Peterborough United vs Cardiff City
FreeToday’s featured game is the Championship encounter between relegation battlers Peterborough United and promotion hopefuls Cardiff City. Hosts Peterborough United may still be lingering near the foot of the table but are at least looking more resilient with just two defeats in their last five games. Visitors Cardiff City are back on track after a dodgy patch and have now won three out of their last four games to affirm their status as promotion hopefuls.
As I mentioned in the above paragraph, Peterborough United aren’t losing as many games as they used but they’re still not winning many either with just one win in their last five games. Peterborough simply must start picking up points soon or they’re going to find themselves back in League One very soon. Peterborough know their main chances for points will come at home and they are going to have to attack. The problem is that Peterborough generally aren’t good enough to attack with precise incision and to hold it so they’re often exposed in defence, particularly by better sides. Peterborough have lost four out of their eleven home games this season, which is quite a good record really, but they’re unfortunately hosting a side today that I personally consider to be a class above them so I’ll be surprised if they’re able to take anything from this game, particularly as they’ll have to attack their Welsh opponents today.
Visitors Cardiff City are one of the best away sides in the Championship currently. They’ve won six out of eleven away games already and enter this encounter on the back of three wins from their last four games, granting them sizable momentum. Cardiff are averaging nearly two goals per away game and are frankly red-hot at the moment so it’s difficult to see them stumbling here. Cardiff are a class above Peterborough and there’s more than enough in their favour today to see them show it by taking three points.
Verdict – Cardiff City to win at 5/4.
Monday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Chelsea vs Fulham – lay Chelsea at 2/1.
Hosts Chelsea are now in a position that I’m sure they’d much rather not be in with the African Nations looming large with their four players that are participating having already been called up. Those four players are Essien, Drogba, Kalou, and Mikel Obi. I don’t rate Mikel Obi anyway but his loss as well as Essien’s means that Chelsea are going to have some real problems in the holding midfielder role. Chelsea tend to be hard to beat because sides are forced wide by them and Carvalho/Terry are quite happy to head the ball clear. However, Chelsea are now going to be exposed so it’ll be interesting to see how they deal with that issue.
The worst possible issue that could hit them after that would be the loss of ability to score goals because if you’re a big club then you need to score goals to compensate for defensive frailty. However, cue problem number two – no Drogba or Anelka for the next fortnight. Drogba will be away much longer than this, of course, but Anelka is injured. This leaves Chelsea with an extremely inexperienced and young attack with Daniel Sturridge being the most likely candidate to spearhead their attack. Nonetheless, they’re looking anything but potent with this attack and I can’t see them breaking down a tactically astute and tenacious Fulham side today, particularly with little momentum to speak of in recent times.
Visitors Fulham have put in some impressive displays this season, most notably their 3-0 demolition of Manchester United of late. Manchester United may have been facing a defensive crisis but it takes a very good manager to exploit them in such a convincing manner and it takes a very composed and confident side to take their chances in such a concise manner. I rate Roy Hodgson and his strong squad very highly indeed and feel that they’re more than capable of doing a job on Chelsea here today. Chelsea have struggled with Fulham in the past (like most of the big four ironically) and look extremely likely to struggle against them again.
Verdict: Lay Chelsea at 2/1.
Sheffield United vs Preston North End – home win at 5/6.
Sheffield United are enjoying their rejuvenated form of late by going on an eight-game unbeaten run and gained some very much needed points along the way. Sheffield United are now back in the running for promotion and their momentum is showing no sign of slowing down so I can only expect more from the Yorkshire-based outfit. Sheffield United haven’t been overly convincing at home this season but they do tend to score a lot of goals at Bramall Lane regardless with an average of just under two goals scored per home game. With the combination of this fact and Sheffield United’s strong momentum at the present time, you have to feel that they’re looking good for the win today.
However, the above isn’t enough for me to take the home win so cue the entrance of Preston North End! The visitors are a good side but are consistent in being highly inconsistent with that ability. They’ve lost two of their last five games and are struggling to find wins as their momentum has deserted them entirely. Preston have already lost five out of their eleven away games this season and have real issues scoring on the road. To make matters worse, Preston are one of the biggest conceders when playing away from home in the Championship so a potent Sheffield United side shouldn’t have any great difficulty in worsening Preston’s goal tally in this game.
Although I consider Sheffield United to be the better of these two sides, there’s still not much in it quality-wise. However, momentum and goalscoring both favour Sheffield United considerably so those two coupled with the home advantage should spell out value in the home win today.
Verdict: Sheffield United to win at 5/6.
Colchester United vs Southampton – home win at 5/4.
