We were a Arsenal goal away from betting Valhalla last week: the Gunners failure to net costing us a winning accumulator!
Rochdale vs Fleetwood was postponed due to an unplayable pitch, but our other three selections landed with gusto. Arsene Wenger’s decision to drop Alex Iwobi and/or Alexandre Lacazette frustrated both Arsenal fans and coupon-holders alike last weekend!
This week we’ve got the FA Cup fifth round to work with, plus a catalogue of league fixtures both on these shores and abroad. Can our football accumulator tips go one better?
- Huddersfield Town vs Manchester United: Huddersfield +2.50 Asian Handicap (1/4)
- Burton Albion vs Nottingham Forest: Under 2.5 Goals (8/13)
- Crawley Town vs Lincoln City: Crawley/Draw Double Chance (4/6)
- Freiburg vs Werder Bremen: Freiburg/Draw Double Chance (12/25)
- Amiens vs Toulouse: Toulouse/Draw Double Chance (8/15)
- Five-Fold Accumulator Pays at 6.57/1
Huddersfield Town vs Manchester United: Huddersfield +2.50 Asian Handicap
On the face of it, this looks to be an absolute gimme of a bet. Huddersfield will be given a two-goal headstart in our selection, and with Jose Mourinho expected to make wholesale changes to his United side the Terriers will fancy the job.
Next week Mourinho’s men travel to Sevilla on Wednesday for a key Champions League tie before taking on Chelsea on Sunday; a match the Portuguese gaffer will want to win for obvious reasons. This cup clash with Huddersfield is nothing more than an annoying distraction.
The Yorkshire outfit, meanwhile, must be buzzing this week after their 4-1 win over Bournemouth last time out, and of course they have already beaten United on home soil this term. How the Terriers would love a lengthy cup run….
Burton Albion vs Nottingham Forest: Under 2.5 Goals
We backed Under 2.5 Goals in Forest’s last match against Hull – they duly lost 0-2 – and the reasons for that pick remain relevant this week.
The Tricky Trees simply don’t score goals – they have failed to notch in seven of their last eight outings, and with Aitor Karanka’s conservative leadership we don’t expect a radical overhaul of those numbers any time soon.
Burton have a habit of conceding goals but they have also kept three clean sheets in their last seven, so it’s not all doom and gloom for the Brewers. The fact that two of those blanks came against defence-minded sides in Ipswich and Norwich suggests that another low-scoring contest can be expected here.
Crawley Town vs Lincoln City: Crawley/Draw Double Chance
Crawley’s incredible run of form continues. They have won seven of their last eight League Two encounters, and quite why the bookmakers have them pegged as a 2/1 shot on home soil is anybody’s guess.
Harry Kewell’s men have scored two or more goals in nine of their last fourteen outings, and that really does make them a dangerous proposition.
All of the stats suggest that Lincoln are far better at their Sincil Bank home than they are on the road: the fact they have won just 5/15 away matches, despite sitting eighth in League Two, is testament to that.
The Imps have won just one of their last six league matches, too.
Freiburg vs Werder Bremen: Freiburg/Draw Double Chance
There is a remarkable home team advantage in the German Bundesliga, and that is something we really must try to take advantage of.
Last week eight of the nine games played in this division ended in a home win, and we note that only three teams have taken 18 or more points on the road this season: eleven teams have achieved the feat on home soil.
One of those sides is Freiburg, who have been indecent nick since returning from the winter break. They have beaten Leipzig and drawn with quality operators in Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen.
The evidence suggests they should get something from their game with Werder Bremen then, who could be without both first choice keeper Jiri Pavlenka and his understudy Michael Zetterer through injury. They have won just 2/11 on the road this term as well.
Amiens vs Toulouse: Toulouse/Draw Double Chance
Amiens are well and truly locked in the relegation battle in Ligue 1 after suffering three straight defeats, and they must battle on despite the absence of a number of key players.
Top goalscorer Moussa Konate is suspended for this visit of Toulouse, and he is joined on the sidelines by injured attackers Lacina Traore, Serge Gapke and Quentin Cornette. Factor in the absence of key defenders Khaled Adenon and Bakaye Dibassy, and the hosts are really up against it here.
Toulouse are in the demotion dogfight too, but look at their last five results: they’ve beaten Troyes and Nice, drawn with Nantes and lost by a single goal to runaway leaders PSG and sixth-placed Montpellier. They really aren’t as bad as their billing suggests.