Premier League football achievable for both Cardiff and Swansea
Published:There has never been a Welsh club in the English Premier League but there could be two next season if Cardiff and Swansea sustain their current form.
Cardiff went top of the Championship with a 3-1 victory over play-off hopefuls Norwich in which they had the points wrapped up by half time, while QPR’s fourth successive draw allowed Swansea to close within four points of them by beating Crystal Palace 3-0 at Selhurst Park.
The pacesetting trio are clear of the pack in the title betting too, with Cardiff the 13/8 favourites to finish first ahead of QPR at 2/1, while Swansea are a distant 10/1.
The top goalscorer race is also threatening to be an all-Welsh affair because while QPR’s main goal threat Jamie Mackie’s drought continued, Jay Bothroyd and Scott Sinclair once again found the net. Bothroyd leads the way with ten, with Sinclair three back on seven.
The beauty of the fixture list is that just as the two clubs and their star forwards are hitting their best form of the season, there’s a south Wales derby coming up next Sunday!
Outside of Wales, the star performers in the Championship right now are Portsmouth, who made it six wins in seven with an impressive 2-1 triumph over Nottingham Forest. Pompey are a point off the play-offs and 20/1 to top the table.
One team who may have to accept that promotion is out of the question are Middlesbrough, who despite leading through a rare Kris Boyd goal were defeated 2-1 at home by last-placed Bristol City in Tony Mowbray’s first game. Only Crystal Palace are keeping them off the bottom now.
The pre-season favourites are 66/1 to somehow be crowned champions. See the full Championship betting odds market here.
