Preston v MK Dons

Milton Keynes’ fans must be wondering what they have got to do to earn promotion to the Championship having lost out in the play-offs in three of the last four seasons.

The simple answer is to finish in the top two and that is the challenge for Karl Robinson and his men this term.

And they have made a decent start to proceedings with five wins and two draws from their first nine games to sit in fifth place in the table.

They are currently eight points behind table-topping Tranmere but it is open to question whether the Birkenhead club will sustain its challenge throughout the ten months of action.

Home form has been excellent for the Buckinghamshire outfit but they have struggled on their travels with just five points away from Stadium MK to date and they will want to put that right at Deepdale.

But Preston are no mugs at home with 10 points from their five home games this season and this one has the makings of a tight encounter in Lancashire, with the clubs locked together in the market.

The Dons have drawn their last two league fixtures while Preston beat Doncaster away from home before losing to Oldham on their travels and they will happy to be back on home soil on Sunday.

Shane Cansdell-Sherriff should return to the Preston defence after missing the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win over Morecambe through suspension, while Akpo Sodje has been tipped to return to the starting line-up after his brace in the Morecambe victory.

MK Dons will have to do without defensive duo Gary MacKenzie, who has undergone hip surgery, and Anthony Kay., who is suspended, while Mathias Doumbe could be in line to make his first start of the season in defence.

Preston are the league’s joint-top scorers at home and so it seems as though Milton Keynes may have to add to their tally of six away goals if they want to come away from the north west with anything this weekend.

Odds: Preston & MK Dons 13/8, draw 23/10

Shrewsbury v Walsall

While Walsall are comfortably tucked away in mid-table the Shrews are in dire need of points as they are hovering dangerously close to the drop zone.

It is true that there are still plenty of games to go but by now the pattern of the season is usually set and it could be a continuing struggle for Graham Turner to keep his side out of the bottom four.

Seven points from a possible 15 at home is not great but by no means a disaster, however it is the club’s form away from New Meadow that is giving cause for concern.

Turner has seen his charges pick up just three points on the road and, while they have managed to secure three draws, it is victories that will guide a team towards safety.

Therefore every home game is vital and they welcome the west Midlanders to Shropshire having not tasted victory since the 4-1 home triumph over Coventry back on September 18.

Two draws and two defeats have followed and it is inevitable that the fans will start to become worried if things do not change sooner rather than later.

And the last team they would want to visit are the away-day specialists from Walsall, who have already taken 10 points from five games on their travels this term.

Had their home form been stronger then Dean Smith’s side could easily have been in the top six by now but they are 11th – just two points short of a play-off place.

But they are not in the best of form heading into the weekend clash having suffered back-to-back home losses in their last two outings while beating Bournemouth on the south coast on September 29.

It could be argued that they will be pleased to get away from the Banks’s Stadium for this one and the Saddlers have a fully-fit squad to choose from, save for Will Grigg, who is on World Cup duty with Northern Ireland.

Shrewsbury will be without injured strikers Terry Gornell and Sam Winnall and it may be that Paul Parry continues up front alongside top scorer Marvin Morgan.

While defeat would not be a disaster for the home side, they will need to get things going quickly and will have to be on their guard against a Walsall side who have made a habit of winning close games away from home.

Odds: Shrewsbury 5/4, Walsall 11/5, draw 23/10

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Simon Grayson takes his Terriers to Stadium MK in a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday for a game which will bring together two sides who were separated by just one place and one point in the final league table.

The fact Huddersfield took forth spot means they will have home advantage in the second leg, so the emphasis is on picking up a result to take back to West Yorkshire on Tuesday.

Huddersfield are no strangers to the end-of-season lottery, having won promotion via this route in 1995 and 2004 respectively, while this is their third successive attempt to reach the Championship.

They travel south in good form against MK Dons having not lost to them in seven matches stretching back to August 2008, with six wins and two draws from their 12 League One encounters.

Grayson, who has pedigree in the play-offs having been a winner as a player with Leicester in 1994 and 1996, and then took Blackpool up to the Championship in 2007, will have the League One’s prolific top scorer Jordan Rhodes (15/2 – 2 Or More Match Goalscorer) back in the side after he was rested for the final two matches.

Lee Novak or Kallum Higginbotham will miss out, while fellow striker Alan Lee is back in contention after shaking off a knee injury.

MK Dons boss Karl Robinson is looking to lead the club to the Championship for the first time since the change from Wimbledon back in 2004.

His side were looking set to go into the play-offs on a real high, but a final-day defeat against Walsall scuppered their hopes of making it five successive wins.

The Dons are also in their second successive play-off bid and have lost all three they have been involved in so far at the semi-final stage, so the omens are not good.

Defender Gary MacKenzie could be back following an illness, while Alan Smith (10/1 – First Goalscorer), who is on loan from Newcastle, is set to retain his place behind a front two of Dean Bowditch and Charlie MacDonald.

Nothing could divide the sides in the two regular season fixtures as they both ended 1-1, but Huddersfield may have the slight edge and take a slender lead back home for the second leg.

Prediction: Huddersfield Away 90 Minutes @ 23/10.

Value Bet: Huddersfield To Win 2-1 Correct Score @ 11/1.

League Two

Southend United must pick themselves up at Gresty Road in the 5.30pm kick-off after narrowly missing out on automatic promotion last Saturday when Crawley Town snatched third place by just a point.

The Shrimpers finished three places and 11 points better off than rivals Crewe, while their final day 2-0 win against Macclesfield at Roots Hall meant they ended the campaign on a great run of four wins, a draw and five successive clean sheets.

