Midweek League One Betting: Yeovil continue to make a splash

5Feb 2013

Betfair

With a host of midweek League One matches on Tuesday evening, Alan Dudman returns to sing the praises (again) of Yeovil Town and Paddy Madden - who face a side without a manager - Oldham. Elsewhere, Swindon boss Paolo Di Canio is considering his future, but his side are still good for a trade or two.

Oldham Athletic 2.62 v Yeovil Town 2.88, the draw 3.60

Oldham are seeking a new manager, after Paul Dickov quit on Saturday following the 3-1 defeat at Walsall. Reports suggest there are 25 to 30 applicants for the post, with Latics chairman Simon Corney saying "the phone's been ringing off the hook."

Maybe Corney will say to the potential new boss that the budget will be fairly small? Which was the size of the task that Dickov faced during his two-and-a-half year spell at Boundary Park. He should be finding work soon, whilst early suggestions in the local media for his replacement range from Paul Jewell to Iain Dowie. Watch this space.

The Latics are in a bad trot in the league, they have lost their last eight games and have been beaten on home soil in their last four. Saturday's loss at the Saddlers highlighted exactly what I mentioned in this column before that match. Their desire and intensity was far removed from how they were flying in to their challenges against Liverpool during the FA Cup clash.

On the plus side, forward signings of Chris Iwelumo and Lee Barnard are very good. Barnard scored at the weekend, and Iwelumo was leading the line superbly. For Tuesday's game, youth team coach Tony Philliskirk will take charge.

Yeovil are the complete opposite to Oldham at the moment, and their league form is red-hot. They are within touching distance of the play-off places following a remarkable run of five straight wins, including Saturday's 3-0 beating of Brentford. Glovers boss Gary Johnson has a settled side, that play a 4-4-2, with a strong back four, creative midfield, and a striker that is scoring goals.

I promise not to make this the Paddy Madden love-in, but the 22-year-old bagged his 15th of the season during the Brentford win, and Yeovil have the most in-form striker in the division. The visitors have also been decent on their travels recently - with wins at Sheffield United and Portsmouth.

Johnson's team have a confidence and swagger about them, and if this fast improving side replicate their current performances, then they should win this.

Recommended bets:

Back Yeovil @ 2.88

Back over 2.5 goals @ 2.0

Scunthorpe United 1.61 v Portsmouth 6.60, the draw 4.30

The situation remains bleak at Fratton Park, and Portsmouth are going from bad to worse on the pitch. They have lost all of their last seven games, including Saturday's 3-2 home defeat against Colchester. They are now second from bottom in League One and it's more a case of will they win again this season, rather than win this Tuesday.

That defeat at the weekend highlighted a mad five minutes of defending. Sam Sodje came in to the side for his first start in nine months and it showed. He was very rusty, and playing in a team with no confidence didn't help. Manager Guy Whittingham blasted the lack of commitment, on the ball and in a tackle. The midfield weren't picking up runners either.

A positive note was the second-half performance of Liam Walker, but some of the young players will suffer in the situation of playing in a constantly losing team. Pompey have injury doubts about Ricardo Rocha (ankle) and David Connolly (hamstring), whilst the home team should have leader Paul Reid fit following a knock on Saturday.

Scunthorpe are only a place above Portsmouth in the table but they have enjoyed a fairly solid start to 2013. Their weekend 1-0 loss at Crewe saw them squander a host of chances and they deserved far more from the game. Like so many teams in the division, they don't make the most of the opportunities created. Their commitment was not in question on Saturday, as the Iron worked really hard, it was just a problem that all the chances fell to the profligate Akpo Sodje.

Scunny boss Brian Laws has mentioned the Achilles heel of the home form at Glandford Park, winning just once all season. However, they look OK at the back, have been going in the right direction since the turn of the year, and at least the midfield have been creating chances for Sodje. Hopefully all that should bode well for a good solid performance.

Recommended bets:

Back Scunthorpe to win 1-0 @ 9.0 and 2-0 @ 10.0

Colchester United 4.20 v Swindon Town 2.0, the draw 3.70

Swindon boss Paolo Di Canio is reportedly considering his future with the club, although refused to comment on the speculation at the weekend, following the 1-1 draw at Crawley. The Italian issued a statement on Friday night, but there are clearly off-the-field issues to be sorted at the club, hot on the heels of the takeover at the County Ground.

The Robins weren't brilliant at the weekend for the live Sky game, so dull was the match, at one point I considered hopping channels to see how Linda Barker was doing in the much maligned ITV show 'Splash'. There was no spark at all during the game - unlike Barker, who was a big surprise at the aquatics.

Swindon might not have played very well a couple of days ago, but again their defence was the standout. They have conceded just three times in their last 10 games, which again will prove a good guide to a few bets.

Although Colchester were 3-2 winners at Portsmouth on Saturday, I am more interested in their approach to the clash two starts back against Walsall. The U's were the home team, yet played like an away one. Manager Joe Dunne changed the formation to a 4-5-1 and played Jabo Ibehre up front by himself, whilst using a holding midfielder to protect the back four. It worked, as it was a poor affair (just what Dunne wanted), and Colchester nabbed two late goals to secure victory.

I think the home team will set up with a similar game plan here. They will be very tight in the first-half, and try to hit Swindon on the break. The first 45 minutes should see two organised teams perhaps not over-committing. So it's worth a go at trading In-Play to the break, using several darts at under 2.5 goals, under 1.5 goals, and 0-0 correct score.

Recommended bets:

Back under 2.5 goals @ 1.80

Back under 1.5 goals @ 3.40

Back 0-0 @ 11.0