Championship
Fixture: Leicester 2-1 Blackpool
Venue: Walkers Stadium (Leicester home)
Kick-off: 3pm BST
Verdict: It's been a tough old Premier League so far this season, with only perhaps Newcastle, Middlesbrough and West Brom showing any consistent form. Leicester, though, have been a tough nut to crack and could have gone top last week when they played at Newcastle. Tough gig, and they succumbed to a wonder strike. But they are in good spirits and should put Blackpool to one side on Saturday.
Ian Holloway is doing a good job in getting his rag-tag bag of players working together. Anyone who works for Holloway says he is a wonder to work for. But they have lost Gary Taylor-Fletcher to an ankle injury and that will be a real blow in a small squad that has overachieved so far.
Betting Advice: 3pts Leicester to win at 10/11 (1.91 at Coral)
League One
Fixture: Huddersfield 0-0 Brentford
Venue: Galparm Stadium (Huddersfield home)
Kick-off: 3pm BST
Verdict: Huddersfield showed why they are live champion contenders with a 3-2 win against fellow highflyers MK Dons away from home last week. They are back at home this week and should beat a Brentford side who tasted defeat for the first time this season in the league against leaders Charlton last week.
Betting Advice: 2pts Huddersfield to win at 4/5 (1.8 at Skybet)
Fixture: Tranmere 2-3 Walsall
Venue: Prenton Park (Tranmere home)
Kick-off: 3pm BST
Verdict: Sometimes the bookies really mystify me, I mean they have me smacking my head and thinking, "how do they manage to make countless millions on football betting every Saturday?". This game is one of those moments. I mean, anyone who has been unfortunate to watch Walsall over the last few weeks will tell you that they have looked more likely to spontaneously combust than score a goal. Meanwhile, John Barnes's Tranmere are having real problems keeping the goals out, which is why the bookies are offering very generous odds (about the 4/5 mark) for less than 2.5 goals. However, their calculation is based on the 4-0 drubbing at Charlton and the 3-0 defeat to Carlisle last week. We can forgive Tranmere for both because Charlton are streets ahead in this league, while they had a players sent off at 0-0 against Carlisle.
Plus, their problem is the basics things like passing to each other which are easily eradicated over time. Barnes got Jamaica to cut out that part of their game, Tranmere should be no problem.
A 1-0 defeat in between against MK Dons is more indicative of Tranmere's true form. With Walsall rarely likely to threaten, this has 0-0 written all over it. Stupid, stupid bookies.
Betting Advice: 6pts less than 2.5 goals (1.8 at Skybet)
League Two
Fixture: Grimsby 1-0 Hereford
Venue: Blundell Park (Grimsby home)
Kick-off: 3pm BST
Verdict: We visit Grimsby for the second time in a week, but this time we are not predicting the calamitous kind of performance they put out against Port Vale last weekend. Grimsby on paper are a much better side than the one that performed so abjectly last season. They have Mike Newell in charge and he is a solid manager with a knowledge of the industry that should keep Grimsby on the right side of the relegation equation. However, their problem has been leaking silly goals which will be their priority to avoid this weekend.
They are lucky in the respect that they are visited by a Hereford side themselves keen to get rid of the silly season that has enveloped the club two goals in the last six minutes denied them a deserved away win last week. However, they have been hit by the flu bug, so you would imagine both side would be very happy with a 0-0 draw in this one. And live to fight another day.
Betting Advice: 1pt Grimsby to win at 17/10 (2.7 at Bet365); 3pts less than 2.5 goals at 4/5 (1.8 generally)
