So the time has arrived. After three months away Skybet League 2 returns on Saturday and it does so with a full set of fixtures with plenty of attention with the Premier League another week away from kicking off.
All 24 teams will be in action and they will be looking to get their campaigns off to a fast start and ease the pressure or confirm their expectations depending on how they go into the season.
Saturday’s fixtures are as follows:
Newport v Mansfield
Hartlepool v Colchester
Accrington v Doncaster
Cambridge v Barnet
Cheltenham v Leyton Orient
Crawley v Wycombe
Grimsby v Morecambe
Blackpool v Exeter
Plymouth v Luton
Portsmouth v Carlisle
Stevenage v Crewe
Yeovil v Notts County
Main Matches
Looking down the list of fixtures there are two matches which jump out at us with regard to the outright betting market. Favourites Portsmouth host many people’s idea of potential champions, including ours, in the form of Carlisle, while last season’s playoff finalists Plymouth host the third favourites for the title this year in Luton.
Promoted Sides
Cheltenham and Grimsby will be buzzing for this day having been out of the league and coming back into it. Cheltenham were only out for a season so this might not be quite such a momentous day for them but it certainly will be for a Grimsby side who were in the doldrums for a while.
Both sides begin at home with Cheltenham at home to Leyton Orient while Grimsby entertain expected strugglers Morecambe so both would have every chance of getting away to winning starts and setting their campaigns up.
Relegated Teams
Four sides will be looking to bounce back to League One this season and they are Blackpool, Colchester, Crewe and Doncaster. Only Blackpool have a home game. That comes against Exeter while the other three are all away.
Colchester head to Hartlepool for a long distance first game while Doncaster cross the Pennines to face Accrington and then Crewe head to Stevenage to begin another season back at this level.
Betting
There is a tendency to go big on this opening weekend but that isn’t really my style so I’m treading carefully for the first week or two and letting the league settle down before I smash the league with bets but there is one that I like to kick us off.
I’m expecting Hartlepool to improve this season and with a home game to start with they have an excellent chance to get off to a winning start when they entertain relegated Colchester.
It can often take relegated sides a while to get up to speed with things and acclimatise to their new surroundings and that is without having lost key players in the winter like Colchester did. That clearly isn’t ideal.
Hartlepool are generally decent enough at home and the squad Craig Hignett has put together isn’t bad at all. As I said I fancy them to start this season much better having finished last season well and that can all begin with a home win on the opening day. We are early in the season though so we’ll take a bit of draw cover but I’m with the hosts in this one.
Tips
PUSH – Back Hartlepool (0AH) to beat Colchester for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with 188bet
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