Super Saints to get a Divine Start to the Season

Well... seeing as it's the start of the season in the top division in England we thought we'd better go for a Premier League double bill & have selections from games involving new England hero Rickie Lambert's Southampton & everyone's favourite manager 'Big Sam' & his West Ham side. So far we've started out with 2 of 3 outright selections hitting the mark with Peterborough in the first week of the season & Watford slamming home the pick with a 6-1 hammering, the loser was a 9/4 draw bet & we're hoping to improve this week! As always make sure you're following us on Twitter @LikeBuyingMoney - it's a good place to let us know your views & we'll put picks up there sometimes too.

West Bromwich Albion vs Southampton

Last year's overperformers West Brom host substantial summer spenders Southampton at the Hawthorns where Mauricio Pochettino's men will be hoping to add to their rather measly 3 away victories in comparison to 2012-13.

(Morgan Schneiderlin's exceptional 2012-13 season went unrecognised for the most part but people should sit up & take notice this time around)

Southampton have gone fairly big on the signings front in an attempt to avoid second season syndrome that sides promoted from the Championship that do well in their first season can tend to suffer; Victor Wanyama has come in from Celtic for £12.5m & should help shore up the midfield area in front of defence & Croatian centre back Dejan Lovren has come in for around £8.5m. We like the approach that Southampton have taken, bringing in relative youngsters (22 & 24 respectively) & going for quality rather than quantity in an attempt to strengthen in specific areas. We still reckon they may want to upgrade between the sticks at some point as Artur Boruc is slightly unpredictable & they don't appear to have much strength in depth behind new England cap winner Rickie Lambert with Jay Rodriguez not convincing on the goals front in the top flight so far.

(Ben Foster - England's No 1?)

The lack of strike options could cost Southampton over the season but we reckon Lambert will be bouncing after his debut against Scotland & could prove too hot for the West Brom defenders to handle - he'll already have had shooting practice against Ben Foster in midweek & will be ultra confident & that spells trouble for the Baggies who were pretty toothless, Lukaku aside, last year.

West Brom will have new signings in Nicolas Anelka & Matej Vydra still trying to bed in & goals could be at a premium for the first few weeks of the season & although they'll remain somewhat hard to beat with Yacob & Mulumbu physically dominating a lot of midfields those two probably don't have a great match-up in this one. Wanyama will be there for the Saints but will also be joined by the emerging Jack Cork & one of the stars of the entire league last season Morgan Schneiderlin whose stats last season were through the roof topping tackles & interceptions showing just what a good young player he is - there hasn't been much transfer talk around the young Frenchman but it wouldn't be surprising to see a big club come sniffing around before long. Adam Lallana & Gaston Ramirez should keep the West Brom fullbacks busy too & that should limit chances for Wes Brom. Just 3 away wins last season remains a concern & we'd rather not take them outright instead having the insurance offered at 13/10 with Ladbrokes on the draw no bet market we like the Saints chances of starting the season very brightly indeed.

West Ham United vs Cardiff City

West Ham bounced back up to the top flight last season & ended up just inside the top half with a very respectable 10th placed finish & they'll be looking to build on that this year whilst Cardiff's number one priority is to avoid slipping straight back to the Championship. This game is actually a repeat of their opening fixture from two seasons back in the Championship where Cardiff prevailed 1-0, West Ham however gained their revenge by beating the Bluebirds three times in a row after that including in the playoffs. We're keen on the home side again this time as they'll see this as an ideal opportunity to get the season off to a flyer.

(Andy Carroll & Kevin Nolan - maybe the Premier League's most effective partnership?)

