Home and Away: Wanderers to heap misery on off-colour Bantams

12Feb 2013

Betfair

Jonno Turner picks two odds-against domestic clashes to make up his Home and Away column this Pancake Day.

There's plenty to choose from in the footballing calendar this evening - and we're off to Wycombe for our first pick of the day, as the Chairboys welcome out of sorts Bradford to Adams Park.

Gareth Ainsworth's Wycombe side have been in cracking form of late, and will be looking to continue that momentum in this clash on their own patch.

A 4-0 win over York City at the weekend will have confidence high in the home camp, and that makes five unbeaten for the hosts - consisting of four wins and one draw.

Three clean sheets on the bounce shows that Ainsworth has corrected the defensive weaknesses which plagued his side at the beginning of the campaign, and his side now sit in 11th place, on the fringes of the play-offs, following a turnaround of momentous proportions.

Bradford go into this one in the midst of a miserable run - and with one eye on the League Cup final at Wembley at the end of the month.

The visitors league campaign has imploded since they reached the final, and boss Phil Parkinson will be desperate for the Bantams to arrest a slump which has seen them lose four of their last five.

And the away side have not won on the road in a league game since November - a run which has seen them fall out of the play-off picture and into 13th place in the table.

Just one clean sheet since the turn of the new year suggests that the visitors are likely to present their hosts with a chance or two tonight, and with the Chairboys in such hot goalscoring form, I think they will come out on top in this clash.

Bet 1: Wycombe Wanderers (HOME) @ 2.72

Moving up to the third tier now, as Sheffield United travel to Bury, aiming to build on their weekend win at Shrewsbury which put to bed a poor run of four games without a win.

Danny Wilson's side had been the epitome of consistency previous to that, climbing to the top of the table, and churning out win after win both at home and on the road.

But the Blades came unstuck just after Christmas - and Wilson will be hoping that this blip is now over with.

A 2-1 win in Shropshire on Saturday suggests that the away side have refocused, and they will be keen to extend that supremacy at struggling Bury.

Just one loss from seven away from Bramall Lane puts the visitors in prime position to secure three points here, and 13 goals scored in that time shows that they are not short up front.

Bury go into this one having won just one of their last 14 games, and that leaves the Shakers deep in the relegation zone with two thirds of the campaign played.

Kevin Blackwell will be desperate to get one over on his old side tonight, but recent form suggests that the hosts may struggle to beat one of the quality sides in League One.

The Greater Manchester side have kept just one clean sheet on their own patch since November, and that indicates that they may be susceptible to shipping a goal or two here.

Sheffield United are unbeaten in nine meetings with their hosts, and I'm backing the away win here, too.

Bet 2: Sheffield United (AWAY) @ 2.38