Talented Tigers can savage Toothless Tractor Boys

We haven't been inspired by the football betting in recent weeks & plenty of teams across the divisions have lacked consistency making betting a dangerous proposition. We've gone for one Championship game this Saturday as we look for a nice odds against win.

Ipswich Town vs Hull City

In the Championship promotion chasing Hull travel down to Ipswich to take on Mick McCarthy's Tractor Boys who have shut down opposing teams' attackers down impressively since the turn of the year with just 7 goals conceded in their last 15 games & clean sheets in their last 5. It won't be easy for Steve Bruce's men but this is the kind of game that they will feel they'll need to win if they are to close out automatic promotion.

(George Boyd - a man without conviction...?)

Ipswich have enjoyed a real turnaround since dismissing Paul Jewell & bringing in proven Championship manager Mick McCarthy (we've always felt McCarthy lacks the ability to attract true Premier League quality players to his sides). McCarthy has concentrated on ensuring Ipswich have a sound base to build on & even though it has come at a cost to their goal creation & scoring (lowest goal tally in Championship with just 40 in 41) it has proven to be a successful tactic. Ipswich have been a little lucky in their last two games though with Derby hitting the woodwork & missing a penalty last time & Millwall only denied by the woodwork as well. Much of their run of good defensive performances in 2013 came with West Ham loanee Stephen Henderson in goal but he's now left & Scott Loach is back between the posts. Loach has played very well in these last 3 games since Henderson returned to the Hammers but it's unlikely he's at the level of Henderson overall & it is a downgrade at the no.1 position. At the attacking end of the pitch Ipswich are again weakened by a loanee's time coming to an end with David McGoldrick now unavailable & that means they look a little toothless at the business end of the pitch.

Hull are no defensive slouches themselves with only 46 goals finding their net even though they've had a couple of aberrations since January when conceding 4 to Bolton & Crystal Palace. In goal for the Tigers is Fulham loanee David Stockdale who was on loan at Ipswich last season & he was in decent nick as Hull overcame woefully out of form Middlesbrough last Saturday & it looks likely he won't be caused too much trouble as Ipswich employ their somewhat reductive approach. Hull do occasionally look like they struggle to break teams down though & it was no surprise to see them pick up attacker George Boyd on loan in February with Sone Aluko ruled out for some time with injury. Boyd offers inventive play & an eye for goal & he's got 4 in 8 to repay the faith shown in him so far & he along with Hull's Egyptian contingent & creative lynchpin Robert Koren need to take the game to Ipswich here. Hull looked flat last weekend after defeat to promotion rivals Watford in midweek but they have had a week to prepare for this & we expect to see them fired up & they can take the away victory at odds of 13/8 with 888sport. We also like the enhanced odds available by backing Hull to win without conceding & that's on offer at 13/4 with Ladbrokes.

Selections:
Hull City to beat Ipswich Town at 13/8 (888sport)
Hull City to win to nil at 13/4 (Ladbrokes)

Foxes to rule the roost at the Kingpower

After midweek's international fixtures, & Zlatan Ibrahimovic sticking it to the doubters with incredible quality, we're back to the regular domestic action & we've gone for a couple of fixtures this Saturday.

Leicester City vs Ipswich Town

This game looks an ideal opportunity for a strong Leicester side to get back on track after a bit of a stumble against Ipswich who are still finding their way with new manager Mick McCarthy.

(Leicester's Martyn Waghorn looks set to lead the line this Saturday)

Ipswich have won 2 of their last 3 but took a 5-0 beating away to Crystal Palace in between those wins that came in slightly uninspiring contests against ordinary Birmingham & Burnley. Ipswich's big problem is their lack of goals with just 13 all season & they've only scored more than once in a game three times, they're going to find it tough to break through here against Leicester who've only conceded 6 goals in 8 games this year & it's easy to see why with a solid back 4 & keeper. Kasper Schmeichel is gaining more consistency & the experience & quality of Paul Konchesky is unrivalled in the Championship plus the signings from Manchester United of Danny Drinkwater & Ritchie de Laet have been unqualified successes.

Leicester are actually without a win in four games as they've come up against some decent teams in red hot Palace, improving Watford, underperforming heavyweights Bolton & hard to beat Nottingham Forest. If you go back before these last 4 games Leicester had won 8 of their opening 12 & will see this as the ideal opportunity to get back on track even with top scorer David Nugent a doubt with an injured neck for this one. Nigel Pearson will be confident his defence can handle Ipswich's lacklustre attack meaning he can commit resources forwards & Jamie Vardy should be recalled to the starting lineup alongside Martyn Waghorn & they can rely on good service from talented midfielder Anthony Knockaert. Leicester look a decent bet at odds of 4/7 & we like them to block Ipswich out & we'll take 7/1 about a 2-0 win too.

Northampton Town vs Wycombe Wanderers

In League Two, Northampton Town entertain Wycombe Wanderers at the Sixfields Stadium. Northampton are in mid-table whilst Wycombe are struggling down in 22nd spot & only staying out of the relegation places by goal difference.