West Ham can trouble pretty much any team in the Premier League because most sides just aren't used to dealing with many teams that play quite the way Sam Allardyce's sides do with Stoke maybe the only other side who've had a similar style in that they're quite happy to concede possession & instead make the most of when they do have the ball by getting it forward with pace. Allardyce clearly believes that he's got a squad capable of executing his plans because there haven't been too many major changes in the summer apart from clearing out a bit of expensive dead wood in Carlton Cole's departure & the recent signing of Stewart Downing. Romanian left back, the amusingly named, Razvan Rat has joined & the signing of Spanish keeper Adrian looks a smart move as Jussi Jaaskelainen's time as a top stopper looks to be coming to an end. Downing will join up with his ex-Liverpool team mate Andy Carroll who's been added as a permanent signing & although the big Geordie isn't everyone's cup of tea he fits just right at West Ham who always look to play to his strengths.

(Cardiff's Kim Bo-Kyung could take his game to another level in the top division)

Cardiff may be planning to play their new signing Andreas Cornelius in a similar type of role to that of Carroll because the young Danish international looks a bit of a beast at 6'4" & given the right service he'll cause teams problems - it might not be West Ham though who have strength & height (not to mention experience) across the back line & are rarely troubled by balls into the box. The Bluebirds looked very sound defensively last season & that'll help out here but they don't appear to have a proven goalscorer at this level, Frazier Campbell could be that man if he can stay fit, & they may also lack a little bit of guile in midfeld. Club record signing the Chilean Gary Medel probably won't add that creative touch as he's more of a destroyer type & although he's made himself into a club legend over the past 6 years Peter Whittingham never stood out as a youngster when with Aston Villa so has it all to prove. The young South Korean Kim Bo-Kyung could be the man to watch for Cardiff, he's settled in after a promising first season & may prefer the slightly less physical environment of the Premier League than the Championship - he's seen as a potential star by many fans & has taken on Park Ji Sung's number 7 shirt for his national team.

Cardiff continued to signal their intent with the slightly surprising signing of Steven Caulker from Tottenham, the North London club seemed to be singing his praises for much of last season but clearly he didn't feature in AVB's plans as he wanted to turn his team into genuine title challengers. Caulker could be a steal at just £8m, having the potential to be a mainstay for many years; he has only very recently signed though & may take time to settle in & that's a big reason why we reckon West Ham are good value for the win here. The Hammers have a very settled squad & they should look to take advantage of that over the first few weeks of the season starting here. They've retained the excellent Mo Diame & he should handle the Cardiff midfield whilst Kevin Nolan will be relishing linking up with Andy Carroll again further up the pitch, Matt Jarvis &, if he starts, Stewart Downing should keep the Cardiff fullbacks busy & this could be a long afternoon for the Welsh side's defence & keeper David Marshall. Take West Ham to get a win on the board at best odds of Evens with BetVictor or Paddy Power.

Selections:
Southampton to beat West Brom draw no bet at 13/10 (Ladbrokes)
West Ham United to beat Cardiff City at Evens (BetVictor & Paddy Power)

Yaya can inspire City to South Coast win

Weekend football again after the midweek friendlies  & these are fixtures that make for a far better betting proposition than players running around halfheartedly & mass changes at half time. We're certainly hoping for better results than when watching the Ravens win the Super Bowl, or more accurately the 49ers lose it after a hopeless start to the game!

Southampton vs Manchester City

Southampton have been a much talked about team over the past few weeks after replacing Nigel Adkins with Spaniard Mauricio Pochettino & then putting up an impressive performance, although ultimately losing, when facing Man Utd at Old Trafford, they've got a tough game at St Mary's in the day's late kickoff when they take on Manchester City.

(City have got rid of Balotelli & have Yaya Toure back - winners on all fronts)

Both teams have been hard to beat recently with Southampton losing only 2 of their last 9 league games & City just twice all season but both have dropped points to drawn games with 6 from the Saints in that 9 game sequence & City have lost crucial momentum & ground on United with draws against QPR & Liverpool in their last two. There's good reason to think that City can get back to winning ways here though as Mancini can't afford to be cautious with wins all that matter now that they're 9 points behind the leaders & maybe their very best player, Yaya Toure, returning after Africa Cup of Nations duties.