They also have history on their side with 13 promotions via the play-offs which makes them the most successful side to be promoted via this route.

Boss Paul Sturrock has a near fully-fit squad to choose from, so will head north optimistic that his players can take their good run of form into the match.

Crewe will be no pushovers, though, as they ended the regular season on the back of a 16-match unbeaten run – seven wins and nine draws – which was enough to snatch the seventh and final play-off spot.

Ironically Alex’s last defeat was against Saturday’s opponent’s Southend as the versatile Bilel Mohsni (10/1 – 2 or More Match Goalscorer) scored the only goal at Roots Hall on February 18 to add to the brace he scored in the Shrimpers’ 3-1 win at Gresty Road in October.

Boss Steve Davis‘ hopes of gaining revenge for being doubled in the season will not be helped if skipper Dave Artell does not shake off a foot injury suffered in training.

But Ashley Westwood has not suffered any setbacks to his foot injury and is in line to feature as Crewe aim to improve on just one successful promotion in five previous attempts in the play-offs.

However, looking at the statistics, Southend were unfortunate to go up automatically and coupled with their excellent run of form, they should have too much for Crewe and come out on top in this one.

Prediction: Southend Away 90 Minutes @ 7/4.

Value Bet: Southend To Win 2-0 Correct Score @ 12/1.

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St Johnstone

Saints were not at the races on Saturday, as third place Motherwell showed why they are the side chasing down Rangers and Celtic in the Scottish Premier League this season.

Manager Steve Lomas blamed his side’s lack of focus for the heavy home defeat last weekend but has highlighted the Tuesday night game against Aberdeen as a great opportunity to get their domestic campaign back on track.

Saints are now seven points off Motherwell in the table but will be able to narrow the gap if they can get a win over a struggling Aberdeen outfit.

Francisco Sandaza (9/2 first goalscorer) has been a dangerman for the Perth side, scoring six goals in the SPL so far this season.

The 27-year-old Spaniard, has notched up eight goals in all competitions and the visitors will have to be wary of the former Brighton striker on Tuesday night.

As for the Dons the alarm bells will be ringing among their fans as they continue to search for that elusive win.

Aberdeen are level on points with bottom of the table Dunfermline, after failing to secure a victory in their last six games.

Pressure is starting to mount on former Scotland manager Craig Brown, who could be forgiven for wondering why he left high-flying Motherwell in a controversial move last season.

The club’s problems have really started from the back as they have only kept one clean sheet in their last 11 outings in all competitions.

They will need to start tightening things up in defence if they want to start climbing the table north of the border and avoid a battle at the bottom with the likes of Dunfermline, Hibernian and Inverness CT.

Aberdeen do have threats of their own upfront, with New Zealander Rory Fallon (8/1 first goalscorer) and Englishman Scott Vernon both having the ability to unlock defences and they may well fancy their chances against a side who shipped in three goals on the weekend.

Both teams will be desperate to pick up the three points for different reasons as they compete at different ends of the SPL table.

Despite being outclassed in their last outing Lomas should get his side fully focused on this game on Tuesday and it’s hard to see the home team not beating the lacklustre Dons, who may need to look in the January transfer market if they are to get themselves out of trouble this season.

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Posh might consider themselves a little lucky to still be in the tie following Sunday’s 3-2 defeat at Stadium:MK, with Grant McCann’s late penalty ensuring the Dons advantage is a slender one going into the return leg.

Darren Ferguson’s men were second best for much of the match but they have been a different beast at London Road and look set to justify 4/5 favouritism in the match betting, with MK Dons priced at 16/5 and the draw at 11/4.

A draw is of course good enough to take Karl Robinson’s men through to Old Trafford so the onus is on Peterborough to attack – and attack they will.

Posh have smashed in an unbelievable league-high 69 goals at this home this season, losing just three League One games at London Road, although they were also beaten by Championship side Swansea in the Carling Cup.

Ferguson’s side do also ‘boast’ the league’s worst home defence after shipping in 40 goals so spectators look set to be treated to another goal-fest.

Although Thursday’s game may not be a repeat of the weekend’s five-goal thriller, goalkeepers look set to be in for a busy night with over 2.5 goals priced up at 8/13, while 4 or more goals is available at 7/4.

Given Posh’s record, backing them at 9/5 to score in both halves is worthy of consideration, as is a Peterborough win on the handicap (-1) at 21/10 with a one-goal victory only good enough to take the tie into extra time.

Craig Mackhail-Smith has been on fire this term, scoring his 33rd goal of the campaign in Sunday’s defeat, and he has got to be looked at in the goalscoring markets (3/1 First/Last, 2/3 Anytime).

However, an MK Dons goal cannot be ruled out – the Dons lost 2-1 in the league fixture at London Road – but anyone looking to back a clean sheet (Peterborough 5/4, MK Dons 16/5) has obviously got money to burn.

Joe Lewis has been ruled out of whatever remains of the Peterborough season after suffering a fractured knee-cap at the weekend, meaning Ferguson will have to turn to Paul Jones in goal.

Charlie Lee of course is also absent after being sent off in the first leg so Grant Basey or Tommy Rowe will deputise at left-back.

MK Dons have been boosted by the news that Stephen Gleeson’s red card – given for the foul that led to the penalty on Sunday – has been rescinded by the FA, while defender Gabby Zakuani and winger Luke Chadwick look set to play after shoulder and arm injuries respectively.

The Dons of course have the edge going into the match but that could work in Peterborough’s favour and they look to have the firepower to get the win to secure a trip to Old Trafford on May 29th, much to the delight of one of the game’s greatest – Sir Alex Ferguson, a more than interested observer.

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