So I managed 1 out of 2 on New Years Day but I’m happy enough with my selections. That’s 14 wins, 2 refunds and just 4 losers from my last 20 tips. Brentford carried on their terrific run of form by beating Peterborough at London Road and landing my first bet, but then Newcastle let me down, partly due to the sending off of Mathieu Debuchy.
Anyway, on to the weekend. It’s the FA Cup so it pays to know what kind of starting line ups are going to be put out as some teams see this competition as an opportunity to give key players a rest. After a lot of research here are the bets I’m going with this Saturday.
Doncaster v Stevenage
FA Cup 3.00pm
Advised Bet: Doncaster win – 5/6 – Betfred
22nd in the Championship plays bottom of League 1 here and I’m very keen indeed on the chances of Doncaster.
Yes, it’s been over a month since Doncaster’s last win, and they have an injury list as long as your arm, but this is a chance for them to give their fans something to cheer about.
Visiting the Keepmoat are Stevenage Borough. Bottom of League 1 and also without a win for over a month. Manager Graham Westley has already stated that survival in League 1 is his target this season, and he won’t want the FA Cup getting in the way.
Doncaster played very well in defeat to QPR at the weekend despite fielding a decimated team, and according to assistant boss Brian Horton, they will be playing their best available team and will be hoping that both Chris Brown and striker Billy Paynter will return to action this weekend.
Current form for both teams looks miserable, but Doncaster look great value at 5/6 to eliminate a poor Stevenage side from the competition.
Grimsby v Huddersfield
FA Cup 3.00pm
Advised Bet: Huddersfield win – 5/6 – SkyBet
Another match where I was pretty shocked to see the high odds available for the win. Even more so that Huddersfield appear to be on the drift. I just can’t see why.
Grimsby are a solid if not spectacular Conference side who are one of the favourites to be promoted back into the Football League. Huddersfield ply their trade in the Championship as a mid table team, but the gulf in class should be evident in this clash.
The home side have a good record at Blundell Park, but Huddersfield should prove a bridge too far for them.
While Huddersfield’s results don’t look much on paper, they’ve faced 3 of the top 7 Championship sides in their last 5 games and have equipped themselves well. Man of the moment is striker Martin Paterson who picked up a brace in their 3-2 loss at Burnley on New Years Day.
Huddersfield boss Mark Robins said of his team selection for the trip to Grimsby “I won’t be doing anything daft and I will be picking a team who can win the game. They will come at us and they are playing well. We need to be better with the ball – and we will be. It is a good game for us to have after today’s defeat.”
I think the 5/6 on offer with Sky Bet will look a real gift come 5.00pm on Saturday.
