gogetta

League 2
Notts County vs Morecambe
Notts County Manager, John Sheridan, appears to have succeeded in molding the team into his preferred playing style; a well-drilled back four, a compact team able to cede possession and soak up opposition pressure but efficient in counter-attack. They are on momentum, winning their last game 2-0 away to Exeter and moving into the top seven. They host a Morecambe side that had a strong start to the season, topping the table after five games but have since faltered and are 9th. Team is no longer as dominant and now largely depends on solid goalkeeper Barry Roche to stay in the game, hoping to profit from any opposition mistakes. Team also unsettled this week by rumours that Manager Jim Bentley is being courted for the vacant position at Tranmere Rovers. Home win
Barnet vs Leyton Orient
Hosts are wounded after a frustrating 2-2 home draw to Morecambe; in a game which they totally dominated, twice led, on-form striker John Akinde had enough chances to put the game to bed, but ended up losing two points after conceding a late equalizer! Now they have another home game against a Leyton Orient side that sacked their manager last week and lost 2-0 at home to Plymouth on Saturday; in which they had two first-half red cards (Captain and key midfielder Robbie Weir and debutant defender Jens Janse) plus two other players injured. A wounded home side against a rudderless and short-handed guest. Home win
Cambridge United vs Accrington Stanley
Hosts appear to be back on track after a horrible start to the season. After winning the last two games to get off the bottom spot, the team has regained belief; dominating the midfield as well as possession and notably a threat moving forward (more shots on goal). However, in this home game, the team still needs to convince its fans that it has turned the corner.
The visitors are struggling after their run to the play-offs last season, following the loss of several key players in the summer. They are largely a physical, battling side and are coming off a tepid 1-1 home draw against Mansfield, in which they lacked offensive threat. Momentum and greater motivation are on the home side. Home win
 
Results:  Cambridge 2-1 Accrington
                     Barnet 0-0 Leyton Orient
           Notts County - Morecambe  (match abandoned)

Bet won: Nautico 0-0 Bahia

League Two
Crewe vs Exeter  - BTTS
Luton vs Grimsby  - Under 2.5
Notts County vs Accrington  - Home win
Cambridge Utd  AH+0.5
 
Result:  Crewe 2-0 Exeter
              Luton 1-2 Grimsby
            Notts C 0-2 Accrington
         Plymouth 2-1 Cambridge

LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena said earlier this week that this stage is "tighter, every point is sacred". My selections:
Vancouver vs NY Red Bulls  -  Draw
Dallas vs Portland - BTTS
LA Galaxy vs Columbus - Home win
 

LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena said earlier this week that this stage is "tighter, every point is sacred". My selections:
Vancouver vs NY Red Bulls  -  Draw
Dallas vs Portland - BTTS
LA Galaxy vs Columbus - Home win
 

Match ended: Montreal 1-1 DC Utd. In the midst of a stretch of three games in six days, DC coach opted to make 7 changes to the starting team! Montreal also rested two starters. But this did not really change the complexion of the game; the visitors scored a penalty in the 39th minute, setting the stage for a hectic second half and visitor's GK Bill Hamid saved the point for them.
 

Match ended: Montreal 1-1 DC Utd. In the midst of a stretch of three games in six days, DC coach opted to make 7 changes to the starting team! Montreal also rested two starters. But this did not really change the complexion of the game; the visitors scored a penalty in the 39th minute, setting the stage for a hectic second half and visitor's GK Bill Hamid saved the point for them.
 

Montreal Impact vs DC United
DC is not lacking motivation for this game; it is desperately clinging to the last play-off spot in the Eastern conference and seeks to breathe easier by putting a 3-point cushion ahead of Orlando, while reducing the 5-point difference with the conference rivals directly ahead (the hosts). DC also has the better form at the moment; unbeaten in the last four matches and scoring 6 goals in the last three. The recently signed offensive players Mullins and Lloyd Sam have added spark to the team's attack. Additionally, DC has not done too badly in recent head-to-head meetings with the hosts. But the team is also conceding.
The hosts come from losing two games in a row, conceding three goals in each while scoring only one goal in both. Montreal have struggled defensively for much of the season, especially vulnerable when opponents counter-attack. In the latest 3-0 home loss to Chicago (Sunday); the defence, midfield and attack all struggled. And this comes before the team faces three games in the next eight days, including the important Canadian derby away to Toronto on Sunday!
The hosts are expected to react in this match but they are more likely to score a goal than to solve all their defensive issues in three days. The desperate but in-form visitors may seize their chance and get a result. I expect a tentative start to this game but fireworks to follow once the first goal is scored. BTTS  and Over 2.5 goals.

