Clinton Morrison Makes His Championship, League One and League Two Christmas Predictions
Will Jackson 
Popular pundit Clinton Morrison has joined up with the Freebets.com team this season to discuss the biggest games and talking points each week in the EFL.
The former Crystal Palace, Birmingham and Republic of Ireland striker will be giving his views and predictions on the pick of the matches each week, as well going over some of the hot topics in the football world.
With Christmas traditionally marking the halfway stage of the season and a fair barometer of success in the ongoing campaigns, the tables are starting to take shape so Clinton has had a look at the EFL league tables to discuss promotion and relegation from each.
Here's a full transcript of everything discussed this week.
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Festive Football
Q: As you've always said, Christmas is the time when you sort of like look at the table and make your judgments. What's it like playing this time of year? So many games come in thick and fast. For the fans, it's really good. Is it as good for players? Did you enjoy it?
I used to enjoy playing at Christmas because I loved playing football, but I can understand now there are so many games going on.
Players are a bit wary and managers are wary. I think managers are more wary because you always want to put out your best 11 but there are so many games in a short space of time.
People do worry about picking up injuries and stuff like that, which is why you've got to have a big enough squad. And I think the ones who have big squads in the Championship are the ones who have a great opportunity.
But now playing football over Christmas is the best time. I know everyone in other countries have a winter break, but I think if you had that over here everyone would be disappointed because we all look forward to it, especially the fans.
Christmas Day, you get to have a great time with family. But then Boxing Day, you've got a game to watch - you can't beat it, can you?
Q: What about suspensions then, over the years you hear stories about people who deliberately pick up bookings to get suspended over Christmas. Did you ever come across that sort of thing?
No, I haven't come across it but I used to play with people and think, why have you just got booked? And then I realized, but at the time you don't really think about it. You're thinking - ‘I don't understand, it's a needless booking’, but maybe he's in the moment and stuff like that.
But nah, not for me. You never want to miss football matches because you miss a football match and someone could come in and you might not get your place back.
You always hear stories about Boxing Day, where you could have an away game and are four or five hours away - you want to spend Christmas with your whole family. And then they let you do that till lunchtime or maybe to the evening, then you travel up on the night and you're not spending Christmas night, that's when you hear about people maybe getting a cheeky yellow card
It’s usually either Boxing Day or New Year’s Day, they were the two games to look out for.
The Championship - Promotion
Q: So let’s start by looking at the Championship and the promotion places, specifically the automatic ones with three teams going well. How do you look at it at this stage of the season?
Sheffield United are flying. This is how crazy the league is because they were deducted two points, so you've got to credit Chris Wilder.
I think the job he's doing is fantastic. I still think it will be Leeds who probably finish top with the squad they have and the players to come back from injury.
And then Sheffield United, iit could be just the two teams there at a moment that could get promoted.
But then you look at the likes of Burnley and Sunderland, because I think Blackburn are overachieving even though the job John Eustace is doing is fantastic.
So I would think basically the top two places would be from Sheffield United, Leeds and Burnley, I think Sunderland will get into the playoffs. I just think their squad is a bit young - if they could go and bring in a bit of experience in January then they’ll have a better chance, but I don't know if that's their model.
I had to put my neck on the line now, I think the top two places would be out of Sheffield United, Leeds and Burnley.
Q: So two from three go up, and with Sunderland going well you’d think there are maybe only two play-off spots up for grabs...
Yeah, you could say that - even though Blackburn are only five points behind Leeds!
It's not a big gap and you know there's a lot of twists and turns, but you do expect the likes of the Sunderland, Burnleys and Leeds to pull away.
As I said, Blackburn, John Eustace, the job he's doing is fantastic, it’s unreal on the budget that he has there. The football they play, the way they're playing, the results they're getting, it’s brilliant.
Middlesbrough too, I've said it all along that under Michael Carrick and if they can keep the likes of Latte Lath, Ben Doak, Finn Azaz, they have a lot of attacking talent in there.
And then you look at teams like Watford, and Tom Cleverley has done a brilliant job. Usually you look at Watford and they like to sack managers, but he's kept them in and amongst it and done well.
You've got Corboran who has been linked to jobs at West Brom, and then you'd probably say Sheffield Wednesday have an outside chance. If Danny Rohl can stay - he’s been linked to the Southampton job - then you never know.
