MARK O’Haire has scoured the Football League coupon for his three favourite bets this weekend.
This week on my Football League I’ve picked out three games involving a market I wanted to have a crack – Over 2.5 Goals AND Both Teams To Score.
Those of you who were on WeLoveBetting in midweek would have seen the MK Dons v Rochdale preview in which we successfully landed a winner with this market and I’m keen to give it another chance and spread the love a little.
Bolton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town | Saturday 15.00
So starting in the Championship, the obvious destination is the Reebok Stadium. New Bolton boss Neil Lennon has overseen a big improvement from the Trotters.
Road form remains a lot to be desired (see last weekend’s stinking 1-1 draw at Blackpool) but in front of their home fans, Bolton are flying. It’s three successive home wins, scoring three goals in each against Cardiff, Brentford and Wigan.
So I can understand why plenty are pulling the trigger on Wanderers to win on Saturday.
Their opponents Huddersfield have also undergone a decent improvement under new management. Chris Powell’s side have just two defeats in 10 and there’s enough in their tank to think they could get a result, which puts me off the hosts.
Admittedly those two defeats came in Huddersfield’s last two outings on their travels but they showed plenty of fight and attacking nous at both Fulham and Derby when going down. And previously they held Blackburn and Ipswich on their own patch – no mean feat.
So Bet365 are dangling even-money on Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score. It’s a bet that would have landed in 6/9 Bolton home fixtures this season including three of the last four. The Trotters have scored in their last eight now and kept just the two clean sheets.
As for Town, the Terriers away games would have seen this bet win in 7/9 including four of their last five. Their fixtures on the road are averaging well Over 3.5 Goals per-game and I’d be surprised if they let us down here.
Barnsley v Scunthorpe United | Saturday 15.00
Barnsley scuppered a number of punters bets last weekend when losing to Chesterfield in the derby but I’m reasonably confident they can continue their trend for high-scoring games at Oakwell, especially with Scunthorpe being the visitors.
The Tykes have seen 12/17 League One matches produce three goals or more and when hosting, their games have averaged nearly 4.5 goals per-game. Of course, we’re looking for the Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score bet and is good to see 6/8 Barnsley matches at Oakwell have seen this punt win.
Danny Wilson’s side have scored in 14/17 league outings this campaign and kept just the three clean sheets in that spell too. Their last four home results read 3-2, 2-2, 2-3 and 3-1. So a big thumbs up for Barnsley’s part of the parcel.
Scunthorpe are now under the tutelage of former Tykes boss Mark Robins who will no doubt be itching to get one over on his old club. He’s overseen a big improvement from the Iron and guided Scunny to just one defeat in six now.
But the new manager has yet to sort out their defensive deficiencies. Scunthorpe have kept only one league clean sheet this term and they’ve leaked at least twice in six of their nine away games.
However, those with a glass half full can point towards their impressive goalscoring record for a side 23rd in the table. They’ve failed to trouble the scorers only once in 11 matches now and only Bristol City stopped them scoring in nine away fixtures.
As for the bet, 6/9 Scunthorpe road matches have featured Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score, enough to get involved again this weekend at evens (1/1) with Bet365.
Bury v Dagenham & Redbridge | Saturday 15.00
My last punt may come as a surprise to some. Bury have been relentless at home this season, winning seven consecutive Gigg Lane league games before in-form Newport rolled into town last weekend.
That loss made it five defeats in nine for the Shakers and has left boss David Flitcroft having to face a fair bit of criticism. There’s no doubt that Bury have one of the strongest squads in the league, guided by a highly-rated coach but having switched to 4-4-2, things have gone a bit Pete Tong.
They’re a shocking price to beat Dagenham this weekend. You’ll get a best of 4/7 about a home victory and whilst they do possess the strength to see off the Londoners comfortably, nobody should be getting involved at those quotes. This is the Football League after all.
Instead, our Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score friend could come to the rescue with Bet365 chalking up odds of 5/4. Despite their domination of most games at Gigg Lane, the Shakers can only call upon three clean sheets in nine matches at their Lancashire base, with 5/9 returning winners in this market.
Dagenham ditched their rotten record when hosting League Two football last weekend to pick up a deserved 4-2 win over fellow strugglers Carlisle. And despite their lowly position, have only been beaten in four of their nine on the road.
In fact, the Daggers have scored in all bar two away games, including visitrs to the top-three, Wycombe, Burton and Luton. Six of their nine matches on their travels have seen Both Teams Score and although only 4/9 would have bagged winners in our Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score market, there’s enough to warrant a wager on their visit to Bury making that record 5/10.
Best Bets
Bolton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town – Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score (1/1 Bet365)
Barnsley v Scunthorpe United – Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score (1/1 Bet365)
Bury v Dagenham & Redbridge – Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score (5/4 Bet365)
