Well, that was a week to forget. Just 2/5 of our both teams to score betting tips landed last week, and while both were healthily priced at 8/13 it is, unfortunately, quantity AND quality that counts for BTTS punters.
All three legs that ‘failed’ did so because the away team didn’t find the net, and that really is rule one of BTTS backing: make sure that the visitors are up to the job of finding the net on foreign soil.
That is our key angle of attack this week, so who makes the grade in our BTTS betting tips?
- Stoke City vs West Brom: Both Teams to Score – No
- Derby County vs Millwall: Both Teams to Score – No
- Aston Villa vs Sheffield United: Both Teams to Score – No
- Rotherham United vs MK Dons: Both Teams to Score – Yes
- Rochdale vs Walsall: Both Teams to Score – Yes
Stoke City vs West Brom – No (4/5)
Yuck, yuck, yuck. With Christmas just 48 hours away at the point this game kicks off, the supporters of both of these teams may be wishing for a rather sparkling festive gift of a fixture to enjoy than this.
Mark Hughes has somehow clung on to his job this week, but be under no illusions Stoke are bang in trouble. They’ve lost five of their last six but, more importantly, for our intentions, scored just four in that half-dozen too. That suggests the fear of making a mistake – the bane of any attacking instinct – has beset his players.
And let’s face it: you know what you’re going to get with West Brom. Alan Pardew isn’t going to reinvent the wheel there, and with only one of the Baggies’ nine away outings delivering Over 2.5 goals (and 3/9 serving up BTTS) we know they are going to head to the Potteries with a clean sheet on their minds.
Derby County vs Millwall – No (5/6)
Here’s a little gem at a very tidy price. By hook or by crook, Derby have kept five clean sheets in their last six games; conceding just the solitary goal on the one occasion they were breached.
The shot data does not confirm overwhelmingly that they are rock solid at the back, but the basic facts cannot be changed: the Rams are in the habit of keeping their opponents at bay.
Here’s a fun fact: Millwall have scored 24 goals this season and 19 of those have come at the New Den.
Yep, that’s right, the Lions have netted just five times on their eleven away trips so far, failing to score in eight of those. That clearly is an indicator of how boss Neil Harris likes to set his side up on the road, and a lack of enterprise will not aid his side’s quest to break down a stubborn Derby backline.
Aston Villa vs Sheffield United – No (5/6)
After a bright resurgence, Aston Villa have scored just once in 270 minutes of Championship football. There was a sense that their fine run was unsustainable in the sense that winger Albert Adomah went on the kind of goalscoring run that he had never hinted at in his career before.
Now, with his goals dried up and Jonathan Kodjia out injured, the Villains are finding that putting the ball in the net can be difficult work.
Sheffield United are in free fall, losing four of their last five games after a bright start. That run has coincided with the injury to Paul Coutts, and again an anomalous run of scoring from Leon Clarke – who has never been the most prolific of strikers – appears to have come to an end.
Boss Chris Wilder appeared to try a change of tact last week to halt the run by adopting a more defensive outlook, and while the result wasn’t right – a 0-1 defeat at Preston – the nature of the performance hinted at improvement. So, expect another defence-minded performance from the Blades at Villa Park.
Rotherham United vs MK Dons – Yes (7/10)
Something is going wrong at Rotherham, who started the season in blistering fashion. Now, they’ve won just one of their last nine and conceded a whopping 19 goals in the process.
Still, BTTS has landed in all of those nine outings, so we have nothing to complain about!
Although their form of W1 D6 L2 doesn’t necessarily say so, MK Dons have been playing really well of late and from an attacking perspective they are really coming together.
After failing to score in their opening pair of matches this season, the Dons have gone on to net in 16 of their next 20.
Rochdale vs Walsall – Yes (4/5)
Prior to Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Oxford, both teams to score had landed in six of Rochdale’s last eight matches, with five of those breaching the 2.5 goal line. It’s fair to say that goals tend to follow the Dale around.
And even then, the goalless draw at the weekend came despite an Expected Goals count of 2.1-0.9 in Rochdale’s favour, and those numbers are hardly indicative of a borefest.
Summing up Walsall is easy: they have kept just two clean sheets all season, and et only failed to score four times in some 22 matches. Basically, they are prime BTTS candidates.