LEEDS V BURNLEY (Saturday, August 8th, 12.30)
Burnley travel to Leeds for the first Saturday lunch-time fixture of the new season. With the new management of Uwe Rosler and a solid pre-season under their belt, Leeds will be confident for the year ahead. The Whites turned over Everton at Elland Road last weekend 2-0, on the score sheet was new signing Chris Wood who after the game stated confidently “I know I can score goals in this league”. The New Zealand international is priced at 6/1 to score first on Saturday, adding to that for the confident Leeds fan a scorecast of Wood to score first and Leeds to win 1-0 is an eye catching 33/1. The neutral will be keen to see how Burnley start life back in the Championship after the loss of some key players this summer. The bookies currently have Burnley as 7/5 favourites for the win and the price for the draw is . The Clarets have won this fixture 2-1 in the last two meetings; for a third repeat of that score line the price is 17/2. Sean Dyche was boosted by the signing of Jelle Vossen, who had a successful spell at Middlesbrough last season, a striker proven at this level. Get both Vossen and Wood to score on Saturday at 9/1.
FACT: Remarkably the last time this fixture finished in a draw was Boxing Day 1974
PRESTON V MIDDLESBROUGH (Sunday, August 9th, 12.00)
Preston are back in the second tier of English football after a 4 year absence. North End play host to one of the favourites for promotion, Middlesbrough. Despite Aitor Karanka admitting he was “unimpressed” with his sides pre-season, Boro are 13/5 to win both halves of football. Karanka’s men are 4/1 to win with both teams scoring, which could be a perfect antidote for last season’s play-off final heartache. It would be rude to ignore the possible dream return back in a Middlesbrough shirt for Stuart Downing, the £5.5million signing is 10/3 to score any time. It’s worth noting that Preston last triumphed over Boro in 1987. Holding onto Joe Garner has been key for Preston so far this transfer window, alongside the signings of Jermaine Beckford and Will Keane. Joe Garner is currently 6/1 to score first on Sunday. Fancy Preston to mark their return to the Championship on Sunday? Get Preston to win 1-0 at 15/2.
FACT: Preston last defeated Middlesbrough at Deepdale in 1972
