English Football League / Alan Dudman / 09 September 2010 /

Alan Dudman tells us how Bournemouth owe him and why there will be goals at Peterborough at the weekend...

Bournemouth [1.85] v Dagenham and Redbridge [5.00], the draw [3.75]

It's payback time with Bournemouth, having backed them to beat Notts County two weekends ago - with the Cherries leading 3-1 in the 91st minute - you would have thought the money was in the bag. Oh no, that 3-3 still hurts. How can anyone concede two goals in stoppage time?

Bournemouth tackle League One new boys Dagenham this weekend, and hopefully this will be more of a straightforward and less nervy game. Manager Eddie Howe continues to preach a wonderful brand of attacking football, and he's still being mentioned in connection with the vacant Southampton job. It's not surprising, he's a gem of a boss, and his side have only lost one game all season and sit seventh.

Last Saturday's 2-2 at Huddersfield was exceptional. Howe said rather bullishly: "We played all the football, from back to front." And to do that at the Galpharm takes some doing. The defending at set-pieces however is a bit of a worry, as Bournemouth
lack the height of last season's unit and are susceptible to the high ball in the box.

Formation-wise, Howe adopted one lone striker against Huddersfield - the very quick Josh McQuoid - and he's bagged four goals in four games to fill the boots of the outgoing Mr Pittman. Wingers Liam Feeney and Marc Pugh are excellent, whilst Marvin Bartley roams free with Shaun Cooper sitting in front of the back four. It all knits wonderfully together.

Dagenham are off the back of their east London derby win over Orient, and have a good playmaker in the shape of Danny Green, who delivers a fine range of passing and crosses. The Daggers lost forward Paul Benson to Charlton during the transfer window, but they still have goals in them. It should make for a good game, and although siding with Bournemouth, the over 2.5 goals market is appealing too.

Best bet:

Back Bournemouth to win @ [1.85]
Back over 2.5 goals @ [2.05]

Peterborough United [1.76] v Oldham Athletic [5.70], the draw [3.75]

What to make of Posh? They can score for fun, they have one of the best front threes in the division, and they lost to a Tranmere side full of kids last weekend. A chance for a redemption, and the layers have taken no chances with a miserly [1.76] on offer.

It's a shame the game isn't live, as the in-running markets could match Peterborough's worrying tendency to start off games terribly. Their second-half displays are nearly always better. If they are poor in the first 45 minutes this weekend, don't worry. Posh tend to come alive later on.

Peterborough's defeat to Tranmere left me stunned. They were always under pressure from Rovers and then resorted to playing the ball long. Boss Gary Johnson had five attackers on the pitch at one stage, and it all looked a bit disjointed...too attacking with no cohesion. They failed to score (and this is a side who hit 17 goals in six games prior).

Grant McCann should be starting this weekend, and the playmaker's partnership with James Wesolowski is like Dempsey and Makepeace -
a touch of silk and steel. Hopefully George Boyd will get a lot more of the ball than he did last week, which should lead us to a few goals.

Best bet: back over 2.5 goals @ [2.10]

Bristol Rovers [2.52] v Brentford [3.10], the draw [3.40]

Two teams I dislike at the moment. Brentford shocked Sheffield Wednesday last weekend in front of the Sky cameras, whilst Rovers seem to be a bit Jekyll and Hyde, the archetypal League One side. The Gas took a step in the right direction recently at Oldham, but we have to consider if Brentford's recent win was a fluke. I tend to think so, as they defended appallingly against Rochdale.

Suggested bet: Lay Brentford @ [3.10]

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