(Adebato Akinfenwa will be licking his lip at the prospect of facing a leaky Wycombe defence)

Northampton under the management of Aidy Boothroyd have been inconsistent so far this season but they have picked up seven points from their last three games with victories over Port Vale & Accrington Stanley. Goals aren't a problem for the side & much travelled striker Adebato Akinfenwa has come back into the side with a bang scoring a hat-trick last weekend to make it 9 league goals now. At home they are more than decent & have won four & only suffering defeats to current league leaders Gillingham & 4th place Bradford City.

Wycombe are struggling & have lost nine of their 16 league games & haven't recorded a victory in their last five league games. In-experienced player manager Gareth Ainsworth has to deal with a side brittle in confidence & a whole host of injury problems. On the road they have lost five matches & have conceded just under an average of two goals per game.

Northampton can prove too strong for a weak Wycombe side & continue their run up the table at odds of 10/11.

Selections:
Leicester City to beat Ipswich Town at 4/7 (Various) & to win 2-0 at 7/1 (Various)
Northampton Town to beat Wycombe Wanderers at 10/11 (Various)

Holloway's Productive Palace to see off McCarthy's Iffy Ipswich

Ahhh, a lovely lot of football fixtures in midweek & we've got two selections for you coming from the Championship & League One plus a little rant about a certain recent managerial appointment.....

Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town

This fixture is an interesting one as both teams have new managers with this being Ian Holloway's first in charge at Palace after joining from Blackpool, his side are in a much healthier position, sitting 3rd in the table, than rivals Ipswich who are still bottom after winning at Birmingham on Saturday.

(Glenn Murray's goalscoring exploits have been a revelation at Palace this season)

We have repeatedly opposed Ipswich for the past season or so believing that they had a poor manager & a poor squad of players........ & we don't think a lot has changed with the appointment of Mick McCarthy as manager. McCarthy admittedly has done a decent job with teams in the Championship but seems to lack any appreciation of the quality it takes to compete at a higher level & has twice been sacked when steering teams to humiliating points totals in the Premier League (Sunderland in 05-06 & Wolves last year). For people to say it was a mistake to sack Mick last season seems awfully misguided - yes they were dreadful after he went but they also were beforehand & he was responsible for the assembling of the team including paying actual money for Jamie O'Hara. Mick's got some task on his hands here & although he managed a win in his first game back it should be noted that Birmingham can be just about the worst team in pro football on their day & had a stinker on Saturday, yet Ipswich were poor too & just edged the 1-0 win. Ipswich just don't have the players needed to get them goals with on-loan striker DJ Campbell their top scorer with 3 & they've bagged a meagre 11 goals in 14 league games so far.

Palace have been relatively free-scoring & with Holloway certain to impose his attacking philosophy on the side we could see things light up at Selhurst Park for the rest of the year especially with the young attacking talent that is Wilfried Zaha at the club. Palace are unbeaten in 11 after losing their first 4 games (one in League Cup) of the season & posted an impressive pressing display against Blackburn on Saturday as they came up with a 2-0 win against Blackburn. Top scorer Glenn Murray scored both goals against Rovers to take his total to 10 from 11 appearances & if he's on form here he'll be hard to stop. Odds of Evens for Palace to win, who are at home, sit 3rd & are playing bottom placed Ipswich look too big to resist so get on!

Bournemouth vs Shrewsbury Town

Down in League One, Bournemouth entertain Shrewsbury Town at Dean Court. Both sides have struggled so far this season & sit in lowly positions of 16th & 20th respectively.

(Smiles all round at Bournemouth after the impressive young manager's return)

Bournemouth sacked manager Paul Groves early in October & brought back Eddie Howe, he left the Cherries nearly two years ago to take up the reins at Championship Burnley & has cited personal reasons for his return. He has made an immediate impact with Bournemouth picking up three wins & a draw in his four matches in charge, to illustrate how impressive this is this they had previously lost 4 in a row & had only won once in the league all season. The most impressive victory was over current league leaders (injury hit) Tranmere Rovers (3-1) & they are scoring goals for fun with 12 in these matches. Goals are coming all over the pitch with midfielder Marc Pugh scoring three & Irishman Harry Arter & striker Lewis Grabban grabbing a couple each.

Shrewsbury have failed to win on the road this season & have a record of three draws & four defeats in their seven away league matches. They have lost their last two in a row against Doncaster Rovers & Portsmouth & have conceded on average 1.57 goals per game. They are currently on a run of only one victory in their last nine, a fortunate 1-0 win over a Walsall side who dominated them & with one point in their last three so confidence is short in the Shrews' ranks. Bournemouth are on a crest of a wave since the popular Eddie Howe returned to the dugout & they should be too strong for a poor Shrewsbury side at a price of 4/6.