Try:     www.the72.co.uk 
           www.thetwounfortunates.com

National League 

Usually I have a team in mind who I want to back to win the National League around April, but this year has been different and it hasn’t been until recently where I have made my mind about who I want to back. The main reason for that is I think it looks a very competitive division this year and if any one of about half a dozen sides won the league it wouldn’t surprise me. 
Tranmere came down with Cheltenham and I am hoping they can do what Cheltenham did last season and win the National League title. I suspected Gray Brabin’s side would need a season at this level to find their feet and although I am sure their fans were disappointed not to reach the play-offs, I think they had a solid enough season to finish just two points shy of the top 5. In my view that has built a solid foundation to build on this time around. They only lost 3 games away from home all season which was the lowest in the division, but the problem was at home where they lost 9 and just 7 teams lost more. That could be down to the fact players felt more pressure in front of their demanding home fans. Hopefully this season that won’t be so much of a factor and crucially for me their side looks stronger. I especially like their set of strikers as the trio of Andy Cook, James Norwood and Connor Jennings looks the strongest in the division in my view and they could do with scoring a few more goals than they did last season as only 3 teams scored fewer in the top half. Clearly Gary Brabin saw this as a weak point and has acted accordingly. I would be amazed if they didn’t improve on last season and they look a solid e/w bet at 7/1 (Coral and SkyBet). 

Forest Green Rovers are favourites with only Boylesports going as big as 4/1 and they have been backed in from Betway’s opening 6/1 quote. They should finish in the play-offs again, but they look shocking value at their current odds. I think getting a manager who knows this level was a good move and it is interesting that Mark Cooper seems to have gone down the route of getting younger players in like Ethan Pinnock from Dulwich. It will be interesting to see how Rhys Murphy gets on down at this level, but he has only scored 34 goals in 125 games so you wonder if he is going to be someone who goes and gets 20 goals in a season. Matt Tubbs has also arrived from Portsmouth via Eastleigh. He obviously had a superb scoring record at this level for Salisbury and Crawley, but he only got 2 in 16 for Eastleigh last season and that worries me. Maybe there were other reasons behind it, but I am sure Eastleigh would have gone for him if they thought he was still up to scoring 20+ goals a season. I think Cooper has taken a few gambles and he hasn’t always been that impressed with his team’s efforts in pre-season. Those gambles might well pay off, but I am more than happy to oppose them at the prices. 

Eastleigh are next in the betting after the above two and they were very costly to me last year given how strongly I backed them. I am loathed to blame the FA Cup run because I don’t think in got in the way all that much. They just weren’t good enough at the back and failed to score enough at the other end. Now initially I wasn’t going to back them this time around as I was a bit worried they still looked light weight up front. I am not someone who reads that much into pre-season form, but when you take a look at how many goals Eastleigh have scored in pre-season it does make you sit up and take notice. They scored 25 in 8 games and most of the opposition was of a decent standard. Constable got 15 goals last season and they need someone to come in and match that at least and they may well have found him in Mikael Mandron who Chris Todd was raving about after he scored twice against Northampton on Saturday. They look to have a stronger squad than last season and if they can carry on scoring the goals when the season starts then they should get a top 3 place at the very least. Paddy Power are best about them at 17/2. 

Dagenham & Redbridge have been the other side for money over the summer and I can understand why some people would want to take a chance at double figure odds. John Still knows non-league inside out and getting the manager right is crucial at this level. He has brought some interesting looking players in and if they click then they should be in for a good season. There are some of the field issues though which might end up seeing more money injected in the club, but until they are sorted I don’t fancy them at the current price. It is even harder to fancy the other relegated side, York, who look like this will be more a rebuilding season than one of attempting to gain promotion. 

Wrexham played some nice football last season and they put in one of the best performances I saw when they beat Cheltenham on BT Sport. The problem was consistency and I am not sure Gary Mills has actually managed to improve last season’s squad. They could easily miss out on the play-offs again. 

It will be interesting to see how the Cowley brothers get on at Lincoln given how well they did at Braintree last season. They need to find a fair bit of improvement to win the title though and I think they will be happy with a top 10 finish this season before looking at a proper promotion bid the season after. They might be a team to back when the season gets going though if they are going well. 

Dover have lost some key players, although to be fair they have kept some as well so they should still be capable of doing well, but I would be very surprised if they matched last season’s exploits. Barrow were one team I was considering backing at one stage. They have a manager who has won the league before and they finished the season pretty strongly last term. Getting Ross Hannah from Chester looks a decent signing, but on the other-hand they have lost Cook to Tranmere and you can’t help but think Cook must have felt that Tranmere have a better chance of gaining promotion. At this stage I will leave them alone, but they are ones to keep an eye on. 

