points.
Clough's side enter this game having won the last 2 league games to build a nice momentum ahead of the Christmas fixtures. With 1 loss in 5 confidence must be high and at home they will fancy their chances even against high flying Hull.
At home the side is unbeaten in 7 games. Of the 7 games there has been 4 wins with them coming in the last 5. If Derby continue to win at home in this close league they will certainly be there or there abouts come May.
5 of the last 6 Derby games have ended with both sides scoring but fortunately for the hosts. Their attack has been good enough to go on and win the game. Derby County has scored 2 or more goals in 4 of the last 5 and it's no shock in all 4 games they won the match.
Hull City
Hull City won 2-0 against Huddersfield Town at the weekend to cement 4th in the league. With 41 points they are tied with Middlesbrough in 3rd and trail the automatic spots by a single point.
Bruce's side are 4 unbeaten winning the last 3. Like Derby they have built solid momentum and will want to keep the gap to the chasing pack that includes Derby to a maximum ahead of the Xmas period.
Away from home it's 3 straight wins coming at Birmingham (2-3), Watford (1-2) and Forest (1-2). The last 2 are playoff candidates so to win at their grounds is excellent work for the Tigers. The wins are very good but I think Bruce would happily take a point if offered on in Friday's game.
The last 5 Hull City away games have had both sides scoring with overs hitting in all 5. In the 5 game period there has been a winner with no draws involved at all. In fact it's 9 away games since the last Hull City league draw but maybe that changes on Friday night.
Betting Verdict
Derby County are slight favourites and that's a shock to me. Hull City are above them in the league, unbeaten in 4 overall and have won the last 3 away from home. The hosts have 4 home wins in the last 5 which can't be ignored but Hull City will be a tough nut to crack.
There is one bet that sticks out more than the others and that's both sides to score. The stats are massive for this bet with Derby County seeing goals at both ends in 5 of the last 6 at home compared to Hull City going 5 straight away from home with both scoring.
Overall that's 10 of the last 11 games combined in the home/away splits that has seen both sides netting involving Derby and Hull. Overs tempted me given the lack of Hull away draws but Derby's feature a bit more at home hence I prefer 1-1 on side in this one. Less payout but hopefully a payout none the less.
Good Luck
The Pick :
Derby County 1-1 Hull City
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Both Sides To Score: YES at 1.73 at Bet365
