Charlton Athletic vs Huddersfield Town
We see an interesting game in the Championship with a resurgent Charlton coming up against fellow League One promotees Huddersfield who've performed with credit all season & currently sit in 8th place just outside the playoff places.
(Oliver Norwood is beginning to flourish under Simon Grayson's tutelage)
Three games ago Charlton were in 21st place & had only managed 3 wins from their first 14 games but they came up with a stupefying 5-4 victory over Cardiff after being two goals down & they've since won & kept clean sheets in the progress against Bristol City & Burnley with even their less than prolific striker Danny Haynes scoring in those games. Johnnie Jackson remains the key player in Chris Powell's team & he looks set to be joined in midfield by loanee from Arsenal Emmanuel Frimpong, the youngster is outspoken & rather reckless but has talent & could be just what Charlton need to toughen themselves up. Before their last 3 games Charlton had just lacked a bit of resiliance & bite, not being able to turn draws into wins & close losses into draws (5 of their 6 losses were by a single goal) - they still lack the goalscorer needed to push themselves right up the table unless Bradley Wright-Phillips can get himself going again.
Huddersfield have coped well after the sale of their young goal machine Jordan Rhodes to Blackburn, they've pretty much won the games you'd give them every chance in but fallen to stronger opposition which is helpful from a betting perspective as you can peg their form pretty accurately. The Terriers brought in a couple of Premier League youngsters in the summer in Oliver Norwood (Man Utd) & James Vaughan (Everton) & both have something to prove after not quite making it at their respective clubs & have performed well so far for manager Simon Grayson. They've also got proven Championship striker Jermaine Beckford on loan from Leicester & he's knocked in 3 in 6 games & Adam Clayton has rejoined his former Leeds manager & has added additional quality in midfield. Huddersfield are still a work in progress but they've room for improvement & they'll fancy their chances of taking something against Charlton with the improved squad they have at their disposal.
There is something alluring about both these teams' records with exactly 23 goals conceded & scored by each team & Charlton even have 23 points too, the Addicks look a little too short on the prices to back here but are on a roll so we can't take Huddersfield either & the best bet looks to be the draw at 9/4 with Boylesports. Neither side are high scorers (Charlton scored more than 2 in a game just once & Huddersfield only twice) & that increases the chances of a draw even more, look for this to be a terse affair.
Doncaster Rovers vs Scunthorpe United
In League One, Doncaster Rovers entertain Scunthorpe United at the Keepmoat Stadium. Doncaster are in 4th place & only five points behind current leaders Tranmere Rovers with a game in hand whilst Scunthorpe are second from bottom.
(Doncaster winger David Cotterill has been in storming form this year)
Doncaster under the management of Dean Saunders have recorded ten victories from their 18 league games & have won their last two against Portsmouth & Carlisle United. Their 3-1 win Tuesday night was described by Saunders 'best we have played all season' & Welshman David Cotterill scored one & assisted two. He has been in fine form this season with six league goals & also provides the ammunition to striking duo Iain Hume & Billy Painter.
Scunthorpe lost at home to fellow strugglers Bury the other night & that put pay to a run of seven points from three league games. It was their best run of the season where they have amassed ten defeats & only four victories (against teams in 15th or lower) in their 19 league games. They heavily rely on Leon Clarke's goals (11 so far) but his efforts are usually undone by a leaky defence. They have only kept two clean sheets & have conceded one or more goals in their last 11 league matches.
Relegated from the Championship last year Doncaster should be too strong for their League One compatriots Scunthorpe & are available at evens with Stan James & Coral.
Blackburn Rovers vs Millwall
Elsewhere we like the look of Blackburn to end Millwall's unbeaten run of 10 games since the end of September (5 wins & 5 draws) when Rovers host the Lions at Ewood Park.
(Dickson Etuhu will help Blackburn win the midfield battle against Millwall)
Blackburn got their first win under new boss Henning Berg last week when running all over Peterborough with star striker Jordan Rhodes bagging himself a hat-trick, that could really light the fuse with Rhodes & the £8m man has to be feared by opposing defences. Blackburn have kept a remarkably strong squad together considering the unconventional way they are run so the players must feel they are being treated (or at least compensated) reasonably well. Millwall have their own impressive young striker in Chris Wood who joined from West Brom in the summer & he's scored 7 in 11 games. Millwall have looked pretty tough in recent weeks & gained an outstanding 4-1 win away to Nottingham Forest but we have a feeling that Blackburn are about to open up & show their class to the rest of the league from now on so odds of 11/10 for a home win look too big to leave alone - get on!
Selections:
Charlton Athletic vs Huddersfield Town to draw at 9/4 (Boylesports)
Doncaster Rovers to beat Scunthorpe United at evens (Stan James/Coral)
Blackburn Rovers to beat Millwall at 11/10 (BetVictor)
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