With the Euro 2012 qualifiers taking centre-stage this weekend there are no Premier League or Championship games to look forward to, but fear not – there is a full League One and League Two programme with six fixtures from the two respective leagues taking place on Friday night.
Peterborough United could well be on course for an immediate return to the Championship and the Posh are just two points adrift of an automatic promotion spot with a game in hand (Peterborough 13/8 to be promoted). Darren Ferguson’s men have won three of their last four games on their travels and on Friday they travel to relegation threatened Bristol Rovers.
The Pirates have a shocking home record and have managed just one win in their last six at the Memorial Stadium, losing five. Rovers are four points adrift of safety and need to start picking up results but they will struggle against a strong Posh outfit who are in fine form. Bristol Rovers may enjoy the home advantage but Peterborough are favourites at 10/11 and they should be able to take all three points and continue their assault on the top two.
Hartlepool United have been a strange team this season, beating those they would be expected to struggle against and suffering some surprising defeats – including a 5-2 reverse – after going 2-0 up – at Walsall last time out. The Pools welcome this season’s League One surprise package Rochdale to the Victoria Stadium on Friday in what could well be a very tight and interesting contest.
At 7/5, the Hartlepool victory looks good value, especially considering their home advantage, but Rochdale certainly have a chance and cannot be discounted. However, both teams have problems keeping clean sheets and the Pools’ 19 home games so far this season have yielded an astonishing 52 goals (26 for, and 26 against) and 7/10 on both teams to score looks great value in light of this statistic.
There are two League Two fixtures on Friday night as Lincoln City host Rotherham and Torquay travel to Northampton. I would have suggested Lincoln, at 17/10, appear good value to get the better of an out-of-sorts Rotherham. However, the Millers axed Ronnie Moore as manager earlier this week and it is always difficult to predict how a team will react in that situation.
Northampton are still involved in the relegation fight but the Cobblers should be able to retain their league status as they’re seven points clear of Barnet in 23rd place, who seem destined for the drop and are in woeful form. In contrast, a victory for Torquay on Friday night would move them ahead of Wycombe in third and the lure of automatic promotion for the Gulls could well inspire them to victory at Sixfields on Friday (Torquay 4/1 to win promotion from League Two).
Torquay’s away record is not particularly impressive, with two wins, two draws and two losses from their last six games, but they should be too strong for Northampton. The Cobblers have lost three and won once in their last four on home soil and could be set for more misery on Friday, with Torquay priced at 13/8 to take a maximum three-point haul.
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Eight Championship clubs do battle on Tuesday night with Burnley’s trip to second-placed Cardiff the undoubted highlight as the season prepares to reach boiling point.