This weekend I’ve bypassed the top couple of divisions in favour of a couple of betting gems that I’ve found in the lower echelons of the English leagues.
As always, my bets revolve around goals, or lack of them, and I’m pretty confident I’ll be getting a nice return from these bets this afternoon. It’s also worth noting that if you back both selections to level stakes, just 1 winner is required to make a profit.
Here are my tips for Saturday:
Sheffield United v Preston 3.00pm
BET: Preston over 1.5 team goals – 7/4
Preston are unbeaten in League 1 so far this term and are riding the crest of a wave. They’ve scored at least 2 goals in their last 5 consecutive games, winning their last 3 and conceding just 1 goal in the process.
The visitors confidence will be sky high for their visit to Bramall Lane, and although it is normally a notoriously hard place to get points from, Sheffield United have been poor so far this season, and have collected just 4 points from their 7 games played.
The Blades have tried to strengthen up front with the signings of striker Marlon King and winger Ryan Hall, and I can see this clash being an entertaining game with the possibility of quite a few goals. Preston won’t approach this game defensively, and I feel the 7/4 about them scoring 2 goals or more is great value.
Mansfield v Northampton 3.00pm
BET: Mansfield clean sheet – 8/5 Ladbrokes
Mansfield have performed well since their promotion from the Conference, and are unbeaten at home in their 3 games played there (0-0 v Exeter, 2-2 v Portsmouth, 3-0 v Dagenham) and face a Northampton team that have picked up just 4 points so far this season and are languishing down in 22nd position in League 2.
More to the point, Northampton have failed to score a single goal on their travels this season. That’s 5 games and 450 minutes of football without hitting the net.
Mansfield are a big, physical, spoiling team and I can’t see them giving Northampton too many opportunities today. I was pretty shocked when I saw that 8/5 was available for a home clean sheet and advise quite a confident bet on it.
