Championship: Seventh Heaven for Leeds While Sunderland Fly - Odds Watch

The Championship always seems to provide and matchday 30 was no different to normal. Leeds United enjoyed themselves a little bit at Elland Road whilst Plymouth Argyle put a halt to West Brom's good fortunes.

It's Seven, It's Heaven for Leeds United

The top end of the Championship, as always, is absolutely phenomenal. We've got a title fight involving four teams, and even if two sides are pulling away a little, you could not write off any of the others.

We have to start at the peak of the league, and that is where Leeds are currently sitting. The Whites have been on a roll recently, and their 7-0 victory against Cardiff City is another fine example of why so many people expect them to return to the Premier League.

For me, the odds for them to win the title are just not worth it anymore, so unless there is a bit of a swing in the next few weeks, I think that is a bet that may no longer represent much value.

Sheffield United follow in second, just two points behind the Peacocks. It was not seventh heaven in derby for the Blades, with Chris Wilder's team scraping past the Rams to win 1-0, but the points tally still goes up by three regardless.

They have a tough run of games approaching, which includes a home fixture against Leeds, so I'd maybe hold off any bets on Wilder's side, just for now. Of course, though, this may come at a risk of lower odds.

Burnley, who made some ridiculous signings this window, dropped points once again this weekend against a struggling Portsmouth side, and they are now sitting a few points off of the top two.

Sunderland returned to winning ways though, doing so against play-off contenders, and local rivals, Middlesbrough on Monday night. It is a huge result, especially considering Boro led early on in that game.

I've said it regularly in the previous odds watches: the Wearside team may represent some each-way value, and whilst their odds have dropped, that point remains. At present, the side are 16/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral, which is the best odds, including an each-way place.

So, if Sunderland finish second, you would effectively have odds of around 8/1 for them to go up automatically, with it being 16/1 if they win the league. Lower price, yes, but maybe still an option for us.

Top Six Widens Massively After Tough Weekend

Six teams are hoping for a place in the promotion places at the end of the season and given we have covered four teams already, it is pointless to then cover the same teams in this area, so we're going to look at fourth and below.

Blackburn Rovers were the only team in the immediate vicinity of the playoffs to win, and that has seen them jump to fifth place, which is huge and shows just how turbulent this league is and can be when it is at its best.

West Brom and Middlesbrough both fell to defeat, but Tony Mowbray's Baggies will be the more disappointed team considering they lost to struggling Plymouth Argyle. For Boro, the defeat will hurt in a different way.

As a result of these losses, there has been a chance made for others to catch a little, and many have. In fact, just five points are separating 13th-placed Millwall and 5th-placed Blackburn, so there could be some real value in the top six markets.

I'm still quite fond of Coventry's chances, having tipped them a few weeks ago, so it is a market to keep an eye on moving forward.

Bottom Six as Bad as Each Other?

At the bottom end of the division, things are equally as entertaining and at least from the outside, I can imagine it's quite horrible for the teams fighting down there currently.

Only one of the bottom six won, and that was Plymouth Argyle who have been deemed a lost cause for a while this season. However, their win has put them four points away from safety, so perhaps they are not as hopeless as may have been presumed.

Luton Town and Derby County both sit on 27 points, with the Hatters picking up a point against Sheffield United and I cannot say my confidence is growing about Matt Bloomfield's side. With the Rams, I feel obligated to say the same.

Hull City's loss to Stoke this weekend has certainly created a little bit of breathing room for the Potters, but Hull losing another big game is a really worrying sign, especially considering Stoke had one of the worst away records in the division prior to this weekend.

Portsmouth's draw against Burnley is a nice result, though you could definitely argue that the Clarets play more in a style that can see draws slightly more frequently, which is not a bad thing for Pompey.

Cardiff lost 7-0.

I think that's something which requires its own paragraph and it's tempting to write it again just to further emphasise how terrible of a result that is. Leeds are great, but losing by a seven-goal margin, really?

They sit four points away from the relegation zone and a result like that can kill a squad mentally, so it may represent some value.