Yaya is one of the finest midfielders in the world & can impose his will on nearly any side at will & could be coming up against Morgan Schneiderlin in this one in what looks a mismatch in favour of City man. Southampton have a few injury worries to key players with Adam Lallana a doubt & defenders Luke Shaw, Jose Fonte & Nathanial Clyne joining him. Record signing Gaston Ramires is another who may not play & with that list of injury worries it's looking like a bad time to face the current champions.

Pochettino hasn't yet eked out a win whilst in charge of Southampton & although they've looked far more resilient than when leaking goals at the start of the year we can't see anything other than a win for Manchester City & odds of 4/6 with BetVictor look fair. City have too many weapons & are able to break teams down through skill through the likes of David Silva & Sergio Aguero or through physical dominance from players like Yaya Toure & the underappreciated Edin Dzeko & they'll pounce on any defensive weakness.

Norwich City vs Fulham

Norwich against Fulham may not be the most glamorous tie of the season but this is an intriguing one & important for both as points have been thin on the ground for the two teams sat level in the table on 28 points. Norwich boss Chris Hughton also served 3 years as Jol's assistant whilst at Tottenham & the Canaries will be keen to gain revenge for a 5-0 drubbing on the opening day from their London opponents.

(Martin Jol is seeking a rare away Fulham win)

Norwich haven't won in their past 8 league games & haven't managed to score in 4 of those, with none of their players having managed more than 5 goals in all competitions & Grant Holt certainly hasn't looked so impressive as last year after failing to engineer a move away from Carrow Road. They're reasonable at the back but miss John Ruddy in goal (long term injury) & have injury concerns about usual starters Alex Tettey & Anthony Pilkington.

Fulham rarely pick up wins in away games & they've stuttered after a great start to the season when they won 5 of 9 but the signs have been a bit better in recent games with their only losses in their last 5 league games coming against the Manchester sides whilst gaining wins away at West Brom &  at home against West Ham. They showed a lot of resistance last week against Man Utd, going down 1-0 to a late Rooney goal & they may have star player Dimitar Berbatov back for this after injury. Jol will also have found a bit of time to work with his January loan signings, of whom Urby Emanuelson & Emmanuel Frimpong look like they could be useful. Frimpong will certainly add a much needed bit of bite to the Fulham midfield & that could prove the area that they can better their hosts in this one.

Backing Fulham on the road is usually a sure way to the poor house but there have been encouraging signs in recent games whilst Norwich's form has slumped & they look bereft of attacking ideas, take the Cottagers to win at nice odds of 23/10. Checking the team sheets is advised in this game as Fulham did have more players on international duty, we jut think they've got a bit more going for them than Norwich who seem to be lacking in quality & confidence.

Selections:
Manchester City to beat Southampton at 4/6 (BetVictor)
Fulham to beat Norwich at 23/10 (BetVictor)

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)

Southampton's Defence still looks more Sinful than Saintly

We're back on the football betting & looking for another weekend like last one - as usual we've scoured the leagues & come up with bets after looking at form, team news & matchups of styles to try to find some value bets. With at least 5 rounds of games played in the leagues now plus some cup action too it's now possible to have a real feel for which teams have progressed & regressed over the summer & new managers' philosophies are starting to be accepted, it should mean a few less shock results but of course nothing's guaranteed! A top tip in general is to try to disregard teams' reputations that may well have been garnered some time ago & pay attention to their quality right now, Liverpool for example continue to be underpriced in virtually every game even though they struggle to score & at times look disjointed. You don't necessarily have to back against these types of team but they should certainly be left out of multiple bets until their prices lengthen & become more realistic.

Everton vs Southampton

(Leighton Baines is on top form just like many of his Everton colleagues)

We've had a lot of love for Everton this year tipping them up as our Premier League handicap bet & reckoning they could get a quicker start than their usual poor early season form, they've duly obliged so far & they could give Southampton the runaround at Goodison Park this Saturday. Nigel Adkins' side have been shambolic defensively even allowing for the fact they've played some good sides so far with 15 goals conceded for an average of 3 per game & it won't get easier against an Everton side that can mix it up with physicality & class in attack.

