Pundit sees goal difference coming into play
Saturday 18 April 2015 12:25, UK
The big games just keep coming in the Championship, and Tuesday night sees some more key fixtures in the battle for promotion.
The top two clubs, Bournemouth and Norwich, have trips to Reading and Leeds respectively, while Middlesbrough host Wolves in a vital encounter at the Riverside Stadium, and you can see all the goals from the Championship as they go in on Gillette Soccer Special, live on Sky Sports News HQ from 7.30pm.
It could be a season-defining few days for Aitor Karanka’s men, who follow up their clash with Wolves by visiting Norwich on Friday night, live on Sky Sports.
Boro beat Rotherham 2-0 on Saturday and Don Goodman told FL72 Review the jitters among the fans could play against them on Tuesday night.
“I’ve been at the Riverside a couple of times recently, and there is a nervousness in the crowd,” he said.
“The supporters probably don’t realise, but it does transmit down on to the pitch. But fair play to them, they kept going. They did dominate the game in most ways, but until they scored that first goal just before the hour-mark there was a little bit of nervousness.
“I think Lee Tomlin could be a very important in the final four games. Middlesbrough’s next two are huge.
“The Wolves game is at home and as I say there’s that nervousness there at the moment, which Wolves will try and play on. Then next Friday against Norwich is absolutely enormous for them.”
Middlesbrough have a six-point cushion over Derby in fifth place, and Goodman believes it’s now only between the current top four for the two automatic spots.
He said: “I can’t see that it’ll be anything other than that scenario, and you wouldn’t put your money anywhere, would you?
“It’s in Bournemouth’s and Norwich’s own hands – that’s the favourable thing for those two.
“There’s only one goal between Norwich and Watford. The top four are all real goalscoring teams, possibly with the exception of Middlesbrough, but it could very well come down to goal difference.
“If they all win their final four games it might be about how many they win them by. They’re all playing so well and they’re holding their nerve. It’s impossible to call.
“At the end of the day you get the three points first and foremost. If you do get an opportunity to be ruthless then you’ve got to take it. You’ve only got to look at Bournemouth – I think five times they’ve scored five or more goals.
"That’s why, even if it does come down to goal difference, they’ve got a healthy advantage over the others.”
With just one point separating Derby in fifth and Wolves in eighth, the race for the play-off spots looks set to go down to the wire.
Derby and Ipswich currently sit in the top six but Goodman is expecting things to change regularly ahead of the final fixture, and suspects a record haul will be needed to make it into the play-offs.
“Before we get to the last day there are going to be so many twists and turns,” he added.
“Last year 72 points got you into the play-offs – this year it could be 77, 78. There’s no way I can’t see all of those teams winning at least two games.
“I think it will be a record number of points that will miss out, unfortunately for two of those four clubs that are chasing it.”
Watch all the goals from Championship as they go in, live on Gillette Soccer Special from 7.30pm, Tuesday, Sky Sports News HQ.