One team that might go well at big odds are Gateshead. They have signed a lot of players in the close season and they look to be giving promotion a good go this time around. Given they changed manager during the season they didn’t do too badly to finish 10th and a better squad this time around can hopefully give them better consistency. I was tempted by the 20/1 but at the same time they look more a team who might sneak into the play-offs rather than actually win the league. 

At the other end North Ferriby are likely to find things very tough, but then they are priced up accordingly to go down. I think the other three promoted teams, Solihull, Sutton and Maidstone all have good chances of surviving though, indeed at least one might even sneak into the top half. Guiseley just survived last season and are likely to be in another relegation battle this time around. There are two teams I think are worth backing. The first is Bromley at 3/1 with BetVictor. They were very strong in the first half of last season, but then could barely pick up a point even under the new manager. I think they are going to find things very tough this time around. 

The second bet is a team I backed to go down last season, Braintree. Obviously I couldn’t have been more wrong as they finished 3rd in the end, but they have lost the vast majority of last season’s team. It is surprising that Simeon Akinola is still there given the interest he has had from Football League clubs and I would be amazed if someone doesn’t buy him at some point. Jamie Day isn’t a bad manager by any means, but he is having to restart again on one of the smallest budgets in the division and to me they look a spot of value at 6/1 to end up in the bottom 4 at the end of the season. 

National League North 

This looks a very tough league to try and sort out this season with some big teams in the division as well as big spending ones as well. Halifax have been backed into favouritism probably on the back of a good pre season. New manager Billy Heath will be trying to gain promotion from the division for the 2nd year running after winning the play-offs with North Ferriby last season. They should be in contention, but in a league where so many teams have a chance they look poor value at 9/2. The other two relegated sides are both 14/1 and Kidderminster make more appeal, but at the same time not enough to make me want to back them. The two promoted sides, Darlington and Salford, should be capable of doing well and the latter not surprisingly have cash to spend. You have to think Stockport will get back up at some point although not sure it will be this season. Nuneaton, Harrogate and Boston will no doubt be competitive again and Alfreton and AFC Telford can do better than they did last term. 

That is 11 teams I have mentioned and that shows you how much strength and depth there is in the division and I haven’t mentioned the two I am putting up. For the 3rd year running I am putting up AFC Fylde. They have gone full time this season and are just about to move to a brand new stadium. Yes winning the title this season will be harder than the last two, but given they have gone close the last twice the move to full time should see the improvement needed to see them land the title. bet365 are a top price of 13/2. At a bigger price Tamworth interest me. They had a solid season last term and I think they can build on that this time around. They now have a 3g pitch and I think that could be an advantage especially if the winter brings lots of postponements. Loius Briscoe looks a good signing and at 16/1 they are worth an e/w bet. 

National League South 

Ebbsfleet cost favourite backers for the 2nd year running as they blew a massive lead to lost out to Sutton. They then blew the play-off final as well so that means they are short price favourites for the 3rd year running. They are running at a reduced budget this term, but I suspect it will still be the biggest in the division. They might finally land the title, but they are no value and there are 3 teams who look good e/w value against them. 

First up is Whitehawk who somehow made the play-offs last season despite looking to have no chance at half way. They have some real quality in their squad and I don’t think they should be as big as 9/1 (bet365). Chelmsford have just had a takeover approved and that will mean an increased budget which will see them much more competitive than they have been in recent seasons. They have a manager in Rod Stringer who has won the league before and at BetVictor’s 12/1 they look a fair Each Way price. 

The final bet is Margate. Now that might seem odd on the face of it as not only have they had a massive budget reduction, but they only just survived last season. That doesn’t tell the whole story though. When Nikki Bull took over as manager during last season the team’s results improved massively and they had an outside shot of the play-offs. When things went wrong off the field though things also went wrong on it. Bull announced he was leaving at the end of the season and the players knowing the same just seemed to give up and opposing them became a money making system. The new owners then persuaded Bull to stay and he managed to get his squad to perform well enough to just stay up. I have been very impressed with the squad that Bull has put together and he showed he can manage with the way the team improved when he took over last season. I actually think having less money to spend will help them and Bull can clearly get players playing for him. Betway went 50/1 and I was hoping that was going to stay, but clearly others have seen what I have seen as they are now into 33s. I still rate that a big price though and they have a much better squad than that price suggests. 