Southampton fans may be feeling a little more positive after winning twice in the last week, putting their first points on the board after coming from behind to beat Aston Villa 4-1 & then taking care of Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup even whilst resting players - we think it will take a lot more in this one though as Everton are a big step up. Crucially here Southampton's style of play that helped them unsettle Manchesters City & United just shouldn't cause Everton the same problems as they have good central defenders who can cope with Rickie Lambert physically & decent fullbacks who are well protected too to stop Southampton's crosses ever getting in the box.

Everton didn't rest quite so many as Southampton in the week when getting knocked out by Leeds but that loss shouldn't be much of a blow as they look to get as high a league position as possible, Marouane Fellaini continues to be just about the hottest player around & they've even got Anichebe scoring goals! Nikica Jelavic is coming back to fitness & could start here, adding another string to their bow & Leighton Baines & Steven Pienaar will provide him & Fellaini with excellent service as usual. Everton should score & we can see them doing so more than once, their defence should cope better than Villa's youngsters did last Saturday & we fancy them with a -1 goal handicap at odds of 5/4. For a goalscorer bet you could do worse than taking the 5/1 for Leighton Baines to score anytime, he bagged one against Swansea & is Everton's penalty taker plus many free kicks, Southampton gave penalties away against United & City & although those were saved, Baines would almost certainly not be so timid as the takers in those games.

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Sheffield Wednesday

(Gingle-Gangle: Tongo Doumbia is a class act at Wolves)

In the Championship we see another form side with Wolves who've won their last three in the league & won't be too concerned with the beating they took at the hands of Chelsea in midweek - they started with 10 different players to their win against Peterborough on Saturday. After a reasonable start to the season it's been all downhill for Sheffield Wednesday as they haven't been able to get it going at home or on the road, a porous defence doesn't help with them having conceded two or more goals in 9 of their 10 competitive games this season. Being poor defensively is not a good idea when playing Wolves as they have one of their Championship's best strikers in Sylva Ebanks-Blake who is perfect at this level with his strength, balance & shot power being key attributes.

Wolves deserved to finish bottom of the top flight last year as they hadn't assembled a Premier League style set of players, it did however mean they were well suited to take on the different challenge of football in this division. The Midlands club have also done a mean piece of business by picking up Mali's Tongo Doumbia on loan with a view to a permanent signing - Arsenal were said to be looking at the midfielder last year & he's looked a class apart at times this season. We think Wolves should win this one with home advantage & odds of 10/11 are fair but an even more certain bet for our money is over 2.5 goals at 8/11, Wolves have kept clean sheets in their last two league games but against poor sides (Ipswich & Peterborough) & Wednesday do hold an attacking threat, Wanderers even seemed a bit shaky when 2-0 up on Leicester & this could be a goal fest.

Tranmere Rovers vs Brentford

Talking of form sides, there aren't many in better nick than Tranmere Rovers at the moment - they've won 6 from 8 league games, have a perfect home record & have scored the most (21) & conceded the least (4) goals in League One, they have a test today in Brentford but there's good reason to think they'll overcome it.

(Tranmere's Andy Robinson has found his shooting boots with 7 goals already this season)

Brentford have made a decent start themselves & have bagged 12 points from their opening 8 games, they have however not won away from home, grabbing 3 draws from 4 road games & we were less than impressed when watching them huff & puff away to Leyton Orient three games back. Brentford will have to go some to stop Tranmere's Jake Cassidy, the tall 19 year old has returned on loan from Wolves again this year after making a big impact at the end of last season & has bagged 7 times already with those coming in their last 5 games. It should also be noted that Brentford have only played one team that currently sit in the top half of the table (a 2-2 draw with Walsall) so this is a big step up in terms of quality of opposition for them & we reckon they'll come up short against Tranmere & their +17 goal difference - take the huge odds against bet of 11/10 on Tranmere.