But here's always a team that comes from nowhere, and I think that team - and people might be surprised - is Coventry.
I think if Frank Lampard can get a few more bodies in and people that he knows maybe on loan from clubs he's been at like Chelsea, they could make a late run.
You saw it before with Mark Robbins when they made a late run around this Christmas period.
The Christmas period just defines the season because you have so much games in a short space of time. But you look at the playoffs there and you think anyone could really do it because it's so wide open but Coventry and Sheffield Wednesday are teams I think could make a late run
It's such a hard one to call. We know that the top three teams are the ones who we think are going to finish in that top two because of the squad depth, but the rest you could just chuck a blanket over it and think and then put your hand in anyone could come out, it's that close.
I think it's going to be such a fascinating season because usually you Championship teams running away with it.
I think it's even more exciting now that you can't predict it.
The Championship - Relegation
Q: And then down at the bottom of the Championship, you've got a group of five teams with a gap starting to open up. Who do you think is in trouble?
Yeah, its tough because Hull just brought in Ruben Selles and he did a good job at Reading, and they’re not really cut adrift.
Plymouth have got Wayne Rooney and it’s difficult for them at the moment, but you always feel like Plymouth are there in and amongst it, and at the end they always get out of trouble.
I do worry for Portsmouth, big time. Even though they're third from bottom at the moment and there is a cluster of clubs - I think Omar Riza has now got the Cardiff job and he'd done brilliantly to be fair, to get results, but now he has the hardest challenge because when you're interim there's no pressure. Now you're the manager, you've got to kick on and get results.
And then Oxford need a new manager. There's talk of how my friend Gary Rower is close to getting that job, and I think if Gaz goes in there, he'll turn them around and they'll start climbing the table.
This is how close the Championship is right now. QPR were right near the bottom about three or four weeks ago, but they’ve been on a bit of a run and climbed out of that bottom three. That's how close it is.
You probably look as far up the table as Coventry or Preston. Everyone below them and it's so hard to call. I couldn't sit here now and say to you who the bottom three is going to be, because they're not cut adrift at the moment.
Luton shouldn't be there. I would have expected all the teams down there to be there at this stage of the season, all of them apart from Luton.
Q: You mention Plymouth maybe getting out of it, but they’ve conceded 42 goals in 20 matches and only scored 19. That doesn’t bode well, does it?
Yeah, I think it's a problem. I think they'll always score goals with the likes of Whittaker, Gray, Obafemi - these kind of players will get you goals.
But I think defensively they have a problem because I think when they concede one, they concede two, they concede three, they concede four and it becomes a bit of a hammering. And come the end of the season the goal difference can be important and count as an extra point
I think the defence is something Wayne Rooney will probably look to improve come January. I think a lot of these teams in general will look to strengthen, possibly with loan players if they don't have the money.
League One - Promotion
Q: Onto League One then. Again, we've sort of got three or four teams that seem to sort of be separated from the rest of it. When you look at the top of the table, what do you think of that?
I did expect the top of the table to be like that. I thought Bolton might be a bit higher but if I'm looking at it now, the team that's overachieving is Wycombe.
Matt Bloomfield's done an unbelievable job because I did think Birmingham City would run away with it, and I do still think Birmingham will win the league.
For Wycombe to be there, without the budgets of Birmingham, Wrexham or even Huddersfield or Stockport, it’s a fantastic effort, they are absolutely flying and will get promotion. They are in contention to get but I do think they'll get promotion. I think their squad's fantastic full of youngsters, and experienced players like Gareth McCleary that can help. So I just think they're heading in the right direction.
You expect Birmingham with the likes of Jay Stansfield and all their top players and real, real quality, to pull away.
Phil Parkinson with Wrexham has got goal scorers in the likes of Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee, players that know where the back of the net is.
Huddersfield are doing well, Duff has done well there. Dave Challinor has done really well but the problem with Stockport - which you worry about them - is Louis Barry.
He's been outstanding on loan from Aston Villa but they might call him back and say they want him to play at a higher level in the Championship because he is good enough. He gives him that X Factor. If they lose him, that could be a huge blow for them
He can play off the wing as well. I think he'd be a good signing for Leeds. I'm not saying he's going to walk straight into the team, but I think Aston Villa will probably want him to play at a higher level to see how he copes.