Selections:
Crystal Palace to beat Ipswich Town at Evens (Various)
Bournemouth to beat Shrewsbury Town at 4/6 (General)

High Scoring High Jinx at the Hammers

We were so close to a lovely 6/1 winner last weekend with our selection of 1-0 for Sheffield United but a 97th minute equaliser by Oldham put paid to that & we had to settle for under 2.5 goals instead - we're back this weekend & have picks from the Premier League & Championship, back after the international break, plus a little bit of lower league action too.

West Ham United vs Southampton

In one of Saturday's 3pm kickoffs we see two of the Premier League's promoted sides face off as Southampton take on West Ham at Upton Park. Southampton have only avoided loss twice in their 7 games so far this season & those games were both at home against poor travellers Fulham (2-2 last time out) & struggling Aston Villa, this is a tougher test against Sam Allardyce's men who've looked resolute & happy to play to his game plan.

(Matt Jarvis is on his way to becoming a fan favourite at Upton Park)

West Ham have the creative Ricardo Vaz Te out for a while with a shoulder injury but they have plenty of options at the top end of the pitch & their club record signing Matt Jarvis has started to show a bit of form, his crossing ability will be invaluable for them with such good aerial presence with their strikers. The Hammers still look a bit shaky at the back at times & we've mentioned before that we feel Jussi Jaaskelainen is outstaying his welcome as a top flight keeper.

No team has conceded more than Southampton's 20 goals this year & Nigel Adkins attacking philosophy is regularly being exposed as simply a little naive & just isn't surprising teams as much as Blackpool a couple of seasons back. They invested heavily in the summer but mainly in attacking areas with Jay Rodriguez & Gaston Ramirez coming in to complement star striker Rickie Lambert who's already got himself 4 league goals. Neither side had too many players on international duty this week & that should mean this is one of the livelier Saturday games, Southampton can't really defend so are forced to attack (there have been an average of 4.6 goals in their games) & West Ham should get themselves on the scoresheet, that means odds of 8/11 for over 2.5 goals looks a solid bet.

Portsmouth vs Shrewsbury Town

In League One, Portsmouth entertain Shrewsbury Town at Fratton Park, both sides are in the bottom half of the table with Portsmouth 14th & Shrewsbury two points & two places below them.

(Izale McLeod is Pompey's current goalscoring hero)

Portsmouth with their much publicised financial problems started the slowly with only one victory in their first eight league games. Manager Michael Appleton has received many plaudits for how he has assembled a competitive side & handled himself throughout his rein & in the their last four games his side have picked up three victories & a draw. In each of these games they have scored two goals & in striker Izale McLeod they have a proven goalscorer at this level who has 6 league goals & 3 in their last 3.

Visitors Shrewsbury have been very inconsistent so far with all three of their victories coming in front of the home faithful. They beat Walsall 1-0 last Sunday but were second best for most of the match & had to rely on goalkeeper Chris Weale (man of the match) to pull off a number of outstanding saves. That was their first win in five league matches & on the road they have struggled with only three points from six matches & three defeats.

Portsmouth at odds of 6/5 are on a roll & will be too strong for a Shrewsbury side who pick up the large majority of their points at home.

Hull City vs Ipswich Town

This weekend in the Championship two ex-Premier league sides are pitted together as Hull City host Ipswich Town at the KC Stadium. Hull are in 10th place whilst Ipswich are really struggling & are second from bottom.

Hull had a good start to the season & looked in fine form until three straight defeats at the end of September/early October but they got themselves back on track before the international break with a 1-0 away victory at Sheffield Wednesday. Sone Aluko & Abdoulaye Faye joined in the summer & have contributed in a big way so far with Aluko adding guile & Faye some real solidity to the team plus both have 3 goals each. Boss Steve Bruce is still waiting for one of his other signings, 6"3 German striker Nick Proschwitz to come good but this could be the perfect game to bag his first goal as Ipswich just love to present chances on a platter to opposition strikers. The Tigers also have a very good keeper in Manchester United loanee Ben Amos & he could prove tricky for Ipswich's goal shy strikers to get the ball past.

(Hull's Nick Proschwitz will see this as an ideal game to get his first goal)

Ipswich's season just hasn't started yet with only one win from their first ten league games, they've lost 5 of their last 8 league games - the latest being a 2-1 home defeat inflicted by Cardiff City despite a ludicrously obvious handball goal by DJ Campbell giving them a first half lead. Manager Paul Jewell is under intense pressure & seems to have no answers to his critics currently & his defense are often at sixes & sevens. They have only kept one clean sheet & conceded 19 goals at an average of nearly two per game plus problems also at the other end when playing away with only a meagre three goals scored themselves.

Ipswich's form is just woeful & Hull available at evens with BetVictor are a must this weekend, Hull can smash the Tractor Boys & finally end Paul Jewell's rather miserable time in charge.

Selections:
West Ham United vs Southampton over 2.5 goals at 8/11 (Stan James)
Portsmouth to beat Shrewsbury Town at 6/5 (SkyBet & BetVictor)
Hull City to beat Ipswich Town at evens (BetVictor)