Ryman Premier 

Only bet365 and SkyBet have priced Step 3 up this year. I really like Dulwich Hamlet again for this division. They are my local team so I see them a fair bit and they should be a National League South side by now. They massively under performed in the play-off final in May, but manager Gavin Rose has recruited well and getting Danny Carr back in can only be a good thing for both player and club. When I started watching them they were getting around 300 people turn up, but now they regularly get crowds of over 1000 and on occasions get over 2000. That is a big support at this level and is a big advantage. They look a solid e/w play at 7/1 with bet365. 

I am amazed Lee Bradbury is still in a job at Havant as they were awful on a big budget last season and deserved to go down. I do think they are worth backing at 4/1 with SkyBet though because they have recruited very well and look to have a very good squad for this level and if they gel for the manager then that price is a fair one. 

I am also having a small e/w play on Merstham at 28/1 (SkyBet). They seem to spending a bit of cash and have recruited well over the summer. They could certainly outperform those big odds. 

Evo-Stik Premier 

I put Spennymoor up on Twitter last week as when bet365 went up with the prices they looked over priced at 12s and I didn’t think the price would last. They had been 16s on the first show and are now only half those odds, but they still look a good bet. They may only have come up last season, but they have shown plenty of intent on going straight up again and have signed some very good players. They should go close. I also think Blyth Spartans are worth having on side. They went close last year before losing out to Darlington and I would be amazed if they didn’t go close yet again with the side they have. bet365 have them at 13/2. 

Southern Premier 

Not a league I have a strong view about. Basingstoke are favourites and should go well although they don’t look great value. Kettering look a team set to build on a solid season last time around and they look worth backing at 8/1. It is also hard not to see Leamington finishing there or thereabouts again and a 12/1 quote about them looks a tad big. 

Parana vs Avai
Home team comes into this game on the back of three victories ie away win against table leader Vasco Da Gama, home win over Joinville and the latest an away win over Bragantino. Therefore, Parana is motivated to seek a fourth consecutive win that will propel it from 5th spot into the G4! Coach Marcelo Martelotte has designed a cohesive team that seeks to control the game and to exploit the opponents' mistakes. The visitors are themselves on a 4-game unbeaten run - two draws and two recent back-to-back wins, including last saturday's home win over table-leaders Vasco. Therefore, Avai seeks a third consecutive win but this would be its first away win this season. But the team is emboldened by both its current form and its head-to-head edge over Parana.
Both teams are on form and full of confidence for this game. Both are more likely to avoid defeat by nullifying each other, as first priority. Therefore, the game could be quite close with few goals. Draw and Under 2.5 goals.

Parana vs Avai
Home team comes into this game on the back of three victories ie away win against table leader Vasco Da Gama, home win over Joinville and the latest an away win over Bragantino. Therefore, Parana is motivated to seek a fourth consecutive win that will propel it from 5th spot into the G4! Coach Marcelo Martelotte has designed a cohesive team that seeks to control the game and to exploit the opponents' mistakes. The visitors are themselves on a 4-game unbeaten run - two draws and two recent back-to-back wins, including last saturday's home win over table-leaders Vasco. Therefore, Avai seeks a third consecutive win but this would be its first away win this season. But the team is emboldened by both its current form and its head-to-head edge over Parana.
Both teams are on form and full of confidence for this game. Both are more likely to avoid defeat by nullifying each other, as first priority. Therefore, the game could be quite close with few goals. Draw and Under 2.5 goals.

Bet won! Sampaio 1-0 Criciuma

Bets won! Paysandu 1-3 Nautico ; Goias 0-2 Bahia
 

Paysandu vs Nautico
Home-side is coming from a 3-0 away loss to Bahia.  On top of recent absences due to injury, the team seems to be having a dressing room crisis as well; forcing the club management on monday to suspend three players for the rest of the season. Meanwhile Nautico seems to be gaining momentum and Coach Aexandre Gallo has a full squad against Paysandu. Away win.
Goias vs Bahia
Hosts finally return to their home stadium (Serra Dourada) but Coach Enderson Moreira still cannot field a stable 11due to persistent absences. They come up against a confident, attacking Bahia team that creates and converts its chances; and appears to have worked on its defence following the 4-3 away loss to Vasco Da Gama. Meanwhile hosts struggle to score (from set-pieces and counter-attacks). Away win.

