The last League Two fixtures before the busy Christmas period take place on Saturday where once again the 24 teams look to build on or create some good form to take into what is usually a defining period of the campaign.
The fixtures on Saturday are as follows:
Barnet v Crawley
Cambridge v Mansfield
Carlisle v Notts County (Neutral venue)
Dag & Red v Bristol Rovers
Exeter v Luton
Hartlepool v Plymouth
Leyton Orient v Yeovil
Newport v Wimbledon
Northampton v Portsmouth
Stevenage v Accrington
Wycombe v Oxford Utd
York v Morecambe
This isn’t the greatest time to bet on this league particularly this season where it is more unreliable than ever and I only like two but Luton sacking John Still has put paid to any certainty there could have been with Exeter while I’m not convinced I can take Morecambe against the bang out of form and woeful York side.
As I say on the face of it not much stands out with the good sides all seemingly playing each other such as Northampton against Portsmouth and Wycombe against Oxford. Both should be good games but they are hard to call unfortunately.
With that in mind I’m only going to take two which happen to look pretty obvious but sometimes the best bets are the most obvious ones. I’m certainly hoping that is the case here.
Two of the most attack minded, highest scoring sides in the division meet on Saturday when Carlisle entertain Notts County. The Magpies will probably like the fact they only have to go to Preston for this game instead of the longer journey to Carlisle albeit in sympathetic notions given the damage the floods have caused in Cumbria.
I don’t think the switch will detract from the philosophy of both sides though. Carlisle are an attacking force as highlighted by the fact nobody has scored more in the division this season but at the same time nobody has conceded more either.
Notts County aren’t far behind though. They are one of the leading scoring sides and they too ship them at an alarming rate. Although the atmosphere in this big ground might be a little more subdued the bigger pitch at Deepdale should allow for some excellent expansive football where the attacking players can thrive and deliver a solid number of goals.
I’ve said before I’m only an odds on away player on special occasions and one of those has appeared this weekend as Bristol Rovers, a good away side in their own right, head to a Dagenham & Redbridge side who went 120 minutes in the FA Cup in midweek on a very heavy pitch in extremely tough conditions.
Wayne Burnett is under a little more pressure since Luton sacked John Still. It is only natural for the talk to begin about Still returning to his old hunting ground to replace a struggling manager but how much his side have left in their legs barely 60hrs after that tough cup tie remains to be seen.
Rovers head up to London in good form after back to back wins and in Matty Taylor they have one of the form strikers in the division to keep the Dagenham defence honest. Given Dagenham’s potential weariness I’ll take the Gas men here.
Back Carlisle vs Notts County – Over 2.75 goals for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with BetVictor
Back Bristol Rovers to beat Dagenham & Redbridge for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with William Hill
