It's getting to the part of the season where the teams with the bigger & better squads tend to fare best, the heavy schedule between now & the New Year is tough & injuries & tiredness tend to happen. A good start to the period can act as a real boost for a side & momentum is key to having a happy Christmas for most. We've got three picks to try to fill your wallets when most needed, we're sticking with the classier sides this time around with some seemingly generous prices for some decent teams.
In League One, league leaders Charlton Athletic travel to the Bescot Stadium to face Walsall, Charlton sit top of the league with a seven point cushion over 2nd place Sheffield Wednesday, they've been hugely impressive so far & look on course to be playing Championship football next season. They have scored the most goals in the league with 42 in 19 league games with Bradley Wright-Phillips netting fourteen times already. Their current form shows eight wins from eight games in all competitions with six clean sheets including an important 2-0 victory over Huddersfield to end their 43 game unbeaten run. Their away form reads eight wins, one draw & one defeat in ten league games & they have won their last three on the road against Brentford, Hartlepool & Wycombe. Hosts Walsall are struggling & sit in the final relegation spot currently with only three wins in their 19 league games so far. Their home record has yielded only nine points in their ten games with two wins, three draws & five defeats with only nine goals scored. Apart from a 3-2 extra time win against Exeter in the FA Cup 1st Round they haven't tasted victory since a 1-0 win over Preston back on the 15th October. We fully expect Charlton to be a class apart from Walsall & condemn them to a 4th defeat in a row at the Bescot Stadium at 5/6.
The late kick off in the Championship is live from Oakwell as Barnsley entertain Ipswich Town. Barnsley are on a purple patch of form recently & sit in 9th position, just outside the play-off places whilst Ipswich have fallen to 21st & are only outside of the relegations places on goal difference. The Tykes have won five of their last six league games, scoring 12 goals in the process. Their home record reads the same & they have won their last three in a row with the latest being a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Tuesday night. The former Bolton man, Ricardo Vaz Te scored after only 8 seconds that night & is in fine form with four goals in his last three matches. Barnsley are full of confidence at the moment whilst visitors Ipswich are in dire straights having loss seven league games in a row. With stories of players, most notably Jimmy Bullard clashing with the overrated gaffer Paul Jewell there doesn't seem to be happy camp currently which is obviously having an impact on the pitch. In their seven defeats they have conceded 20 goals & we expect a confident Barnsley side to heap more misery on Ipswich as they look to climb into the play-off places at the best price of 11/10 with bet365 & Stan James.
Finally in the Premier League Arsenal look a generous price at 4/7 to win when hosting Everton this Saturday in a day when there only seem to be 3 o'clock kickoffs in the top flight. After a very rocky start for the Gunners they've come back strongly to win their last 5 in the league & qualified well in the Champions League, they still don't really convince at the back but are doing well going forwards & Robin van Persie is playing on another level at the moment & they should find the back of the net at least once in this one. Everton have won 5 games this year but 4 of those have come against 4 of the teams in the bottom 5 & not having a striker that can score goals really isn't the best & maybe manager David Moyes could have a try at not falling out with any strikers they do have in an attempt to improve the situation. Everton are decent enough at the back & we don't want to bet Arsenal on the handicap but with Everton not having the players to exploit Arsenal's defensive frailties they look like they should be heavy favourites. Mikel Arteta's form has picked up considerably & that's bad news for Everton, we've seen so many times when ex-players punish their previous employers.
Selections:
Charlton Athletic to beat Walsall at 5/6 (Victor Chandler/Paddy Power/Coral)
Barnsley to beat Ipswich at 11/10 (bet365 & Stan James)
Arsenal to beat Everton at 4/7 (general)
A treble on the above pays around £5.90 to a £1 stake - a tidy return if we do say so ourselves!
(Charlton boss Chris Powell should be happy - he has his side playing good & winning football)
In League One, league leaders Charlton Athletic travel to the Bescot Stadium to face Walsall, Charlton sit top of the league with a seven point cushion over 2nd place Sheffield Wednesday, they've been hugely impressive so far & look on course to be playing Championship football next season. They have scored the most goals in the league with 42 in 19 league games with Bradley Wright-Phillips netting fourteen times already. Their current form shows eight wins from eight games in all competitions with six clean sheets including an important 2-0 victory over Huddersfield to end their 43 game unbeaten run. Their away form reads eight wins, one draw & one defeat in ten league games & they have won their last three on the road against Brentford, Hartlepool & Wycombe. Hosts Walsall are struggling & sit in the final relegation spot currently with only three wins in their 19 league games so far. Their home record has yielded only nine points in their ten games with two wins, three draws & five defeats with only nine goals scored. Apart from a 3-2 extra time win against Exeter in the FA Cup 1st Round they haven't tasted victory since a 1-0 win over Preston back on the 15th October. We fully expect Charlton to be a class apart from Walsall & condemn them to a 4th defeat in a row at the Bescot Stadium at 5/6.
(Ipswich's false dawn seems to be well & truly over & Paul Jewell is surely on the brink)
The late kick off in the Championship is live from Oakwell as Barnsley entertain Ipswich Town. Barnsley are on a purple patch of form recently & sit in 9th position, just outside the play-off places whilst Ipswich have fallen to 21st & are only outside of the relegations places on goal difference. The Tykes have won five of their last six league games, scoring 12 goals in the process. Their home record reads the same & they have won their last three in a row with the latest being a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Tuesday night. The former Bolton man, Ricardo Vaz Te scored after only 8 seconds that night & is in fine form with four goals in his last three matches. Barnsley are full of confidence at the moment whilst visitors Ipswich are in dire straights having loss seven league games in a row. With stories of players, most notably Jimmy Bullard clashing with the overrated gaffer Paul Jewell there doesn't seem to be happy camp currently which is obviously having an impact on the pitch. In their seven defeats they have conceded 20 goals & we expect a confident Barnsley side to heap more misery on Ipswich as they look to climb into the play-off places at the best price of 11/10 with bet365 & Stan James.
(Arsenal are playing stylish football & Mikel Arteta is helping fill a Fabregas sized gap)
Finally in the Premier League Arsenal look a generous price at 4/7 to win when hosting Everton this Saturday in a day when there only seem to be 3 o'clock kickoffs in the top flight. After a very rocky start for the Gunners they've come back strongly to win their last 5 in the league & qualified well in the Champions League, they still don't really convince at the back but are doing well going forwards & Robin van Persie is playing on another level at the moment & they should find the back of the net at least once in this one. Everton have won 5 games this year but 4 of those have come against 4 of the teams in the bottom 5 & not having a striker that can score goals really isn't the best & maybe manager David Moyes could have a try at not falling out with any strikers they do have in an attempt to improve the situation. Everton are decent enough at the back & we don't want to bet Arsenal on the handicap but with Everton not having the players to exploit Arsenal's defensive frailties they look like they should be heavy favourites. Mikel Arteta's form has picked up considerably & that's bad news for Everton, we've seen so many times when ex-players punish their previous employers.
Selections:
Charlton Athletic to beat Walsall at 5/6 (Victor Chandler/Paddy Power/Coral)
Barnsley to beat Ipswich at 11/10 (bet365 & Stan James)
Arsenal to beat Everton at 4/7 (general)
A treble on the above pays around £5.90 to a £1 stake - a tidy return if we do say so ourselves!
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