Selections:
Everton to beat Southampton with a -1 goal handicap at 5/4 (Ladbrokes)
Leighton Baines to score anytime at 5/1 (William Hill)
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Sheffield Wednesday over 2.5 goals at 8/11 (Various)
Tranmere Rovers to beat Brentford at 11/10 (General)

Tremendous Toffees to Topple Paper Baggies

Another weekend of football action is just about upon us & we know that you all want to make money off of the fixtures so you can fill your petrol tanks up but also want to get out & enjoy the clement weather so rather than spending your usual hours of studying in darkened rooms we've done that bit for you & come up with some more top selections. If you've been following recently you'll see that we've been having some great results & although the midweek footy was a mixed bag rather than the perfection we've become accustomed to, we reckon we'll be bouncing right back here as we look to make hay whilst the sun is shining.

(Oxford midfielder Asa Hall has scored 5 in his last 7 games)

Down in League Two, Oxford United host Morecambe at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford (who we tipped pre season at 3/1 for promotion) are in the play-off places & are looking to push towards the automatic spots whilst Morecambe are in mid-table. Oxford have won three of their last four league games with the latest being a 2-0 away victory at Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night & have a solid home record this season with ten wins out of 19 games & only two defeats. Recently at home they are unbeaten in their last seven & have won three in a row against AFC Wimbledon, Rotherham & leaders Swindon Town. Visitors Morecambe have had mixed form recently & they have lost four of their last seven league games, they do have a decent overall away record but have only picked up 6 points out of a possible 18 in their last six away matches. We expect Oxford to be too strong for Morecambe & push towards the automatic positions at the best price of 4/6 with BetVictor & Coral.

(Tom Ince has come on leaps & bounds for Blackpool & offers a credible goal threat)

Blackpool host Southampton in a Championship clash that is to be televised on BBC Two on Staurday evening & the bookies seem to be underestimating the likelihood of this being a goal filled encounter by offering odds of 8/11 on there being over 2.5 goals. In Blackpool's last 17 league games there have only been only two with less than 3 goals in & they've only failed to score once in that sequence, with the evergreen Kevin Phillips still proving himself to be the most naturally gifted English finisher since Gary Lineker. Many more of Southampton's games have tended to have less than three goals in (7 of the last 10 have been under) but that reflects the fact that teams tend to try to contain the deserving league leaders & their excellent partnership at the front of Lallana & Lambert, even Billy Sharp has started to get in on the action, predictably scoring a brace past former club Doncaster last week. Blackpool boss Ian Holloway doesn't tend to behave like most other managers though & with the TV cameras on he's likely to tell his players to go out & show their best quality which is in attack, that could mean a really entertaining game & plenty of goals. We were expecting odds more like 8/15 or 1/2 about the over 2.5 goals bet so that 8/11 looks very juicy indeed, with plenty of attacking threat from both sides & players like Tom Ince keen to impress expect a cracking game with a few goals thrown in too & take the bet!

(New signing Nikica Jelavic has made the switch to Premier League football look easy so far)

In the Premiership, Everton entertain West Bromwich Albion at Goodison Park, Everton are in the midst of a typical season finishing strongly after a slow start & are on the tail of Merseyside rivals Liverpool whilst West Brom need a few more points to guarantee safety again. The Toffees are in fine form currently with four victories & two draws in their last eight league games plus a 2-0 away victory over Sunderland in the FA Cup to book a Wembley semi-final trip. Deadline day signings Steven Pienaar & striker Nikica Jelavic have added some much needed attacking flair & goals to an already solid defensive unit based around Jagielka & Distin with the added attacking threat of Baines down the left. At home Everton have won three of their last four matches with impressive victories over Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea & Manchester City. West Brom were blown away in the first 30 minutes last weekend by Newcastle United in a 3-1 defeat & that extents their winless streak to three matches, away from home they have lost five games so far & more worrying they have conceded at least one goal in 93% of their matches. We believe that Everton will continue their fine form at the expense of West Brom at a standout price of 20/23 at BetVictor.

