League Two Betting: Fleetwood to rock Wilder's men

12Feb 2013

Betfair

Oxford United have thrown away their promotion hopes after their form tailed off in January. Fleetwood, however, are right back in the hunt for a top three spot, says Ian Lamont, who favours a midweek away win or two.

Oxford 2.64 Fleetwood 2.96 Draw 3.4

Jon Parkin scored his sixth goal in five games for Fleetwood in the 1-0 win at Torquay. He will be looking for another as the Cod Army seek to leap into an automatic promotion spot that has changed hands with startling regularity this season. Fleetwood actually occupied it before the FA Cup defeat that precipitated Micky Mellon's sacking. The new manager Graham Alexander has suffered only two defeats in his 10-game reign, but won just four times. He will fully expect this to reap another three points, for several reasons, not least that Chris Wilder's men were seen off 3-0 just a few weeks ago.

The hosts' poor form gives rise for more optimism about an away win. After a cracking run until early January, Oxford have earned just one point from four games in which they have only scored once. Wilder talks of mistakes being punished, but that is all that counts even if you dominate games, as he claims. Their chances of even reaching the play-offs now seem slim. Back the team with more at stake.

Recommended Bet

Back Fleetwood @ 2.96

Wycombe 2.68 Bradford 2.9 Draw 3.4

Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth might insist he is not looking at the play-offs, but he does admit that the dressing room are not looking down the table any more. The optimism was apparent with a 4-0 bashing of York, giving a third straight win and no defeats in five. Dean Morgan, often the supplier, even boosted his goals tally, albeit from the penalty spot. Joel Grant makes the just as important assessment that the Chairboys' good form in defence has given their attackers confidence. A seventh clean sheet in 12 suggests Wycombe can approach this match with great confidence.

Bradford, meanwhile, continue to be the team that the layers don't seem to dare make a long price. With only one point from six games, Phil Parkinson's men are not to be backed at present, distracted and exhausted as they must be by their League Cup exploits. The Bantams' boss was aggrieved to have suffered defeat to Gillingham at the weekend. The last thing they probably want at the moment is a long midweek away trip - to one of the division's in-form teams - despite Parkinson's protestations that they are better than their mid-table predicament. A 'cheap goal'when losing 1-0 to the Gills did not help the manager's mood as he seeks to gain points from "...two Cup Finals before THE Cup Final".

Recommended Bet:

Back Wycombe @ 2.68

York 3.65 Gillingham 2.2 Draw 3.4

Gillingham must be relieved to have another away match. Struggling for form at home, they have now equalled the club record for away wins in a season and Martin Allen is determined to smash it. The Kent side, with Doncaster, also therefore have the best away record in England. There would seem to be every chance to extending it, having nudged victory at Bradford on Saturday, because their hosts are as equally out of form as the Bantams. York have three points from six games, something which must be leaving Gary Mills' side looking over their shoulders as teams below them keep picking up points.

Mills believes the dressing room has the ability to stick together "to get us out of this mess" but, after shipping four goals in each of the last two games, the defence will not want to see Cody McDonald, who has three goals in four games for the visitors, who look the better bet.

Recommended Bet:

Back Gillingham @ 2.2

Morecambe 2.3 Aldershot 3.55 Draw 3.4

This is Aldershot's 'get out of jail' card, their game in hand, and boy do they need it after falling to second bottom again. They should have done better against Plymouth, because they have the best record of the bottom six against each other. They face a pretty stiff task of defeating the Shrimps on their own turf - and they don't have Exeter's cracking away record to give them masses of hope. The Grecians defeated Morecambe 3-0 on Saturday, inflicting their first home defeat since September. At home, Morecambe have three draws (including two 0-0s), a win and a defeat in five, a statistic that surely gives Dean Holdsworth hope of a draw. A repeat of 0-0 is third favourite correct score at 9.2 while 1.7 for under 2.5 goals seems pretty certain.

Recommended Bet:

Back under 2.5 goals @ 1.7