Friday’s football tips: Half-time draw looks good at 11/10 as Robins and Rams chase a play-off slot

Fahad Umar
January 29, 2026
3:47 pm

Bristol City have the chance to move back into the play-off positions in the EFL Championship tonight but it won’t be easy against a Derby County side who can also move up to sixth with a victory.

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After going two games with a win, the Robins got back on track last weekend with a 2-0 triumph over rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday at Ashton Gate.

They have home advantage again tonight but a Derby side who have taken seven points from their last three games will provide stiffer opposition.

Bristol City vs Derby County

Bristol City’s home form has been impressive of late, with four wins in their last five at Ashton Gate, so it’s easy to see why they’re favourites at a best 21/20 with Bet365.

But Derby have only lost one of their last five on the road so it’s a tricky one to call and the half-time draw might be the safest bet at 11/10 with BetMGM.

The Rams have only claimed one corner across their last two games while the Robins racked up nine in their last home game.

So it could pay to back the home side in the corner handicap tonight, with Bristol City -1 paying 10/11 with Paddy Power.

St Jonstone vs Partick Thistle

There’s a huge game in the SPFL Championship tonight as Partick Thistle head to Perth looking to knock St Johnstone off the summit.

It looked like Saints were moving clear a few weeks ago as Thistle went through a sticky spell but the gap is now just two points, albeit Partick have played a game more.

St Johnstone crushed their title rivals 5-1 on the opening day of the Championship season but have found goals harder to come by of late, netting just three times across their last four games.

Partick have been scoring more freely, netting eight times across the same run of games, so it’s hard to tell if this will be a thriller or a war of attrition.

The weather is pretty awful in Scotland right now and there’s so much at stake in this one so I think it could be a tough watch.

Betting against BTTS pays 10/11 at BetMGM while under 2.5 goals is 17/20 with Bet365. The half-time draw stands a chance once more and that pays 6/5.

Lens v Le Havre

Lens have the chance to move back to the top in France tonight and it would be a surprise if they slipped up at home to Le Havre.

The visitors sit one place above the drop zone in Ligue 1 and have claimed just one victory in their last 10 in all competitions.

Their form has picked up a bit, going three unbeaten, and they held Monaco to a 0-0 draw in their last outing.

Lens lost 3-1 to third-place Marseille in their last outing but had been on a 10-match winning run before that so it’s no surprise to see them as 4/9 hot favourites.

With Le Havre being a tougher nut to crack of late, I’m going to combine the home win with under 3.5 goals at 5/4 with Ladbrokes.

Lens should have most of the pressure and backing them at -3.5 in the corner handicap pays 11/10 at Unibet.

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