It would be safe to say that it was a fairly bizarre week for this column last time out.
There can’t be many who foresaw Newcastle defeating the in-form Bournemouth, nor third-placed Montpelier going down to 13th place side Angers in Ligue 1.
And Tranmere’s inability to win at home against a side from two divisions below!? Don’t get us started…
The international break does little to improve our mood, but we’ve been in good form of late so let’s get stuck into this week’s football accumulator betting tips.
| Match | Recommended Bet | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol Rovers vs Scunthorpe United | Bristol Rovers Draw No Bet | 4/7 |
| Bury vs Stevenage | Stevenage +1.50 Asian Handicap | 4/9 |
| Exeter City vs Northampton Town | Northampton/Draw Double Chance | 4/6 |
| Maidenhead United vs Harrogate Town | Harrogate Draw No Bet | 4/6 |
| Falkirk vs Partick Thistle | Falkirk/Draw Double Chance | 4/7 |
| Five-Fold Acca Odds | 8.94/1 | |
Bristol Rovers vs Scunthorpe United: Bristol Rovers Draw No Bet
Bristol Rovers are a curious old side.
The Gas sit perilously just above the relegation zone in League One, and yet their defensive record is the second best in the division!
Naturally, they don’t score enough goals – hence their lowly position, but you wonder if that will be remedied when they take on the division’s worst defence on Saturday.
Scunny have conceded 37 goals this term – six more than the next-worse defence, with 14 of those coming in eight away matches.
There’s a divergence in form too, with Bristol Rovers winning 2-0 and 3-0 within their last trio of League One matches, and Scunthorpe currently on a run of W0 D1 L5.
Bury vs Stevenage: Stevenage +1.50 Asian Handicap
We’ve spent quite some time trying to work out quite why Bury are as short as 8/15 here.
The Shakers are in decent enough nick, but two of their most handsome victories of late have come against lower league opposition in the FA Cup and in the meaningless Checkatrade Trophy.
Otherwise, Bury’s league form of W2 D3 L1 isn’t exactly the stuff of legend.
Stevenage are above Bury in the League Two table, their away form is okay (W3 D2 L3) and their current league form – two wins, one draw, two clean sheets kept – does not scream of a side in the doldrums.
Exeter City vs Northampton Town: Northampton/Draw Double Chance
Exeter’s woes continue.
The Exiles have won just one of their last six League Two games, although mitigation should come with the knowledge that four of those were played away from home.
But that disappointing run continued in the FA Cup last Saturday, when they lost 2-3 at home against Blackpool.
Northampton gave it a good go in their own FA Cup journey. Drawn away at League Two leaders Lincoln, the Cobblers were looking good for a replat at 2-2 before the Imps bagged an injury time winner.
That’s a continuation of their recent good form, which has seen them win four from five and net eleven goals in the process.
Maidenhead United vs Harrogate Town: Harrogate Draw No Bet
What an extraordinary price Harrogate are to win this match!
Maidenhead have lost six National League matches on the spin, but most pertinently they have conceded a ridiculous 23 goals in them. The Kent outfit are in absolute freefall.
Compare and contrast that to Harrogate, who sit fourth in the table, are decent enough on the road (W5 D3 L1) and who have scored two or more goals in 13/19 league outings this term.
We are mitigating our risk by taking the Draw No Bet insurance, but be under no illusions the 13/10 about the Yorkshire side to win is outstanding.
Falkirk vs Partick Thistle: Falkirk/Draw Double Chance
There’s a theory in sports betting called the recency effect, which basically suggests that what has occurred recently to a team is much more important than what has gone before.
Fallacy or not, it’s a process that has led us to Falkirk getting a good result against fellow strugglers Partick Thistle.
The hosts are bottom of the table, but recently there have been signs of green shoots of recovery.
They drew with second-placed Ross County, lost narrowly 0-1 to leaders Ayr and then beat Dunfermline.
Compare that with Partick Thistle, who sit one place above Falkirk. They’ve lost seven on the spin, including a 1-5 thumping at Morton in their penultimate start.