There is a full fixture list in Skybet League 2 on Saturday as the season begins to wind down but for the sides chasing the automatic promotion places and the playoffs this is another massive day of action.
Saturday’s fixtures are as follows: (3pm unless stated)
Mansfield v Notts County 13:00
Accrington v Morecambe
Wimbledon v Crawley
Bristol Rovers v Yeovil
Cambridge v Carlisle
Exeter v Northampton
Hartlepool v York
Leyton Orient v Dag & Red
Oxford Utd v Luton
Portsmouth v Plymouth
Stevenage v Newport
Wycombe v Barnet
Promotion chasers
Northampton won promotion last week and were they to beat Exeter and Oxford not beat Luton then the Cobblers will be crowned champions. They will be champions anyway. It really is a case of when not if now but they face a tough task away to Exeter who are absolutely flying and haven’t just joined the playoff mix, they are about to leapfrog everyone into the top seven.
Oxford will need to overcome their dodgy home record which has seen them win less than half their matches at the Kassam Stadium when they entertain Luton. I don’t think Oxford are daft enough to be chasing the title anymore but the pack has closed right up to them in recent weeks and automatic promotion is no longer a certainty like it should be.
Plymouth are the side now struggling to keep up with the top three and they go to Portsmouth, another side with an outside chance of gatecrashing the automatic promotion spots. That is the game of the day.
Accrington and Bristol Rovers, third and fourth starting the day, should have comfortable assignments against Morecambe and Yeovil respectively although if either are starting to feel the nerves or the pressure we might see it here when they are expected to win. AFC Wimbledon are in the same boat as they host Crawley.
Bottom half
Dagenham & Redbridge looked like a side resigned to their fate when I saw them on Tuesday night and their fate could be sealed on Saturday if they fail to beat Leyton Orient and Stevenage beat Newport.
York go to Hartlepool needing points drastically but they have been a ship that has been slowly sinking for a while and the lack of fight they have shown has been alarming really given what they went through to make it back into the Football League.
Newport aren’t totally safe yet and have plummeted in recent times so they will head to Stevenage knowing they still need one more win. A draw wouldn’t be the worst result in the world there it has to be said.
Betting
I’m going with two in this round of matches. There are a couple of others I like but they need to cover big handicaps than I like at this stage of the season. Sadly the sides I regularly take on in this division are playing pretty abject sides so I need to give them a miss this week.
Hartlepool have been good to me in recent times and I’m not deserting them now. They’ve won their last three at their Victoria Ground and host a York side with one away win all season. We’ve still seen nothing to suggest that Hartlepool are done for the season and that is encouraging.
York can’t buy a result on their travels and with just 16 goals in 20 matches and having conceded as many as 40 it isn’t hard to see why. Hartlepool can take advantage of that there.
I’m also going to take on Oxford and their indifferent home form. Luton have been good on their travels under Nathan Jones and I’m not surprised that they have been getting steadily backed all week.
Oxford are really under pressure to keep winning now as the pack has closed in on them and logic would suggest if they are only winning 40% of their home matches without the added pressure they could struggle when the pressure is cranked up to the full.
There is no pressure on Luton but Jones has been adamant he wants his side to finish the season well. They’ve already touched off promotion chasing Leyton Orient and Plymouth under him and at the very worst I think they can keep a big handicap on their side but it wouldn’t surprise me if they put a real spanner in the works for the home side and steal a win here.
Tips
WON – Back Hartlepool to beat York for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Skybet
Back them here:
WON – Back Luton (+1AH) to beat Oxford for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Titanbet
Back them here:
