League Two Betting: Back Chester to put a smile on your face

English Football League / Ian Lamont / 24 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

Ian Lamont is left with a tough choice for his Boxing Day football outing and may well end witnessing Chester's home tie against Accrington Stanley, where he's tipping up the home side to take all three points.

A few weeks ago I offered my brother-in-law the choice for our annual Boxing Day fixture after celebrating Christmas just outside Chester.

We could either take in Bury versus Darlington to see a draw but probably few goals between two good teams, or go just up the road to the Deva to see a draw between two poor teams when Mark Wright's team take on Accrington Stanley.

Well, things have changed a little in Cheshire since I made that Chester prediction, with Wright adding the steel that comes with the experience of being - in his heyday - one of England's best centre backs to a side prone to shipping goals.

A goalless draw at promotion-chased Bradford last week showed the measure of their improvement after what, in current circumstances, was a routine 2-0 win over Notts County.
Throw into the mix a striker in Ryan Lowe who has been scouted by clubs higher in the Football League - and therefore has a great deal personally to play for ahead of the January sales - and Chester look the better prospect in the match.

That is especially the case given Stanley's recent injury problems that have contributed to 10 goals in the "against" column in their past three games.

The latest in a long line of Accrington injuries have seen keeper Kenny Arthur suffer from a kidney injury that will keep him out for weeks and on-loan striker Gregg Blundell returned to Darlington with an injury after two games.

Backing Chester at [2.2] ruins what I was lining up as a festive draw treble, something which any night of the year should reap about 40 times your stake.
But we have other options, starting with the Shakers against the Quakers at [3.7].

A draw assessment a few weeks ago still holds, with a dip into the under 2.5 goals market a certain additional play.

You may think the visitors to Gigg Lane might be, well, quaking, after away defeats to Chester and Morecambe and being held at home to Barnet. But Darlington will be promoted this season. Barnet boss Paul Fairclough told the world so after his side clawed two back last weekend.

Seriously, Darlington have only conceded more than once five times this season, on long trips south to Aldershot and Bournemouth, as well as home to Gillingham, then Chester and Barnet.
They ran into the latter two when they were on the upcurve and might have been a little surprised, but I feel frustrated Dave Penney - who has a nearly full squad to use over Christmas - will have seven-goal striker Liam Hatch and his team made fully aware of the abilities of Bury's bourgeoning attacking talents.

The trouble is for the hosts, the Shakers often fail to sustain the dominance they can build up for long enough to completely kill off the opposition.

Another draw chance comes not from a prediction from planning ahead a few weeks ago but from two teams' form dovetailing into likely equality when Barnet host Aldershot.
My gambling mentor told me never to bet in the fixture featuring my own team - Aldershot - when you don't fancy them to win.

But I'll take that risk because the Shots will find Barnet a tougher proposition than the table suggests after the introduction of experienced defender Gary Breen, who gives the young Bees a far more solid look. The Shots' confidence must have been rattled slightly after being 2-0 down before drawing at home to improving Grimsby and their away form has only just started to come right. Take the draw at [3.4].

For those desperate to try a draw treble on a day with an "x" in it that, pools enthusiasts of old insisted, brought many level games, how about Morecambe as they host Macclesfield at [3.5]?

Morecambe's favourite scoreline is still 1-1, seven of their 10 draws finishing such. Striker Michael Twiss will be pushing for a first league game in two months for the Shrimps, just after Danny Carlton notched his first goal since his return on loan from Carlisle, so competition for places is strong.

As for Macclesfield, they threw in another 4-0 defeat to interrupt their good recent run.

But with Keith Alexander espousing the benefits of a settled 16-man first team squad in recent weeks, while tweaking the starting 11, they will looking to recover by eyeing at least a point, even if they play a little cautiously to start, with perhaps just Martin Gritton up front.

Recommendations:

Draws: Barnet v Aldershot at [3.4]
Bury v Darlington at [3.7]
Morecambe v Macclesfield at [3.5]
Chester to beat Accrington at [2.2]