Anyone care to put me off over 2.5 goals in the Samp-Roma match?  Its priced up at evens.
Samp 4 last 6 over Roma 3 last 6 over Samp missing both fullbacks, veteran defensive midfielder Palombo doubtful, and suspect defensively.  Strong Eder-Muriel partnership has continued under Zenga. Roma having to play De Rossi at CB and have been struggling to stop their more skilful opponents creating chances. Roma out for revenge after 0-2 home defeat in March. Negatives:
Both teams tend to play quite centrally (Salah excepted) which may give us a congested game. Its not traditionally a high scoring fixture Grateful for any views

Bournemouth V Sunderland Sunderland +1.0 @ 1.751 Matchbook > 5% BR This is clearly an important game for both clubs as you would feel they are directly competing with each other to avoid relegation come the end of the season. For Bournemouth this is the kind of home game they should be looking to take maximum points from if they wish to stay in the EPL while Sunderland can’t really afford to loose to a direct rival. The pressure will be on both teams for this encounter. Bournemouth have struggled to adapt to life in the premier league so far and Eddie Howe’s 4-4-2 module has only really proved effective against a very narrow West Ham team thus far. Bournemouth are not so creative through the centre of the park in the absence of key central midfielder Harry Arter. They are still dangerous from wide positions with the system they play but they currently lack the full range of attacking dynamics seen during their championship winning campaign. The injuries to Tyrone Mings and particularly Max Gradel are also problematic for Eddie Howe’s team. Gradel was a real threat on the left flank and this allowed more space for Matt Ritchie on the right as opposition teams would find it difficult to handle both these threats at the same time. Now Gradel is out of the equation, opposition defenses can concentrate their efforts on Ritchie who will now often find himself double marked in games, limiting his attacking threat. Bournemouth can still utilize Marc Pugh on the left wing, he knows the system well and can perform to a decent standard at this level but Bournemouth’s options are now starting to look limited when attacking from wide positions. Upfront Bournemouth have decent options with the likes of Callum Wilson and Glenn Murray but Howe has so far struggled to effectively integrate one of his forwards in the all important second striker role. Howe has often deployed a 4-4-1-1 this season in an attempt to prevent his central midfielders from being overrun in a 4-4-2. The second striker role in a 4-4-1-1 is really a specialist position, Josh King has given it a good go, some would prefer Lee Tomlin there but so far you would have to say it is a problem area for them. I also remain unconvinced by Bournemouth’s centre-back pairing at this level. Steve Cook and Tommy Elphick are generally robust and strong in the air (despite Bournemouth being terrible at defending set-pieces so far this season) but neither are particularly good at defending against players with pace and skill, attributes they will have to face in an improving Sunderland side this Saturday. I watched Sunderland against Tottenham at the weekend and I thought Dick Advocaat’s side put in a very good performance and really deserved something from the contest. The back four of Jones, O’Shea, Kaboul and van Aanholt looked more assured and generally the team played with a lot more heart and aggression than in earlier rounds. The most encouraging aspect was the front three which not only has real balance with the addition of Borini on the left side but also genuine threat now that Lens and Defoe are really starting to link up well. After a poor start, Sunderland are starting to improve and look more effective as a unit. We should still expect them to be in a relegation dogfight over the course of the season but in my view they have a fair chance of survival if Advocaat can maintain the spirit level of his players. So what are the risks? It’s a high pressure game and we can’t be sure of the approach either side will take given the importance of the contest. Logic and reason can go out the window in 6 pointers just as they do with local derbies so even big AH lines can struggle to provide a safety net wide enough to cover the outcomes in these situations. Despite this, I don’t think Sunderland should be available on such a big line here. +1.0 looks generous given the current performance levels of the two teams so I will get behind the away side here.

Europa League Group G 21:05 Saint-Étienne - Rosenborg This game will be played at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Both teams use natural grass at home. Saint-Étienne is in 4th place with 10 points in Ligue 1 France. At home they are 1/1/0 goals 1:2. In last five matches played they drew one game 1-1 againts Milsami in El and won four in a row . In france won over Lorient, Bastia and Montpellier last round 1-2. Manager Christophe Galtier is convinced for a home win tonight despite the respect for a big name as Rosenborg. These are 20 players ready Goalkeepers: 16.Stéphane RUFFIER; 30.Jessy MILL. Defenders: 3.Pierre-Yves Polomat; 19.Florentin Pogba; 20.Jonathan BRISON; 24.Loïc PERRIN;25.Kévin MALCUIT; 26.Moustapha Bayal Sall;29.François Clerc; 32.Benoît ASSOU-EKOTTO. Media: 5.Vincent PAJOT; 6.Jérémy CLEMENT;8.Benjamin Corgnet; 11.Valentin EYSSERIC;18.Fabien LEMOINE. Forwards: 9.Nolan ROUX; 14.Neal MAUPAY;17.Jonathan Bamba; 22.Kévin MONNET-PAQUET;27.Robert BERIC. Top scoresr striker R. Hamouma 5/2 is missing . Rosenborg is in 1st place in Tippeligaen with 55 points and secured the champion tittle after won over Stabaek 1-0 Sunday. Only defender M. Dorsin 16/1 is injured. Striker A. Søderlund 22/20 is back after was suspended in stabaek game also P.Helland 17/12 is ready . Last mutual game ended 3-0 in french side in 2008. Hosts kicked off last season's group stage with five straight draws: three 0-0s and then two 1-1. While Rosenborg are unbeaten in their last nine European away games (W7 D2). Tough game for Rosenborg in a stadium with 35000 supporters againts but i think they can score any time with Helland and Soderlund. Pick BTTS 2.00 @ 10Bet 7/10 Good Luck