Colchester United are having a good season so far and you have to feel that they’re going to be one of the clubs that will be promoted this season back into the Championship. Their away form could be better but their home form is impeccable with eight wins in ten games, losing just once along the way. Colchester average scoring just under two goals per home game and are one of the lowest conceding sides in the division when playing at home with an average of less than a goal per game conceded. Colchester have won three of their last five games so take a lot of momentum into this game and their strong home advantage should give them a hefty advantage in today’s encounter.
Much like their hosts today, Southampton were also playing football in the Championship last season but were relegated to League One. Southampton’s plight has been a tad more unfortunate with large financial issues so I can only respect the way that they’ve emerged from their crisis. I feared Southampton may be relegated again if they didn’t pick themselves up due to their points deduction at the start of the season. However, a tremendous run over the past month or two has seen them rocket up the table and even gives them a potential chance of sneaking a cheeky play-off place! There’s no doubt that Southampton have the ability to do so, so why not? They were brought back down to earth by losing in their last away game at Leeds United and I expect something similar. Southampton are better than the majority of the sides in this division but Colchester United are not a side that I would personally put in this bracket so I feel Southampton may struggle today.
Although there’s not much quality difference between the two sides, Colchester’s momentum and strong home advantage should prove too much for the south-coast side.
Verdict: Colchester United to win at 5/4.
Exeter City vs Gillingham – home win at evens.
Newly-promoted Exeter City have battled valiantly this season to avoid relegation and I personally think that they’re doing a good job. Few sides have won at Exeter this season – just two, in fact – and the Devon-dwellers enjoy making life hard for other sides. Their win in their last home game with Southend United will have given the hosts some momentum which is all a tenacious little club like Exeter need to get themselves going so expect a good battle in this game today! Exeter are one of the lower-conceding sides at home in League One with their problem largely being scoring enough goals to take advantage of this bounty. Nonetheless, Exeter are well-placed to give this game a real go and I’d expect nothing less from them.
Naturally, the above isn’t enough for a stone-wall home win which is why I’m happy to introduce Gillingham to this bet, who are definitively the worst away side in League One. They’ve already lost ten out of eleven away games this season and only managed to draw the other game. They average scoring less than a goal per game away from home but concede a staggering 2.5 goals per away game. With this kind of record, you have to feel that a home win against Gillingham for anyone is a realistic proposition, let alone a determined Exeter City side!
With the above in mind, I think there’s some real value in the home win for Exeter today.
Verdict: Exeter City to win at evens.
As ever, if there are any questions/explanations required then feel free to post a comment! For the complete picks listing, see below!
English Premier League:
Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United (8) 2-0
Blackburn Rovers vs Sunderland (6) 1-1
Chelsea vs Fulham (5) 1-1
Everton vs Burnley (8) 2-0
Stoke City vs Birmingham City (7) 0-0
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Manchester City (6) 1-2
English Championship:
Barnsley vs Middlesbrough (6)
Blackpool vs Sheffield Wednesday (7)
Bristol City vs Watford (6)
Doncaster Rovers vs Leicester City (7)
Ipswich Town vs Queens Park Rangers (5)
Nottingham Forest vs Coventry City (8)
Peterborough United vs Cardiff City (8)
Plymouth Argyle vs Reading (6)
Scunthorpe United vs West Bromwich Albion (6)
Sheffield United vs Preston North End (7)
Swansea City vs Crystal Palace (7)
Newcastle United vs Derby County (8)
English League One:
Stockport County vs Leeds United (9)
Brentford vs Charlton Athletic (7)
Colchester United vs Southampton (7)
Exeter City vs Gillingham (6)
Hartlepool United vs Oldham Athletic (5)
Huddersfield Town vs Milton Keynes Dons (8) over 2.5 goals
Leyton Orient vs Southend United (7)
Millwall vs Bristol Rovers (7)
Swindon Town vs Yeovil Town (8)
Tranmere Rovers vs Carlisle United (7)
Walsall vs Norwich City (6)
Wycombe Wanderers vs Brighton & Hove Albion (8)
English League Two:
Chesterfield vs Rotherham United (5)
Barnet vs Northampton Town (4)
Bournemouth vs Torquay United (7)
Bradford City vs Shrewsbury Town (6)
Burton Albion vs Notts County (6)
Dagenham & Redbridge vs Cheltenham Town (7)
Darlington vs Lincoln City (7)
Grimsby Town vs Port Vale (8)
Hereford United vs Aldershot Town (6)
Macclesfield Town vs Crewe Alexandra (6)
Rochdale vs Morecambe (7) under 2.5 goals
Enjoy your free betting tips!