The Accumulator: West Ham vs Nottingham Forest and eight other Football League fixtures that could see you win big this weekend
Goal.com previews all the action on offer from the coming round of Championship, League One and League Two matches
20 Jan 2012 12:07:00
By Jim Knight and Richard Parry
 FIRST BET |
CHAMPIONSHIP |
| Cardiff City |
VS
|
Portsmouth |
| Forecast: |
HOME WIN
|
| Coventry |
VS
|
Middlesbrough |
| Forecast: |
AWAY WIN
|
| West Ham |
VS
|
Nottingham Forest |
| Forecast: |
HOME WIN
|
| YOUR BET RETURNS... |
| £1 BET COLLECTS £6.00 |
£5 BET COLLECTS £30.00 |
£10 BET COLLECTS £60.00 |
Cardiff sit four points off leaders Southampton ahead of this weekend, and after three consecutive games away from home they will be glad to be back on their own turf. While the Bluebirds have had trouble on their travels their home record is excellent. Four wins in their last five home games speaks volumes and they host a Portsmouth side who also don't travel well, losing three of their last five on the road. Cardiff should have enough to claim a win.
After a couple of wins over Christmas, Coventry have returned to the familiar pattern of losing games, and after three consecutive losses now sit bottom of the Championship four points adrift of Doncaster in 23rd. Middlesbrough were beaten by Burnley last time out but have won three of their last five away games and should have enough to see off the Sky Blues and keep up the pressure on the top two.
West Ham are now joint top with Southampton and a home game against struggling Nottingham Forest is the perfect opportunity to add more momentum to their promotion charge. The hosts have won three of the last four at Upton Park and recorded back-to-back clean sheets against Barnsley and Coventry. That is a statistic that bodes badly for Forest; they were thumped 4-0 in midweek by Leicester and have now only scored in one of their last 11. The visitors look despondent and expect West Ham to take full advantage.
|
|
|
SECOND BET |
LEAGUE ONE |
| Sheffield Wednesday |
VS
|
Hartlepool |
| Forecast: |
HOME WIN
|
| Carlisle |
VS
|
Walsall |
| Forecast: |
HOME WIN
|
| Scunthorpe |
VS
|
Stevenage |
| Forecast: |
AWAY WIN
|
| YOUR BET RETURNS... |
| £1 BET COLLECTS £6.50 |
£5 BET COLLECTS £32.50 |
£10 BET COLLECTS £65.00 |
Wednesday suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against League One leaders Charlton in their last game but have a good opportunity to bounce back against an inconsistent Hartlepool. The Monkey Hangers have been beaten by Sheffield United and Brentford in recent away games. Gary Megson's side sit fourth and have a game in hand over the two teams above them, and with three wins in their last five at home they will be confident of another victory.
Carlisle's game against in-form MK Dons was postponed last weekend so they should be well rested ahead of the visit of Walsall. The home side are looking to extend their winning run to three games and they are unbeaten in six games. Walsall are without a win in four and are perched on the edge of the relegation zone in League One. Carlisle have been free scoring lately with 13 goals in their last five and Walsall, who've only scored three in their last five away from home, could struggle to contain them.
Scunthorpe have really struggled at home in recent games, only a draw against rock-bottom Chesterfield stopped a run of four consecutive losses at Glanford Park. Meanwhile Stevenage, despite losing their manager Graham Westley before their last game, recorded a resounding 5-1 win against Rochdale. Stevenage are well drilled and despite Westley's departure his training methods and work ethic are clearly instilled in the side and the visitors are more than capable of making it five straight wins.
|
|
|
THIRD BET |
LEAGUE TWO |
| Aldershot |
VS
|
Accrington |
| Forecast: |
AWAY WIN
|
| Cheltenham |
VS
|
Bristol Rovers |
| Forecast: |
HOME WIN
|
| Swindon |
VS
|
Macclesfield |
| Forecast: |
HOME WIN
|
| YOUR BET RETURNS... |
| £1 BET COLLECTS £6.50 |
£5 BET COLLECTS £32.50 |
£10 BET COLLECTS £65.00 |
After a decent start to the campaign Aldershot have gone into freefall of late, losing four of their last five games and failing to find the net in any of those matches. Accrington lost to Barnet in their last game but they have a good away record winning three of the last four and against opposition in such a bad run of form they will expect to get back to winning ways.
An FA Cup defeat at the hands of Tottenham did nothing to dent the confidence of Cheltenham who recorded a third straight league win over Aldershot last week. They have won four of their last five at home and didn't concede in any of those. Bristol Rovers have appointed Mark McGhee as manager this week, the former Leicester and Wolves boss has the unenviable task of improving Rovers league form which has seen them drop to 18th and just six points off the drop zone. Cheltenham look unstoppable at the moment and should see off the visitors.
Paolo Di Canio has enjoyed some great moments in charge of Swindon already, the Robins saw off Premier League Wigan in the FA Cup, are fourth in the table and haven't conceded at home in the league since 8th October 2011. This weekend they face a Macclesfield side who played on Wednesday night away against Bolton and have lost their last four on the road in the league, scoring just once. Ahead of their FA Cup tie with Leicester City, Swindon should get another league victory in this game.
|
THE |
ACCUMULATOR |
| CHAMPIONSHIP |
ODDS |
| LEAGUE ONE |
ODDS |
| LEAGUE TWO |
ODDS |
| TOTAL ODDS |
| YOUR BET RETURNS... |
| £1 BET COLLECTS £241 |
£5 BET COLLECTS £1205 |
£10 BET COLLECTS £2410 |
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