League One Betting: Back the stalemate in clash of the day

Two of the best teams in League One meet this Saturday, as Bournemouth entertain the flying Swindon Town. Our man Alan Dudman is hoping defences are on top on the coast, whilst Shrewsbury look too good to turn down entertaining Hartlepool this weekend.

 

Bournemouth 2.59 v Swindon Town 2.96, the draw 3.45

 

The game of the weekend in League One by an absolute mile this Saturday throws up the intriguing clash of

the managers. The cool, calm and collected approach of Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, against the firebrand

maverick Italian Paolo Di Canio. With both hunting down automatic promotion.

 

Howe said this week: "It will be a great occasion with two in-form teams, it should be a really good spectacle." However, I am not too sure this will be so open as those words. The Cherries are keeping clean sheets, as are Swindon. The hosts have shut out their opponents in each of their last four games, and are now 17 unbeaten in all competitions, Their home record at The Goldsands is mighty impressive - having lost just the once all season.

 

Di Canio meanwhile has been casting his eyes over some of Howe's squad by suggesting: "Seven or eight of their players I would have here." A dangerous remark to his current team, or a piece of brilliant psychology? So mind games are not exclusive to the Premier League.

 

Opta stats inform us that Bournemouth have an excellent record against Swindon, and are unbeaten in their last eight matches against the Wiltshire club. Further Opta stats reveal that in their previous six meetings together, 27 goals have been scored at an average of 4.5 goals per game - but this will surely not be as open.

 

The Robins have the second best away defence in the league, which again gives another base for trading on that 0-0 early In-Play, as Bournemouth will like to keep control of this match. Di Canio's side are very strong and playing really well, recent victories are 4-0, 5-0, 5-0, 2-0, and have conceded just once in five games.

 

Both teams are arguably a cut above in League One, and whilst Swindon have good pace and the ability to pierce teams through the middle and out wide, Bournemouth are just as good with their ball play and defence. It's awfully hard to split the two, and I am drawn to a tight game with few goals considering how strong both defences are.

 

Recommended bets:

Back 0-0 @ 11.0

Back the draw @ 3.65

 

Oldham Athletic 3.80 v Brentford 2.16, the draw 3.50

 

Brentford are another team who have impressed this season, and manager Uwe Rosler has signed a new two-year contract at Griffin Park to further boost their claims to haul themselves out of League One. The Bees are unbeaten in their last 12 games and have conceded only 12 times away from home this season.

 

Rosler is a canny tactician and has built a really solid team. Defensively they are very sound, qualities displayed in the New Year's Day fixture against Bournemouth with a 0-0 draw, as their defence was called upon for large parts of that match. Brentford do have some game-changers and match winners, in particular on-loan Fulham forward Marcello Trotta, who has hit three goals since his arrival in SW6.

 

The Opta stats do not rate Oldham's chances. The Latics have lost each of their last three clashes with Brentford and have failed to score in all three of those. There are also several angles as to why the hosts should be avoided here. Manager Paul Dickov (a former team-mate of Rosler at Manchester City), has been linked with replacing Dean Saunders at Doncaster. I also like to take on struggling teams who have suddenly found their form in a Cup competition.

 

Therefore it's a double distraction for the hosts. Their FA Cup victory over Nottingham Forest has set-up a fourth round clash against Liverpool, and their much improved form on Saturday is something I am wary of.

 

The visitors have been good enough to beat Swindon and Notts County away from home this term. Although it's not an easy pitch in the north west, Brentford should be good enough to be solid at the back with goal threats up front. And as I have often mentioned here, you have a chance with Rosler's side In-Play if the game is level, as they have netted a late goal on 11 occasions this season.

 

Recommended bets:

Back Brentford to win @ 2.16

Back Back Brentford to win 0-1 @ 9.0

 

Shrewsbury Town 1.88 v Hartlepool United 4.70, the draw 3.70

 

It's still taking me time to get over the shock of Hartlepool's away win at Sheffield United over Christmas. That was their sole League One victory away from home this season, and I was against them scoring at all (and they bagged three). That was a freak result, and surely we can rely on Shrewsbury to be nice and strong here.

 

The angle of attack is based on Hartlepool and their stats from Opta. They have conceded in each of their last 22 games. This is a great platform for a bet. Do I think Shrewsbury can score at least one? And can the hosts keep a clean sheet? The answer would be yes to both.

 

Shrewsbury are ultra-strong defensively at the moment. Their last three games have been under 2.5 goals (all clean sheets), and they have yet to concede a goal in 315 minutes of football. They are a much harder team to beat nowadays, and they seem to be having more luck than they enjoyed at the start of the campaign.

 

Shrewsbury kept out Scunthorpe recently in a clash that was garbage for 80 minutes, but crucially it was 0-0. They also shut out in-form Coventry and are unbeaten in their last seven.

 

I expect Hartlepool to be direct and look for the physical presence of Steve Howard up front. Pools resorted to slinging the ball into Howard in the Sheffield United game, and it worked a treat. Shrewsbury should be up to dealing with that, and look a decent bet this weekend.