Ruben Selles could be struggling there because Reading could easily go the other way and Hull could come down! Lincoln are overacheiving and I think Mansfield will go back on a run - Nigel Clough is a fantastic manager. Even Peterborough and Darren Ferguson, he has always got top players and produced.
This is so hard, isn't it? This is why the EFL…is one of the best out there because you can't predict that league. You can’t predict one thing. I think Birmingham City will go up. But can I predict who gets up second? Not at the moment. Even though Wycombe are top, but they've got a game in hand.
League One - Relegation
Q: Down at the other end of the League One table, got Shrewsbury and Burton, maybe a little bit cut adrift but then there's not much at all between Cambridge, Crawley and then up to about 14th, 15th
It's difficult. Shrewsbury look cut adrift and they should be cut adrift. But the one thing they've got is Gareth Ainsworth who has just gone in there. And you know what Gareth's like; he knows these divisions and he's been there many times with Wycombe.
So even though now I think it's a hard task for them, I would never rule them out of putting on back-to-back wins and getting results. You saw when he first went in they beat Birmingham.
So they have got that kind of thing. And I always say with these teams, January is a big thing for them - can you use your contacts to try and get players in? It's not looking good for Shrewsbury but it's a team I wouldn't write off.
I think it's been a bit of a mess at Burton. New owners went in and got a new manager, then they sacked him and it's a struggle for them at the moment. They got knocked out of the FA Cup by Tamworth - which I predicted! But you do look at them two teams and think because they're cut adrift now, can they do it?
But you just never know if they go on a good three or four game run. In particular, Shrewsbury under Ainsworth, I think they've got a good chance.
Cambridge were struggling. Garry Monk got a few results together and kind of turned it around. Bristol Rogers got rid of their manager, Matt Taylor, and Northampton as well.
I don't think Leighton Orient will be in the mix. I think they've got good enough players and Richie Wellens is a good manager and I think they'll start climbing the table. You look at even Rotherham and Steve Evans with the experience he's got, you don't think they should be in the mix .
It's hard. It is a hard one. I think from Northampton down are in trouble, because I think later on it will be out of those six teams who go down.
There's a reason those teams are down there because they've not been good enough at the moment. And there's a reason a lot of those teams have sacked their managers because it's not been good enough. So they want changes.
League Two - Promotion
Q: Onto League Two with three automatic promotion places. Walsall are flying at the top at the moment
My mate is a coach there at Walsall. If you had told me at the start of the season that they would have been top, I would never have believed it. I said they would have been in the mix because they've got some good players and the coaching staff are all good. Matt Sadler, Darren Byfield, my mate there is a good coach and doing ever so well, them two have been outstanding.
I did think Port Vale would be up there, and I do believe Port Valewill get promoted under Darren Moore.
Him and Jamie Smith - two more mates - who I played with at Palace as a coach, are doing ever so well. I look at those two teams and I think they'll get promoted.
MK Dons were one of the favorites and you have Bradford, Notts County as well who until three or four weeks ago I think were right in the mix.
No one's not running away with it because look how tight it is. This is even tighter than League One and the Championship. League Two is hard to predict.
Grimsby are the team that I look and say ‘wow’, you always look at Grimsby and think bottom half of the table so there's loads to play for there.
You cannot call it on who's going to get promoted and who's going to get relegated at the moment but it's so difficult but I do believe Walsall and Port Vale will get promoted.
League Two - Relegation
Q: And then down at the other end of the league, the worst two positions in the EFL, and it looks fairly bleak for Carlisle and Morecambe
Accrington, Swindon, Morecambe and Carlisle it's between them. I couldn't really split them
I'm looking at it and thinking those are the four teams where they are, especially Morecambe and Carlisle to only have - I know we talk about Shrewsbury having 11 points - 14 points at this stage of the season it's been really disappointing.
Listen, there's a lot to play for in that league and there's still bundles of games to go but it's looking bleak for those two at the moment.
And Swindon need to start picking up and getting results because I'm telling you, once you drop out of the football league, it's not easy to get back in the National League.
There's a lot of teams spending money trying to get out of the National League and it's difficult.
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