The next week is a busy one for League 2 sides as they are set to play Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday and by the end of it we’ll be almost a quarter of the way through the campaign and the table will have really taken shape.
The fixtures for Saturday are as follows:
Barnet v Dag & Red
Bristol Rovers v Portsmouth
Cambridge v Stevenage
Carlisle v Newport
Crawley v Accrington
Exeter v Wycombe
Luton v Wimbledon
Mansfield v Plymouth
Northampton v Leyton Orient
Notts County v York
Oxford Utd v Morecambe
Yeovil v Hartlepool
Initially when I looked down this list I thought there were some really good bets to be had but on more examination there are actually only two that I like.
Before I go onto those I’ll just highlight ones I fancied but have declined. The main one being Carlisle against a side I’ve regularly taken on in Newport. I maintain the fact that Newport are awful and I’d have been all over Carlisle in normal circumstances but going 120 minutes in midweek and the emotional rollercoaster they went through is enough to put me off.
Oxford were another side that jumped out initially but Morecambe are one of those sides who raise their game against the top sides and the price on the home side thankfully isn’t enough to suck me in on a match which might be tougher than the odds suggest.
Given the distance involved coupled with the fact Yeovil are improving I considered them to beat a bang out of form Hartlepool side but there is just something in my head giving me enough doubts about Yeovil that is restricting me from even a draw no bet play.
My first bet is going to be on a Portsmouth side who are going along nicely at the minute. They take on Bristol Rovers and I think that is a good match up for Paul Cook’s men. Rovers are better on the road where they can counter attack and the pressure is off them.
I guess in many ways Portsmouth can be described as that too so it is to their advantage they are the away side in this match. What I like about Portsmouth is the number of goal options they have in their side and that is something Rovers don’t have. You get the feeling the home side rely on Ellis Harrison too much for comfort.
You can get just under evens on Portsmouth on a draw no bet line and given they have shown how hard they are to beat this season that looks a perfectly fair price to me.
Before a ball was kicked this season I fancied Notts County to go well in this division and if they can find some form on the road that is certainly going to be the case but luckily for them they are at home on Saturday to an average York side.
Notts County have won their last three at home in all competitions and since then they have made a couple of eye catching loan signings to boost an already strong looking squad so I’m expecting them to rise through the table in the weeks to come.
To give York credit they score a decent number of goals but they ship just as many so this might be a high scoring game but it is one that the Magpies can come out on top in.
Away from Saturday’s matches I’m going to plump for another outright bet. As a football fan profiting from a club’s demise probably isn’t the nicest thing to do but from time to time you have to have a business head on and play the odds accordingly and with news of Northampton‘s financial crisis hitting the wires this week a small play on them to be relegated could be rewarded come May.
The figures being talked about are astronomical for most clubs but particularly clubs at this level and however that saga is played out in the weeks to come it is clearly going to impact on the Cobblers off the pitch if not on it. At 50/1 we can spare a sheckle to see how this one develops.
Back Portsmouth to beat Bristol Rovers (DNB) for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Coral
Back Notts County (-0.25AH) to beat York for a 4/10 stake at 1.90 with BetVictor
Back Northampton to be relegated for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with BetVictor
Blog football YTD: -28.46pts