 

Recommended bets:

Back Shrewsbury to win @ 1.88

Back Shrewsbury to win 1-0 @ 8.0 and 2-0 @ 9.0League One Betting: Back the stalemate in clash of the day

 

Two of the best teams in League One meet this Saturday, as Bournemouth entertain the flying Swindon Town. Our man Alan Dudman is hoping defences are on top on the coast, whilst Shrewsbury look too good to turn down entertaining Hartlepool this weekend.

 

Bournemouth 2.59 v Swindon Town 2.96, the draw 3.45

 

The game of the weekend in League One by an absolute mile this Saturday throws up the intriguing clash of

the managers. The cool, calm and collected approach of Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, against the firebrand

maverick Italian Paolo Di Canio. With both hunting down automatic promotion.

 

Howe said this week: "It will be a great occasion with two in-form teams, it should be a really good spectacle." However, I am not too sure this will be so open as those words. The Cherries are keeping clean sheets, as are Swindon. The hosts have shut out their opponents in each of their last four games, and are now 17 unbeaten in all competitions, Their home record at The Goldsands is mighty impressive - having lost just the once all season.

 

Di Canio meanwhile has been casting his eyes over some of Howe's squad by suggesting: "Seven or eight of their players I would have here." A dangerous remark to his current team, or a piece of brilliant psychology? So mind games are not exclusive to the Premier League.

 

Opta stats inform us that Bournemouth have an excellent record against Swindon, and are unbeaten in their last eight matches against the Wiltshire club. Further Opta stats reveal that in their previous six meetings together, 27 goals have been scored at an average of 4.5 goals per game - but this will surely not be as open.

 

The Robins have the second best away defence in the league, which again gives another base for trading on that 0-0 early In-Play, as Bournemouth will like to keep control of this match. Di Canio's side are very strong and playing really well, recent victories are 4-0, 5-0, 5-0, 2-0, and have conceded just once in five games.

 

Both teams are arguably a cut above in League One, and whilst Swindon have good pace and the ability to pierce teams through the middle and out wide, Bournemouth are just as good with their ball play and defence. It's awfully hard to split the two, and I am drawn to a tight game with few goals considering how strong both defences are.

 

Recommended bets:

Back 0-0 @ 11.0

Back the draw @ 3.65

 

Oldham Athletic 3.80 v Brentford 2.16, the draw 3.50

 

Brentford are another team who have impressed this season, and manager Uwe Rosler has signed a new two-year contract at Griffin Park to further boost their claims to haul themselves out of League One. The Bees are unbeaten in their last 12 games and have conceded only 12 times away from home this season.

 

Rosler is a canny tactician and has built a really solid team. Defensively they are very sound, qualities displayed in the New Year's Day fixture against Bournemouth with a 0-0 draw, as their defence was called upon for large parts of that match. Brentford do have some game-changers and match winners, in particular on-loan Fulham forward Marcello Trotta, who has hit three goals since his arrival in SW6.

 

The Opta stats do not rate Oldham's chances. The Latics have lost each of their last three clashes with Brentford and have failed to score in all three of those. There are also several angles as to why the hosts should be avoided here. Manager Paul Dickov (a former team-mate of Rosler at Manchester City), has been linked with replacing Dean Saunders at Doncaster. I also like to take on struggling teams who have suddenly found their form in a Cup competition.

 

Therefore it's a double distraction for the hosts. Their FA Cup victory over Nottingham Forest has set-up a fourth round clash against Liverpool, and their much improved form on Saturday is something I am wary of.

 

The visitors have been good enough to beat Swindon and Notts County away from home this term. Although it's not an easy pitch in the north west, Brentford should be good enough to be solid at the back with goal threats up front. And as I have often mentioned here, you have a chance with Rosler's side In-Play if the game is level, as they have netted a late goal on 11 occasions this season.

 

Recommended bets:

Back Brentford to win @ 2.16

Back Back Brentford to win 0-1 @ 9.0

 

Shrewsbury Town 1.88 v Hartlepool United 4.70, the draw 3.70

 

It's still taking me time to get over the shock of Hartlepool's away win at Sheffield United over Christmas. That was their sole League One victory away from home this season, and I was against them scoring at all (and they bagged three). That was a freak result, and surely we can rely on Shrewsbury to be nice and strong here.

 

The angle of attack is based on Hartlepool and their stats from Opta. They have conceded in each of their last 22 games. This is a great platform for a bet. Do I think Shrewsbury can score at least one? And can the hosts keep a clean sheet? The answer would be yes to both.

 

Shrewsbury are ultra-strong defensively at the moment. Their last three games have been under 2.5 goals (all clean sheets), and they have yet to concede a goal in 315 minutes of football. They are a much harder team to beat nowadays, and they seem to be having more luck than they enjoyed at the start of the campaign.

 

Shrewsbury kept out Scunthorpe recently in a clash that was garbage for 80 minutes, but crucially it was 0-0. They also shut out in-form Coventry and are unbeaten in their last seven.

 

I expect Hartlepool to be direct and look for the physical presence of Steve Howard up front. Pools resorted to slinging the ball into Howard in the Sheffield United game, and it worked a treat. Shrewsbury should be up to dealing with that, and look a decent bet this weekend.

 

Recommended bets:

Back Shrewsbury to win @ 1.88

Back Shrewsbury to win 1-0 @ 8.0 and 2-0 @ 9.0

 

Bet HERE

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