Friday's EFL predictions and football betting tips from Dan Childs

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Friday's EFL matches.

Where to watch

Friday's four Championship matches
Live on Sky Sports Red Button, 7.45pm

Best bets

Swansea to beat Watford 7.45pm Friday
2pts 13-10 general

Derby to win & under 3.5 goals v Cambridge 7.45pm Friday
1pts 11-10BoyleSports

Stevenage win to nil v Crawley 7.45pm Friday
1pt 7-5 Coral

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Friday's EFL preview

Swansea have slipped from fourth to 16th in the Championship standings after failing to win any of their last eight games, but they have a wonderful opportunity to get back on track at home to an injury-ravaged Watford side.

Despite going over two months without a victory, the Swans are not too far adrift of the playoff places and they are facing the Hornets at the right time.

Watford had a miserable experience on Boxing Day. The Hornets were beaten 2-0 at home by Millwall and also suffered the double blow of a red card to left-back Hassane Kamara and their eight-goal top scorer Joao Pedro suffered an ankle injury.

With Kamara suspended and Pedro joining Hamza Choudhury, Imran Louza, Edo Kayembe, Dan Gosling, Tom Cleverley, Kortney Hause and Rey Manaj in the treatment room, the option of Hornets boss Slaven Bilic have become severely limited.

Five of Watford's nine absentees are midfielders which could be a real issue against one of the best passing teams in the Championship.

Swansea have already deservedly beaten Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road and Russell Martin's men will fancy their chances of completing the double.

The Swans are far from the finished article and lost 2-1 at Reading on Tuesday despite carving out a 76 per cent share of possession, but they look a decent bet to register an overdue ninth league win of the season.

Derby moved into the League One playoffs with a draw at promotion rivals Bolton on Boxing Day but they have an easier run of fixtures coming up, starting with Friday's home game against Cambridge.

Paul Warne's Rams have kept four clean sheets in their last five league games. Their next challenge is to start scoring a few more goals, although they were convincing 4-0 winners over Forest Green in their last home fixture.

Derby may have to work a little harder for their rewards against Cambridge, who snapped an eight-game winless sequence with a 2-1 Boxing Day success at home to Shrewsbury.

However, Warne's side won 2-0 at Cambridge in early October and they should achieve something similar in the return fixture.

League Two promotion chasers Stevenage have hoovered up 28 points from a possible 33 on home soil and they should be far too strong for struggling Crawley in Hertfordshire.

Steve Evans' second-placed Boro are unbeaten in seven league matches and can claim three points and a shutout against the injury-hit Red Devils, who are yet to win on their travels this season.

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