[h=1]League One Opta Facts - August 29-31[/h] Blackpool v Walsall Blackpool have won four of their last five home league games against Walsall, though this will be their first meeting since April 2006 (L1). The Saddlers have failed to score in three of their last four visits to Blackpool. Blackpool are without a win in 22 league games (D7 L15). Walsall have lost one of their last 12 games (W6 D5), an 8-2 drubbing at the hands of Bristol City. Walsall are on a run of three consecutive victories, not winning four in a row since January 2013. Bradford City v Port Vale The Bantams have won just one of their last 13 league games against Vale (D5 L7). Port Vale's Michael O'Connor scored a 94th minute penalty to make it 2-2 in the last league meeting between the two. Jordan Pickford, now at Preston, was sent off for the foul. Bradford have won one of their last six games at Valley Parade (D1 L4). Port Vale are unbeaten in four away games (W1 D3). They last went five without defeat in February 2013. Bradford have failed to score more than once in a game since winning 3-0 at Doncaster in April. Bury v Oldham The Shakers are winless in their last five home fixtures against Oldham (D4 L1). Oldham are looking to keep three successive clean sheets away at Bury for the first time. Bury have registered the most shots in League One this season (51). Oldham have drawn eight of their last 11 games (W1 L2). Games involving Bury have seen the most goals in the top four tiers this season (19). Colchester v Scunthorpe The U's have won just one of their last 18 league fixtures against Scunthorpe (D10 L7), last beating them in February 2006. Scunthorpe have scored in each of their last seven against Colchester, but have also only kept two clean sheets in the process. Colchester are unbeaten in seven home league games (W3 D4), their best run since August 2012. The Iron have conceded at least two goals in each of their previous 11 away games, conceding 29 goals in that time. They last kept a clean sheet on the road in October 2014. Scunthorpe have failed to score in their previous two games; they haven't failed to score in three in a row since April 2012. Doncaster v Fleetwood The 0-0 draw between the two last season at the Keepmoat Stadium was the first time Doncaster had hosted Fleetwood. The Cod Army won the reverse fixture 3-1, with goals from Stephen Dobbie, Liam McAlinden and David Ball. Only the latter is still at the club. Doncaster have gone three league games without a goal; they haven't gone four without scoring since February 2011. A win against Donny will give Fleetwood a third consecutive win, their best run since winning three in August 2014. Fleetwood have scored four goals in each of their last two games. Millwall v Chesterfield Millwall have lost just once in their last 12 home matches against Chesterfield (W7 D4) and are unbeaten in their last seven. Chesterfield have only failed to score once in their last eight visits to Millwall. The Lions have conceded seven home goals this season, the worst record in the division. Chesterfield have lost just two of their last 13 games (W7 D4). Peterborough v Gillingham Peterborough have alternated between victory and defeat in their last four home games against the Gills - if that were to continue here, they would win. Gillingham won both meetings with the Posh last season by a 2-1 scoreline. Posh have conceded eight goals in their last four home games (W2 D1 L1). Gillingham are without an away clean sheet in seven games, conceding 13 goals in that time. Peterborough have lost their last two games, but haven't lost three in a row since November 2014. Rochdale v Barnsley Rochdale failed to score in either match against Barnsley last season. All five of Barnsley's goals against Rochdale in May's final day 5-0 win came in the 67th minute or after. Rochdale have played 14 home games without a single draw (W9 L5). Barnsley haven't kept a clean sheet in six away league games, conceding 12 goals. Dale have scored in 13 consecutive home games. Shrewsbury v Burton Shrewsbury have lost just one of the eight previous meetings with Burton in the Football League, though this was their most recent meeting in January 2015 (W4 D3). The Brewers have never scored more than once in their eight contests with Shrewsbury, scoring four times in total. Shrewsbury have failed to score more than once in any of their last eight games (W2 D2 L4). Burton have won six of their previous eight away games (D1 L1). Shrewsbury's three home league defeats in a row is their worst run since losing six in January 2014. Swindon v Sheffield United Swindon scored five goals in both of their home games against Sheffield United last season (5-2 in regular league game, 5-5 in League One playoff leg). Michael Smith scored four times in those two matches. The Blades are winless in eight trips to Swindon in regular league matches (including playoffs, D5 L3). Swindon have the best shot conversion rate in League One this season, scoring with 29.03% of their shots. Sheffield United have kept just one clean sheet in their last 16 away league games. Including play-offs, the last five games at the County Ground have seen 29 goals scored. Wigan v Crewe Wigan have won five of their last six league games against Crewe, though the two haven't met since February 2005. Crewe's only win in Wigan in the league came in March 2004, courtesy of a Dean Ashton hat-trick (D2 L7). No player has attempted more shots (11) without scoring in League One than Wigan's Michael Jacobs this season. The Railwaymen's last away clean sheet was in January; in 12 games since, they've conceded 27 goals (W3 D1 L8). The Latics, who won at home last time out, haven't won back-to-back home league games since August 2014. Coventry v Southend Coventry haven't kept a clean sheet in nine league games against Southend. Southend have scored 13 goals in the last four trips to Coventry, though three of those came in the 1960s (games ended 3-3, 4-3 and 5-2). The Sky Blues have only failed to score in one of their last 12 home league games (W4 D4 L4). Since losing 4-2 to Stevenage in February 2015, The Shrimpers have conceded just seven goals in nine away games (W4 D3 L2). Coventry are aiming to win three home league games in a row for the first time since November 2013.

