Fellaini to bring protection in front of the defense with his heigh

Ian Holloway is back with his Sky Bet EFL predictions with some mouth-watering clashes from across the Championship, League One and League Two. There is plenty of action across Sky Sports this weekend, After QPR v Brentford live on Friday night, its the turn of Blackburn and Wolves on Saturday evening, before another derby - this time in the Midlands - as Birmingham welcome local rivals Aston Villa to St Andrews on Sunday afternoon live on Sky Sports 2 HD. Les Ferdinands journey Les Ferdinand is cycling to Amsterdam but the journey with QPR might be his biggest challenge. You can follow all the 3pm games across the three leagues on Soccer Saturday with highlights on Sky Sports digital platforms at full-time - but heres what EFL expert and Sky Sports pundit Holloway is predicting for a selection of 10 games this weekend: Blackburn v Wolves (Saturday, 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports 1)Im watching this one in the studio, and Ill go for a surprising Blackburn win. I think losing their manager would have shaken Wolves. Sky Sports News HQs Pete Colley has the latest from the Wolves training ground. as Zenga departs less than three months after taking over. I dont understand why they sacked Walter Zenga. I think its the modern way football clubs are sold on. It hasnt worked out how they wanted so the Chinese owners have got rid of him but you have to ask, what can you do in that sort of time? OLLIE PREDICTS: 1-0 with Ben Marshall to score first (Sky Bet odds 50/1) Blackburn vs Wolves October 29, 2016, 5:15pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Birmingham v Aston Villa (Sunday, 12pm, live on Sky Sports 2)I wish I was going to this one with Steve Bruce going back to his old stomping ground. I think it will be too tight to call but it will be a really exciting game with goals. Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Fulham. Bruces start has been brilliant. It is exactly what they needed. I dont know why the players didnt respond to Roberto Di Matteo but it just proves that Bruce and Neil Warnock know what theyre doing. Some of us managers are pretty good!OLLIE PREDICTS: 2-2 with Lukas Jutkiewicz to score first (Sky Bet odds 70/1) Birmham vs A Villa October 30, 2016, 11:30am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Preston v Newcastle (Saturday, 3pm)Its deja vu! I hope it doesnt go the same way for Preston like the 6-0 defeat it midweek and it will be a totally different situation. Preston are really good at home but Newcastle are looking like the real deal at the minute. OLLIE PREDICTS: 1-2 with with Mo Diame to score first (Sky Bet odds 35/1) Highlights of the EFL Cup round of 16 match between Newcastle and Preston. Brighton v Norwich (Saturday, 3pm)I think Brighton will just edge it. With Chris and his team at home and Norwich losing in midweek on penalties, I think Brighton will grind it out between two of the best teams in the division. They are very difficult to play at the Amex. I think it will be a tight game, not that high scoring. OLLIE PREDICTS: 1-0 with Glenn Murray to score first (Sky Bet odds 22/1) Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Wigan and Brighton. Derby v Sheffield Wednesday (Saturday, 3pm)These fixtures are much better than the Premier League, theyre fantastic! Derby last week just lost 1-0 to Huddersfield and boy, do they need to win this game. Can I see them doing it, that is the question? I cant unfortunately and I think Steven Fletcher will score first. He hasnt got many but hes a high quality player. Steve McClaren needs to get his Derby side believing in themselves again, says Holloway Derbys problem is goals. They need to get more balls into the box and more bodies. I think they are an attacking team and they need to try and blitz every game if they can. Its much more entertaining and its what Steve McClaren had them doing before.Derby need to start believing in themselves as a group, not just individuals and Im sure if they can get a couple of goals at the weekend, that might help them but Sheffield Wednesday are gradually creeping up in the play-offs and getting better. I think Wednesday will be too much for them although for Derbys sake, I hope Im wrong. OLLIE PREDICTS: 1-2 with Steven Fletcher to score first (Sky Bet odds 45/1) Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Huddersfield and Derby. Fulham v Huddersfield (Saturday, 3pm)I dont know which Fulham is going to turn up, they are like Jekyll and Hyde. They are brilliant one week and not quite so good the next. They have plenty of talent and are trying to build a young team but they do have a bit of inexperience. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. I fancy Huddersfield to keep going again after David Wagners celebration when beating Derby. Everyone was writing them off when they lost two in a row, will it be three? I just cant see them losing another.OLLIE PREDICTS: 1-2 with Nahki Wells to score first (Sky Bet odds 35/1)Cardiff v Wigan (Saturday, 3pm)Neil Warnock is working his magic again and I can only see that continuing. Wigan need to sort out who they want as their manager and get going again. They play some wonderful football and won the division last year but now they are struggling a little bit and need some more goals really. Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Nottingham Forest and Cardiff. Im going to give first goalscorer to resurgence of Peter Whittingham and his left foot. Its like a wand, they should call him Harry Potter!OLLIE PREDICTS: 2-1 with Peter Whittingham to score first (Sky Bet odds 66/1)Bolton v Port Vale (Saturday 3pm) Bolton move up to second in League One following a 2-0 victory at neighbours Bury. Two good teams but I fancy Bolton to nick it. At that stadium, it is very tough to go there. It is a proper ground and Phil Parkinson will have them really well organised. They will be big and strong and I think it will just be too tough of a task for Port Vale. Theyll be too hard to break down.OLLIE PREDICTS: 1-0 with Zach Clough to score first (Sky Bet odds 20/1)Sheffield United v MK Dons (Saturday, 3pm) Highlights of the Sky Bet League One match between Bradford and Sheffield United. I can only give this to Sheffield United. They are really on a roll now and I can only see them getting stronger. MK Dons have got to decide who they want in charge and go for it but I think they will struggle this weekend. OLLIE PREDICTS: 3-0 with Billy Sharp to score first (Sky Bet odds 35/1)Fridays prediction...QPR v BrentfordI can only go with a home win. I think QPR have settled back down, Brentford are playing a lot better as well but I fancy a home win. QPR will just have enough in their tank to beat them so Im going to go for a 1-0, very close fought victory. OLLIE PREDICTED: 1-0 and Nedum Onuoha to score first Also See: Les Ferdinand’s journey Bruce: Changes paying off Rafa keeps focus on promotion Transfer Centre LIVE! Cheap Pirates Jerseys . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Pirates Jerseys China . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. Pittsburgh Pirates Store . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. Pittsburgh Pirates Shirts . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. MANCHESTER, England -- There used to be no team better than Manchester United at scoring much-needed late goals.Under Jose Mourinho, the opposite is happening.In the last two months, United has drawn five of its seven games in the Premier League. Three of those draws -- against Stoke, Arsenal and most recently Everton on Sunday -- have come after conceding equalizers in the 82nd minute or later.This is what we are doing for a long time -- playing well, better than opponents, Mourinho said in comments that could easily be on a loop in post-match news conferences. Getting draws but deserving victories.The dropped points have left United in sixth place in the standings after 14 games, 13 points behind first-place Chelsea and more crucially nine points off the Champions League qualification positions. No team has dropped more points from conceding goals in the last 10 minutes of matches this season than United, which also lost 3-1 at Watford in September after letting in goals in the 83rd minute and in injury time.Mourinho has called United the most unlucky team in the Premier League. Its certainly the case that United has failed to win games it has dominated, none more so than the 0-0 home draw against Burnley when Mourinhos side had 37 attempts on goal.Instead of unlucky, Mourinho might chose to use the words least clinical. And the Portuguese coach might also need to look at his own role in this.Against Arsenal on Nov. 19, United was winning 1-0 and in control of the match when Mourinho decided to replace playmaker Juan Mata, who had scored the goal, with defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin in the 85th minute. Momentum quickly shifted and substitute Olivier Giroud powered in a late header to earn Arsenall a 1-1 draw that even its coach, Arsene Wenger, acknowledged was undeserved.ddddddddddddThat was Arsenals only attempt on target all match.On Sunday against Everton, United again was leading 1-0 after Zlatan Ibrahimovics 42nd-minute goal when Mourinho made another defensive substitution in the 85th, bringing on Marouane Fellaini for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The aim, according to Mourinho, was for Fellaini to bring protection in front of the defense with his height and strength as Everton went direct in its search for an equalizer.But Fellainis first meaningful contribution to the match was to foul Idrissa Gueye with a clumsy challenge in the area. Leighton Baines then equalized from the penalty spot.Mourinho was irritable with the media afterward, angry at journalists questioning his decision to bring on Fellaini and asking why United continues to throw away points from dominant positions.It is a problem that our position in the table is not a reflection of our performances, he said.Mourinho said pundits have double standards when criticizing his team, based on his past reputation of eking out victories.When my team are playing pragmatic football and winning matches and winning titles, you say it is not right and nice, Mourinho said. When my teams play very, very well, there is a huge change in relation. Now you say what matters, no matter, is to get result.United didnt play very, very well against Everton but was still on course for a victory, only a third in the league since Aug. 27.Once again, the 20-time champions, who once pulled wins out of nowhere, contrived to do the opposite. ' ' '