The top two divisions in England might have the weekend off for the international break but League Two sides don’t have that luxury and there is another full round of fixtures in the division this weekend which includes a televised match on Sunday afternoon.
The fixtures this weekend are as follows:
Saturday:
Newport v York 13:00
Carlisle v Barnet 14:00
Cambridge v Luton 15:00
Exeter v Leyton Orient 15:00
Mansfield v Wimbledon 15:00
Northampton v Dag & Red 15:00
Portsmouth v Accrington 15:00
Stevenage v Plymouth 15:00
Wycombe v Hartlepool 15:00
Yeovil v Morecambe 15:00
Sunday:
Bristol Rovs vs Oxford 12:15
On the face of it this is another tricky set of fixtures but there are a couple of bets that I like. There are some matches I can’t really call too.
Newport and York are both average sides and I don’t really like either of them so that match doesn’t jump out at me. Leyton Orient have set the early pace in the division and they go to Exeter on Saturday but that’s a banana skin journey for them and having seen Orient with my own eyes in midweek I’m not too keen on them.
Mansfield and Wimbledon are fairly evenly matched sides unlike Northampton and Dagenham but Northampton look a little short to me there. I would expect Portsmouth to wipe the floor with Accrington but there is little value there either and until Wycombe’s strikers start scoring I can’t trust them. Yeovil and Morecambe don’t inspire me for a bet.
I was very close to backing Luton this week as they are a heavy underdog and I would have done so had they not been hit with a load of injuries, international call ups and suspensions. I believe Cambridge match up well for Luton and while I still think the visitors will win the value there was is lessened out by the absentees they have.
That leaves us with three matches to get stuck into. The first sees Barnet making the long journey north to take on Carlisle and I like the home side in that. They are scoring for fun this season with Jabo Ibehre in excellent form and he’s likely to return to the side having been rested for the JPT tie in midweek.
Carlisle only have one league win this season, against Hartlepool last week, but they have a 4-4 draw with Cambridge and a draw with AFC Wimbledon and they have also been winning games in the Capital One Cup.
Barnet haven’t started life back in the Football League too well. They only have four points from their five matches with their only win coming against 10 man Northampton a couple of weeks ago so they are going to need a real improvement to get the win here. That won’t be easy given the distance they have to travel so I’m firmly with the hosts there.
Plymouth are another side who have begun the season well. They have four wins from five with their only defeat so far coming against Portsmouth. Pompey needed two penalties to win that match so it wasn’t like Argyle were disgraced in that game.
Stevenage have struggled this season which is a bit of a surprise given that Teddy Sheringham has taken over but at the same time not a surprise because he is trying to change their style and that takes time. Stevenage beat Hartlepool for their only league win of the season but they are going to have their work cut out here with injuries and international call ups not helping them.
In an ideal world Plymouth would have Rueben Reid available but they’ve been going along nicely without him so it isn’t like we should oppose them because he’s not around so I’ll go with them here.
Moving ahead to Sunday and the TV game looks an interesting one. Bristol Rovers have made a really positive start to their first season back at this level but Oxford have looked strong themselves so this should be a cracking match.
It has to be said Rovers seem to be better on the road than they are at home which is a bit of a concern for them here. They had been on a good run but lost to Leyton Orient last week and will need to bounce back to get something out of this match.
Oxford haven’t really pushed on since they beat Brentford in style in the Capital One Cup but they looked a really good side at Kenilworth Road a few weeks ago and in Kemar Roofe they have one of the best players I’ve seen at this level for a while.
Oxford are built on a solid defensive foundation but they have a lot more pace, creativity and attacking threat in their side these days and if anyone wins this match I fancy it might be them.
Back Carlisle (-0.25AH) to beat Barnet for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with Bet365
Back Plymouth (0AH) to beat Stevenage for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with Bet365
Back Oxford (0AH) to beat Bristol Rovers for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with Bet365