Maccabi Tel Aviv- FC Basel I am very keen on the away win here, Maccabi Tel Aviv forced a 2-2 draw in the first leg, courtesy of a brace from star player Eran Zahavi, who now has six goals in the competition this season, despite creating just five attempts on goal in Basel. That puts them in the driving seat in that a win, or any low scoring draw would see them progress, but there is still a lot of pressure now on the hosts, they have already lost at home to Viktoria Plzen (1-2) in the previous round and also conceded twice here in their domestic opener at the weekend. They did rest a lot of players for that, but still started Zahavi which seemed odd, but he is just so key to everything they do offensively, however, he is surely going to come in for very special attention from the visitors this evening. FC Basel are Champions League veterans, having made that stage in four of the last five seasons, including progressing from a group containing Liverpool and Real Madrid last year. They have got used to the money the competition brings and might even have losely budgeted for it this season, there will definitely be good bonuses on the line. This is far from a trip into the unknown for the Swiss giants, as they knocked Maccabi out of both the Champions and Europa League in 2013-14, which must be some kind of record and so, it will be their third recent visit here, they have yet to lose to the Israeli side in five meetings and in truth, on later reflection, would probably have taken as much confidence out of their domination of the first leg than disappointment at conceding that late equaliser. 85 UEFA ranking places between these two, which is probably flattering to the home side if anything, but an indication of their respective ability and no real "surprise" factor for Maccabi to cling to. Away win. FC Basel -0.5 ball 2.16 asian line/Sportmarket.

