League Two Midweek Tips: Bolton can take baby steps with draw

19:00 kick-offs

Trotters can expect Iron to show resolve

Scunthorpe 3.211/5 v Bolton 2.56/4; the draw 3.613/5

One would think that two home games in quick succession would give teams hope of six points to regroup or bolster positions. Don't tell Exeter, who fluffed that chance spectacularly against Oldham. Scunthorpe, at the other end, had to be satisfied with a useful point, denied a win by a late equaliser against Morecambe.

Towards the end of a scrappy match, Emmanuel Onariase put the Iron ahead, just as the Shrimpers were putting up a head of steam in a scrappy match. Boss Neil Cox was "over the moon" with seven points in a week, as they try to steer themselves away from the bottom two.

The relentless run of fixtures pits them against another team with lifted spirits. Beating struggling Stevenage shouldn't be the biggest confidence boost in the world. However, Eion Doyle, League Two's top scorer with Swindon, did score for the second game running and notch his fourth of the season. The Trotters have taken a while to gel, which Gethin Jones says they are now doing.

After a six-week injury lay-off, the left-back believes mirroring Leeds' style of hunting for the ball in packs when out of possession - and Ian Evatt's brand of total football - will reap dividends. While it is tempting to be swayed by these confident noises, I think this match could follow the 34% of games this season that have ended in draws. Both teams are seeing signs of the improvements they have to make, but they're not in full flow yet.

The visitors are training with smiles on their faces, after a good run. A fourth win in a row (one was in the FA Cup) last happened in March 2017. They shouldn't be over confident, though, even if Evatt is pleased to have a largely injury-free squad now. Their penultimate away game resulted in a 4-0 reverse at Leyton Orient. Baby steps then. They might be thankful for a draw.

Chance for Crawley to get back on the horse

Crawley 2.26/5 v Grimsby 3.814/5; the draw 3.613/5

A second home game in quick succession gives John Yems a quick chance to put the "worst performance" in pretty much exactly a year in charge behind him. The 14-game unbeaten home run has ended. Crawley must now avoid successive home defeats, not suffered since April 2019 say Opta. The team is much-changed since last December, but it has more quality - based on the past couple of months - than they managed to display against Carlisle in the 3-0 defeat.

Perhaps Crawley lacked a bit of leadership without George Francomb. David Sesay won't have helped squad depth in defence in the former AFC Wimbledon man's absence, getting sent off after replacing Archie Davies, deputising at right back.

It is pretty unusual, too, that the Red Devils failed to register a shot on target. Ashley Nadeson normally manages to manufacture something. Young Max Watters started on the bench instead in the team. Meanwhile Jake Hesketh returned from a three-match ban. Did those two factors disrupt Crawley's momentum? With 12 goals for and five against at home, only three teams have netted more at home than Crawley (three clubs have 13) and a +7 goal difference is the second best in the division.

Grimsby suffered an "appalling" defeat at Tranmere, said boss Ian Holloway, who vowed to leave the club if the supporters demanded it. The Mariners are winless and goalless in three away. Meanwhile, Holloway said Bilel Mohsni and Ludvig Ohman had left the club, as he tried to trim the budget. That was news to Mohsni, who retorted via social media! Clearly, things are not right with the Mariners. What happened to "he's my Virgil Van Dijk" - the comments Holloway made on signing him?

Holloway will expect an upturn in performance in Sussex. However, his side have scored once in four league games and lost at Dagenham in the FA Cup. Two clean sheets in those four games mix up the story confusingly. They have netted just nine League Two goals in 11 games. Even if the visitors have one of their tighter days defensively, this is a chance for Crawley to get back on the horse.

Goals should flow as Rovers and Cumbrians go for win

Tranmere 2.962/1 v Carlisle 2.68/5; the draw 3.55/2

After a peak often comes a trough. A thrashing of one side can result in a side taking their foot off the gas in the next. However, in Tranmere's case they still have a new manager to impress - and a good one. Keith Hill took Rochdale out of this division and will wonder quite how Mike Jackson got the sack after noting Rovers' last two results.

His arrival wasn't announced until after they had thrashed Grimsby 5-0. The previous game they won 4-3, with two goals in injury time, coming from behind twice to win. Ironically, during Jackson's spell, they hadn't scored enough goals - drawing seven blanks in 10 League Two games.

James Vaughan, now with 100 career goals, has scored four goals in two games - having scored three in the previous eight. If he is looking for support, Otis Khan finally bagged a second on Saturday, as did Paul Lewis, the former Cambridge midfielder.

Keeper - and captain - Scott Davies indicates the hosts have made a concerted effort to keep clean sheets, something they failed to do often last year. They now have six.

Carlisle will test their resolve, having slipped three past Crawley to shatter the Reds' 14-game unbeaten home record on Saturday. In the seven games Tranmere have conceded, they have let in two or more four times. Tranmere haven't won four in a row since March 2019, stress Opta, while Carlisle are looking for back-to-back away wins for the first time since September 2019.

The Cumbrians will have taken huge confidence from defeating Crawley, particularly winning a game handsomely without Jon Mellish adding to his seven goals. Aaron Hayden popped up from the back to score one of his regular goals, while Joshua Kayode notched his second of the season. He needs to score more. Rhys Bennett scored his first goal for the visitors.

Chris Beech, Carlisle's manager, will be reunited with Hill, to whom he was assistant when Rochdale won promotion in 2014 and enjoyed good FA Cup runs. The hosts have conceded just five at home but I wouldn't be surprised if this game saw over 2.5 goals at 2.26/5 as both teams go for a win.

Mansfield have momentum to beat stalling Harrogate

Mansfield 2.6413/8 v Harrogate 3.02/1; the draw 3.412/5

Tentatively, I'm leaning towards Mansfield to continue their revival under Nigel Clough. There has been a lot made of how they won three games in a row before drawing with Colchester. Too much. I'm only interested in League Two. So that was one win. They drew the previous two, though, while waiting for the former Derby County manager's arrival.

He certainly seems to have galvanised them. There is hesitation by the layers in the size of their win price though. Bettors must think that the malaise that has left the Stags in the bottom third of the table is deep set. It is true that the new manager cannot bring in players until January. But the price is a bit large considering visitors Harrogate have picked up just two points in six games. As Opta stress, they are winless in six after three straight wins in October.

Nicky Maynard - at his best with a long-range strike - scored in last Friday's draw. Clough was delighted. Four points from two games against top four sides he concluded - and the Stags should have had six, he felt.

Maynard says Clough has brought a new sense of freedom. Colchester thought they should have won. Harrogate are targeting a "scruffy" win, says assistant boss Paul Thirwell, standing in for Covid-hit Simon Weaver. Any win will do. Standards, he says, have slipped in recent weeks. Marek Stech in the Stags' goal knows about a slip, which cost his side a goal against Colchester.

The hosts haven't yet won a game at home this season. The visitors started well on the road, winning at Southend, Bradford and Grimsby and drawing at Port Vale. But there have now been no points away in three games, at Colchester, Newport and Leyton Orient. Will Smith is now out for 10 weeks with tendon trouble.

Jack Muldoon could get back in the scoring groove, but the hosts have the momentum to extend their new manager's honeymoon period.