League One Betting: Brentford to boost title claims over Christmas

26Dec 2012

In-form Brentford travel to Colchester United on Wednesday, with a chance to go top of League One. Elsewhere Alan Dudman is looking forward to the Boxing Day fixtures involving the MK Dons and Coventry City.

Colchester United 3.85 v Brentford 2.10, the draw 3.50

Brentford's title claims are looking healthy at the moment, with the Bees up to third place in the table approaching the festive period. Their price in the League One winner market is 6.80, and they are currently unbeaten in their last nine league games.

Uwe Rosler's side have a terrific quality, they score late goals. One thing that tells me is how fit they are, and they struck late again in their recent league match with Notts County as Clayton Donaldson hit an 88th minute winner. Donaldson adds a bit of muscle up front, but is finding good positions in a sparkling run of 15 goals this term. His partnership with Fulham loanee Marcello Trotta has been an excellent one - with the young Italian proving to be a perfect foil.

The late goal theme has haunted me with Brentford, as it ruined a 1-0 bet earlier this term with Tranmere, as Jonathon Douglas struck in injury time. Therefore it might be worth bearing in mind In Play, as they have benefited from late strikes on 10 occasions this season. I also described Douglas as the 'west London Pizarro', something a friend of mine was flabbergasted with.

Look out for potential star of the future Harry Forrester, the 21-year-old is a terrific young player with an eye for goal, and it's no surprise that several Premier League clubs are on his trail, with Aston Villa reportedly very keen.

Rosler's team have dispatched Sheffield United (2-0) and MK Dons (3-2) recently to display their current form.

Colchester's current run is wretched at the moment, so is their record against Brentford according to Opta. They have enjoyed just one victory from their last eight games with the Bees (losing three).

Boxing Day looks a daunting task, as the Essex side have lost five on the trot, including a 1-0 defeat at Walsall recently. New manager Joe Dunne has scrapped the passing game as they were getting carved open, and their plan looks to be a 4-4-2 with the ability to stay in a match for as long as possible.

The hosts might try and make this a horrible, dour affair, but Brentford are playing really well at the moment with several match-winners on song.

Recommended bets:

Back Brentford to win @ 2.10

Back Brentford to win 0-1 8.0 and 0-2 11.50

Back under 2.5 goals @ 1.90

MK Dons 1.56 v Walsall 7.20, the draw 4.30

This looks a fairly straightforward task for the MK Dons this Boxing Day considering their impressive home record this season. The Buckinghamshire club have lost just once this term at the stadium MK, whilst their defensive CV is the best in the league on their own patch - conceding a miserly five goals.

Saturday's match was postponed against Doncaster, but the Dons have some good all-weather training facilities. Their last league game was a comfortable 1-0 win over the hopeless Hartlepool, but as usual it was fairly one-way traffic with Karl Robinson's side enjoying lots of the ball.

Opta stats inform us that the MK Dons have won each of their last four encounters at home (three of them 1-0), but have lost their last two meetings with Walsall (both by a 1-0 scoreline). It will point us to a dart at the correct scorelines in the hope of a trade at 1-0 and 2-0.

Walsall fans will be dancing in the streets of er Walsall, following the return of the brilliant Florent Cuvelier as a substitute against Colchester recently. This young midfielder is absolute dynamite, and dazzled me when watching him in the live TV game earlier in the season at Shrewsbury. All of the creative play goes through him.

The Saddlers gained their first win in 17 games on Saturday, but they had been playing fairly well before that, and as regular readers of this column know, I have been a fan of theirs and their young manager Dean Smith.

They played a 4-4-1-1 for the win against Colchester, and might have to accept with that formation, they will have to soak up a fair bit of pressure as the visitors, something that has been a problem this season for them with only two clean sheets in 21 games.

Recommended bets:

Back MK Dons to win 1-0 @ 7.0 and 2-0 @ 8.0

Stevenage Borough 2.98 v Coventry City 2.64, the draw 3.45

I always love a dig at Preston manager Graham Westley, so really enjoyed Coventry City boss Mark Robins and his cutting assessment of North End's tactics during Saturday's 1-1 draw. Robins said of his opposite number's long ball play: "they've got to watch that all the time, we've got to see it only once." I cannot wait for Westley's reaction.

Robins has done well since landing the job, and the Sky Blues are unbeaten in seven games and actually were looking quite resilient in that Preston match. However, they look better when they can get their passing game together and have scored quite a few goals on the road this term with four at Doncaster, five at Hartlepool and three against Colchester.

The men from the Ricoh have got a big weapon, and that is forward David McGoldrick who has hit 17 goals this term. I always tried to sign McGoldrick during my Football Manager phase, and it's good to know he is still doing the business. I once wasted an entire summer playing that game.

Coventry have won six of their last nine, whilst Opta stats highlight that Stevenage have gone four matches without a home win. In a strange twist, the hosts might try and make this a scrappy, abrasive sort of match-up - much like how Borough's former boss Graham Westley would have it.

Recommended bets:

Back 1-1 @ 8.0 and Coventry to win 1-2 @ 10.0

Lay Stevenage @ 2.98