We’re heading into February already – where does the time go? – which means we have just three months left of solid football punting this season….prior to the bonus ball that is the World Cup, of course.
There is still time for us to land some accas then, and we can move on from last week’s FA Cup attempt, where we simply trying to second-guess whether managers would field their strongest sides or not, and instead get to grips with a full league programme from across the continent.
Without further ado, here are this week’s football accumulator betting tips:
- Fulham v Nottingham Forest: Fulham to Win (4/6)
- Bristol Rovers vs Shrewsbury Town: Bristol Rovers/Draw Double Chance (1/2)
- Northampton Town vs Rochdale: Northampton/Draw Double Chance (9/20)
- Troyes vs Dijon: Troyes +0.00 Asian Handicap (3/4)
- FC Koln vs Borussia Dortmund: FC Koln +1.50 Asian Handicap (4/11)
- Acca Odds: 7.18/1
Fulham v Nottingham Forest: Fulham to Win
Fulham have been in rollicking form of late, winning five of their last six and netting 20 goals in that half-dozen.
There is a danger of following in-form teams ‘off a cliff’, in betting parlance, which basically means jumping on the bandwagon as it is about to be derailed.
But there is very little about this Nottingham Forest side to suggest that’s likely. They have failed to even find the net in five of their last six Championship games, and the expected turnaround under Aitor Karanka is yet to materialise.
Bristol Rovers vs Shrewsbury Town: Bristol Rovers/Draw Double Chance
There was a run of matches between mid-October and mid-December where Bristol Rovers lost eight out of eleven outings, but they appear to be back on the straight and narrow now and are six unbeaten (W3 D3 L0).
Unpopular opinion time: we don’t actually think that Shrewsbury are all that impressive.
Yes, they have done incredibly well to get up to third in League 1 and have over-achieved magnificently. But the underlying stats don’t quite add up: in 13 of their last 14 league games, they have either lost, drawn or won by a single goal.
Those aren’t the numbers we’d associate with an all-conquering outfit, so we can get behind the Bristol outfit with a modicum of confidence.
Northampton Town vs Rochdale: Northampton/Draw Double Chance
Northampton’s recent revival in League 1 continues. Three wins on the spin have been backed by a point at Ewood Park against a red-hot Blackburn outfit.
Yes, the hosts completely outplayed their guests, but the Cobblers showed plenty of character to stay in the game and fashion a late equaliser.
Rochdale have lost four on the spin in the league, conceding two goals in each. Their poor run was halted by a 2-2 draw at Millwall in the FA Cup on Saturday, and you do wonder if they will have one eye on next Tuesday’s replay over what is a relegation six-pointer in Northampton.
Troyes vs Dijon: Troyes +0.00 Asian Handicap
Troyes may be in the relegation places in Ligue 1, but their home form is well worth investigation. That reads W5 D2 L5, but crucially four of those defeats have been by a single goal.
That shows a level of comfortability on home soil that Dijon frankly don’t have on their travels.
The visitors have gone W1 D2 L8 on the road this term, conceding at a rate of nearly three per game, and we simply have to oppose them at any possible turn. This Dijon outfit simply don’t cut the mustard away from home.
FC Koln vs Borussia Dortmund: FC Koln +1.50 Asian Handicap
The transfer window can be a tough time for teams desperately trying to hang on to their best players, and at the time of writing it appears as if Borussia Dortmund are about to lose key frontman Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.
The prolific marksman has been having a medical at Arsenal, and the deal almost looks done.
How will they replace him? With great difficulty, you would think, and the loan capture of Michy Batshuayi won’t set the world on fire. Add in the injury to Andriy Yarmolenko and Dortmund suddenly look a whole bunch weaker.
We’re delighted to back Koln with essentially a two-goal headstart here then. They have been struggling with injuries all season, but seem to have found a way to cope. A four game unbeaten run (W3 D1 L0) should give them all the confidence they need.