ENGLAND: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE

TWO regular contributors to the success of this line let me down in midweek as Blackburn and Norwich failed to score.

Rovers missed a penalty and squandered a hatful of chances against Newcastle but to be fair Norwich never turned up at Sunderland and it looked like they would draw a blank from early on.

Getting eight of 10 teams netting in the first half and the line not coming up was unusual but hopefully we'll have better luck this weekend. Although I've had to change two of my original selections after a raft of postponements on Friday night.

So I'm starting in the Championship with two sides who have been scoring plenty. Cardiff can put aside the distraction of reaching the Carling Cup Final aside for a bit and concentrate on cementing their play-off spot.

Malky Mackay's side have hit an average of two a game all season and should continue along those lines when Blackpool visit. Ian Holloway's men have netted four very late goals in their last two league games so it shows they'll fight to the finish.

But I don't want the Tangerines to leave it to the dying minutes to hit the target so let's hope we're not sweating over this one.

Next up it's another titanic Championship clash between Birmingham and Southampton. Birmingham have won five in a row including FA Cup ties against Sheffield United and Wolves and are going really well.

They'll give Southampton a tough test but when Rickie Lambert plays the Saints usually score. He returned from suspension by netting against Millwall and Cardiff so could produce the goods again.

Next up it's a big League One affair between Huddersfield and MK Dons. Three of the last four meetings have witnessed both teams scoring and the promotion rivals have sides packed with strike threats.

Jordan Rhodes of course will be the man to watch for the home men as he pushed towards the 30-mark for the season but MK Dons have notched 27 on their travels so will go north looking to breach a sometimes porous backline.

Now for two games that I've included after the call-offs. Go back to the Championship for Coventry v Ipswich. This game may not have been on my original list but I noticed both teams have scored in the last six meetings at Coventry.

Ipswich will be difficult to stop after hitting West Ham for five in midweek and although Coventry are struggling they have shrugged off the sale of top scorer Lukas Jutkiewicz by netting four in their last two games, including three at home to Middlesbrough.

Finally, I'm prepared to give Norwich a second chance at home to Bolton. Norwich won 2-1 at the Reebok earlier in the season but will find it tougher against a rejuvenated side who have lost just two in 10.

It has the feel of a score draw an I'm sure Paul Lambert will have his men fired up to better after their no-show at Sunderland.

Both teams to score

Cardiff v Blackpool

Birmingham v Southampton

Huddersfield v MK Dons

Coventry v Ipswich

Norwich v Bolton

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