National League There always seems to be a change to the name of the league and this season is the biggest one yet as the Conference has been rebranded (rather pointlessly in my view) and it is now known as the National League. Let’s start with the team I think are going to be going up as Champions. I usually start fancying one team for the title around the beginning of April and that team this time around was Eastleigh. They remind me a lot of Fleetwood. A small team who are well funded and who made the play-offs in their first season in the division. Fleetwood were well beaten by AFC Wimbledon and Eastleigh were comfortably seen off by Grimsby last term. The year after Fleetwood were fairly easy winners of the title and although I doubt Eastleigh have a Jamie Vardy lurking in their ranks, I really do think they can repeat what Fleetwood did. Last season I made plenty opposing Eastleigh away from home during the first half of the season as they really struggled. However in the 2nd half of the season their away form massively improved as they got to grips with the league. If they can perform like that over the whole season then that should see them with enough points to land the title. Their home form dipped a little after being pretty much unbeatable for a fair part of the season, but it provided a solid base. They have signed well over the summer to add to an already strong team and I find it pretty hard to see how they cannot improve on what they achieved last season. Fleetwood needed a year at this level (as most clubs do whichever league they have come from) and Eastleigh clearly did as well. I think there are very few teams who can win the league this season and on that basis I think they are a very solid e/w bet at 8/1 (general) as I would be surprised if they finished outside the first three. I was planning on having a lumpy win single on Eastleigh, but one of the reasons why I have gone e/w way is because I have begun to fancy Grimsby more and more. I have never fancied Grimsby to win the league and it may seem odd to fancy them this time around, given the poor record of play-off final losers in their next season at this level, but there are reasons to think this could be the year that they finally get out of the division. To help get over the upset of losing at Wembley, Grimsby fans have given more than £100k to the club to spend on players. That is a huge amount and how can it not lift the players to want to do well for the fans who have helped play their wages. They have lost a couple of vital players from last season and I must admit I am not sure that £50k signee Omar Bogle is up to making the step up, but they have added well to the squad. They have also been superb in pre-season. Now I am not one to get carried away with pre-season form as it doesn’t mean an awful lot in the grand scheme of things, but in this case I think it is fairly important as it proves the players are in the right frame of mind after play-off heartache in May. They have tended to not be quite good enough to win the title in the last few seasons, but I think they are in the best position they have ever been and they have to be the savers at 5/1. T ranmere are also at the head of the market and they have done well to get Gray Brabin in as manager as he knows the league well, which I always think is crucial. He has got some decent players in as well and I do think they can reach the play-offs, but given Bristol Rovers couldn’t even win the title last season I find it hard to see how a smaller club like Tranmere can. It was Rovers’ slow start which stopped them and it wouldn’t be a surprise if it took Tranmere a while to acclimatise. It is so hard for relegated teams to go up at the first time of asking and if Tranmere are to do it I think it will be via the play-offs. Being a Gloucester City fan I have been desperate for Cheltenham to be relegated back to non-league for years, so naturally I was happy with their relegation. The only snag is I now have to think about them as a punting prospect and thus have to forget about me wanting to lose every game. With that in mind I actually think they might do OK this season and could sneak into the play-offs. Gary Johnson hasn’t been in the league for a while, but he has won the division before and he has made some solid signings. However the same comments for Tranmere apply here and, as Cheltenham are an even smaller club, I struggle to see them doing any better than the play-offs and they are more likely to just miss out. The other Gloucestershire club in the division, Forest Green, are in single figures yet again to win the division, but they have struggled to put money into a proper title bid. They did reach the play-offs last season, however they never really looked like beating Bristol Rovers. I am not overly enthused by the players they have signed and I just think they will be found lacking again. I am not sure they have the right man in charge either, although he does now have a season at this level under his belt. They can go well again, but I just can’t see them winning it. Wrexham are the other team near the head of the betting and they have done well in getting Gary Mills in as manager. I was impressed with what he did at Gateshead and he knows the league very well. I can’t help thinking he will need another season to gain promotion though and they might well be the team I end up backing this time next year. Past these six, it is pretty hard to see any of the others being capable of winning the division. Woking gave us a great run for our money at big odds last season and really should have been in the play-offs. Gary Hill might well be able to find a bit more improvement, but it is hard to see how they can improve enough to get anywhere near a title bid. Barrow just won the Conference North last season and have money, but they haven’t made any eye-catching signings and I don’t fancy them at all. I can’t see Gateshead doing much now Gary Mills has left and Halifax look a shadow of the side they have been the last two seasons and they might struggle to get into the top half. Lincoln have signed well and although the manager is unproven they might well do better than their odds suggest. I think the same can be said about Aldershot and I like the players they have added. Consistency has been their big problem since being back in the division, but if that can be fixed then they might be capable of being in and around the play-offs. Chester could improve under Steve Burr, and Bromley could end up being the best of the promoted sides. They have signed well and usually one of the promoted teams end up doing very well so it could be them. Bet 365 have a handicap market and I think it is worth taking Eastleigh with a +4 start and Aldershot with a +23 start. Betway have a “to finish in the bottom 4” market and it looks competitive. If I had to name three I think will go down it would be Welling, Altrincham and Southport. None of them offer much value though so I will take a couple of chances of finding the fourth team. Braintree could be in for a season of struggle now Alan Devonshire has left and they are a team who have really been punching above their weight being in the division. Their pitch is always waterlogged as well and they could easily have a busy last couple of months to the season if the weather is against them. Their squad doesn’t look that strong either and they look a fair price at 11/4. The other team worth backing are Torquay. That might sound surprising, but they nearly went out of business over the summer and their manager Paul Cox has admitted he has a full-time team on part-time wages. I do like Paul Cox as a manger and he might well be able to see them safe, but with a young squad and little money to strengthen, they could well be in for a long season. At 7/2 they are certainly worth an interest.