Selections:
Oxford United to beat Morecambe at 4/6 (BetVictor/Coral)
Blackpool v Southampton at 8/11 (various)
Everton to beat West Brom at 20/23 (BetVictor)

Crouching Tigers Hiding Goals

There are plenty of midweek football games to bet on but taking a selective & serious approach can be sensible when there are plenty of opportunities, getting really stuck into your most fancied bets is often more rewarding than many bets paying out small amounts, we've looked right through the leagues & found two games where we feel confident there's money to be made. We want regular followers to start thinking about their best bets for the weekend too & once you've made your selections send them through on Twitter to @LikeBuyingMoney using the hashtag #likebuyingmoney, we'll post them up on our regular followers' blog - it's a great way to get involved & also gets you thinking & planning your bets rather than impulsive last minute wagers. If you aren't already following us on Twitter why not?! It's great fun & if you already have an account you can find us @LikeBuyingMoney or just by clicking the follow button at the top of this page.

(Crewe's rising star Nick Powell is in fine form & looking to propel them towards the playoffs)

In League Two, Crewe Alexandra entertain Bradford City at the Alexandra Stadium, the hosts are in 9th position & chasing a play-off place whilst Bradford are in 18th & looking to pull away from the relegation spots. Crewe are in good form currently & beat league leaders Swindon Town 2-0 at the weekend, they have won their last two league games which has stretched their unbeaten run to seven games with three wins & four draws. They've been especially good at home recently, picking up 17 points out of a possible 21 & in Nick Powell they have a player bang in form with five goals in his last six games. Bradford have lost their last two games against AFC Wimbledon & Aldershot Town which has seen a run of three defeats from five league games, their away results have been poor all season & ten defeats out of 18 games sees them with the 3rd worst record in the league. With three away defeats in row now for Bradford & the current form of Crewe we can't see pass a comfortable home victory at evens with Bet365 & Boylesports.

(Hull captain Jack Hobbs is marshalling his defence excellently)

In the Championship current leaders Southampton travel north to face Hull City & their impregnable defence at the KC Stadium. Hull haven't lost since Nick Barmby was appointed as permanent manager back in early January & have conceded just 3 goals in 11 games as the former attacking midfielder has made his side one of the most difficult to play against in the league & to 7th place just outside the playoff spots. Hull haven't exactly beenn setting the world allight in terms of scoring goals & wins & have seen 5 nil-nils in their recent 11 game unbeaten sequence, that stingy defence will be key to keeping Southampton & their quality strikeforce at bay. The Saints have also been in great form, unbeaten in 10 in the league & star striker Rickie Lambert has been in fine form, scoring a hattrick as they came from 2-1 down to win against Millwall on Saturday. With 68 goals from their 37 games there isn't much that stops Southampton scoring but we think that just makes it all the more likely that Barmby will set his men up to frustrate the visitors, Southampton were recently comprehensively outplayed by Leeds at Elland Road & were slightly fortunate on Saturday as they were awarded two late penalties to rescue it at Millwall & we're not keen on 6/4 for them to win. We do like 4/5 about there being less than 2.5 goals as 13 of Hull's last 16 have featured 2 or less, with fewer goals in a game the draw also becomes more likely & backing 0-0 & 1-1 at coupled odds of just bigger than 3/1 makes more appeal than backing the draw at 23/10.

Selections:
Crewe Alexandra to beat Bradford City at evens (Bet365 & Boylesports)
Under 2.5 goals in Hull City v Southampton at 4/5 (BetVictor)
Hull v Southampton correct score to be 0-0 at 10/1 (Stan James) & 1-1 at 6/1 (William Hill)