Dan Childs's Saturday EFL & FA Cup football tips & betting previews

Free football tips, bets and analysis for Saturday's Sky Bet Championship and FA Cup second round games.

When to bet

Kick-offs 3pm Saturday

Best bets

Hull City
2pts 6-4Betfred
Birmingham City
3pts 23-20 generalBrentford -1 on Asian handicap
3pts 29-40 bet365
Forest Green Rovers
2pts Evs Coral, Ladbrokes

Verdicts

Barnsley v Hull City

Hull's 4-0 demolition of Preston on Wednesday was their best performance of the season and they can cap off a fine week by defeating basement boys Barnsley.

Hull made an uncertain start to the summer, parting company with manager Nigel Adkins and facing a battle to hold on to star players Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki.

But they made an intelligent managerial appointment, bringing in Grant McCann from Doncaster, and breathed a sigh of relief when the transfer window closed knowing Bowen and Grosicki were still on board.

McCann is getting the best out of Bowen (12 goals and three assists) and Grosicki (five goals and two assists) and has steered Hull to ninth – just four points outside the playoffs.

Staying in the promotion race may depend on retaining Bowen beyond January but, for now, Hull are a team to be feared.

The Tigers have lost just one of their last nine away games and, given recent performances, they are one of the last teams Barnsley will want to face.

Survival looks a long shot for the Tykes, who haven't won since a 1-0 success at home to Fulham on the opening weekend of the season.

They have played reasonably well in their first two games under new manager Gerhard Struber but lost them both – 3-2 at Blackburn and 1-0 at Middlesbrough.

Playing well and losing has been the story of their season and it will probably continue because Barnsley are simply not good enough at the back.

Goalkeeper Adam Davies and centre-backs Liam Lindsay and Ethan Pinnock left in the summer and have not been adequately replaced.

Birmingham v Millwall

Gary Rowett has made a positive early impression at Millwall, winning three of five games, but his team may struggle to pick up points at Birmingham this weekend.

A decent reception awaits Rowett, who was harshly sacked by Birmingham in December 2016 despite steering them into the top half of the Championship on a shoestring budget.

Birmingham have a bit more financial muscle these days and shelled out a reported £6.3million for Croatian international midfielder Ivan Sunjic this summer.

Sunjic has settled in nicely and forged an excellent partnership with 16-year-old midfielder Jude Bellingham, who is one of the most exciting teenagers outside the Premier League.

Birmingham's results have been mixed but they have done well at St Andrew's – taking 16 points from a possible 24 – and have a chance to make some headway in the next few weeks because three of their next four games are at home.

Blues fans have been treated to an exciting brand of high tempo attacking football at home and it may be a winning formula against Millwall, who have won just one of nine away league matches.

Brentford v Luton Town

Brentford's progress was halted by a 1-0 defeat at Blackburn on Wednesday but they have won five of seven games since the October international break and look solid favourites to defeat lowly Luton at Griffin Park.

The Bees should be stronger against the Hatters with first-team regulars Josh Dasilva and winger Bryan Mbeumo set to return after substitute roles in midweek.

Brentford often get stronger in the second half of the season and will be reasonably content because their points tally of 27 is six more than at the same stage last term.

Luton know they will be in for a tough game and will receive a far sterner test than they did on Tuesday, when they won 2-1 at home to injury-ravaged Charlton.

Graeme Jones's side have lost seven of nine away league games this season and were defeated 3-0 at Reading on their last road trip.

Forest Green Rovers v Carlisle United

Sky Bet League Two highflyers Forest Green are in the thick of the promotion race but are equally keen on a money-spinning FA Cup run and look solid favourites top defeat divisional rivals Carlisle in the second round.

Fourth-bottom Carlisle will be hoping for an immediate upsurge under new manager, Chris Beech, who was appointed as Steven Pressley's replacement on Tuesday.

But Beech has the same group of players to work with and may struggle to make a massive difference until the January transfer window opens.

The Cumbrians are 16 points below Forest Green and the difference in quality may be reflected on the pitch.

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