League Two Midweek Tips: Stevenage can strike up win

Series of striker shifts can benefit Boro

Stevenage 2.447/5 v Colchester 3.412/5; the draw 3.42121/50
Kick-off at 19:00

There are a few reasons Stevenage, struggling near the foot of the division, are as short as 2.447/5 to beat Colchester, who have aspirations of promotion even if they lie 15th.

Chairman Robbie Cowling says there is unlikely to be any further transfer business after QPR striker Aramide Oteh's loan arrival, to bolster midfield top scorer Jevani Brown's seven strikes and Callum Harriott's five. Ironically, Stevenage will know all about him because the 22-year-old scored four league goals in 13 appearances for Boro, only leaving after the FA Cup defeat to Swansea.

Colchester's third top scorer, Luke Norris (4), could now face the U's at Broadhall Way, having transferred this month. He's yet to score for his new side in two appearances, having joined former U's team-mate Luke Prosser, a defender who has netted once for Stevenage since his summer transfer.

Those little nuances of rivalry aside, Colchester fans have every reason to fear another away trip. Morecambe pushed back up to the play-off positions by beating Steve Ball's men on Saturday, having been odds-on at home to do so. Colchester have just one win away and have lost at strugglers Scunthorpe and Southend, among six defeats.

Stevenage, defeated at a good Exeter side on Saturday, had a run of two draws and two wins before that, including a 1-0 win over Cambridge. Alex Revell's men had notched up three wins and four draws in nine games since late November - plus battled to a 1-1 draw at Hull and then winning on penalties in the FA Cup.

Midfielder Charlie Carter has to continue to take over Oteh's scoring mantle, having notched all his three goals since Boxing Day. Matt Stevens, 22, is an interesting addition from Forest Green. Stevenage must hope they can unsettle Oteh sufficiently for their own confidence to kick in.

Back Stags to keep up momentum

Mansfield 2.35/4 v Bolton 3.711/4; the draw 3.412/5

There is always a little trepidation when tipping a side with five straight wins. But the odds of 2.35/4 are far too tempting. Had the season started at Christmas, Mansfield would surely be odds-on against a team who have three points - all from draws - to show in their past six matches.

The Stags are unbeaten in that period and now much more confident, having notched a couple of home wins. Their first came in emphatic style on January 2, 4-0 at home to Port Vale, then following up by beating Salford.

George Lapslie declared that Mansfield was the place to be, after turning down offers from elsewhere to convert a loan from Charlton into a 2.5 year deal. Projections that the Stags might make the promotion picture have started to emerge.

That assessment could be premature. Or could it? The Stags are five points off the play-off positions. At this stage it is easier to put a run together while in the chasing pack, perhaps with less pressure, than to be in the top seven and stay there.

Mansfield have threatened for years to be promoted. It is certainly their ambition. After nearly doing so, they went backwards under a couple of managers. If they have the underlying belief and quality of players, is it just finding the right manager? Nigel Clough has them purring, with 14 goals in six games and six against, including two clean sheets.

Midfielder Lapslie has two of his five in that spell, while top scorer Jordan Bowery has five of his seven. Coach Andy Garner raved about forward Jamie Reid, who notched his third League Two strike of the season in the narrow win at Southend, saying that the backroom staff had always told him goals would come. He has netted in the past two matches.

Bolton remain a work in progress. And an enigma for Ian Evatt to work out. The manager demands they now "play angry", after another defeat, to Tranmere. Winning five on the trot (in all competitions) to the end of November seems long forgotten. The Trotters have scored just six times in six games and conceded 11.

They have plenty of experience in Antoni Scarcevic, Andrew Tutte and Nathan Delfouneso among others. But local observers worry that they are not building momentum as a force to be reckoned with in the second half of the season and are fed up with the manager's excuses.

Sent off after the final whistle on Saturday, Evatt sits this one out, furthering Clough's advantage. Bolton have battled to draws at good sides, at Carlisle (3-3) and Exeter (1-1) and at home to Cheltenham. But Mansfield seem in more free-scoring flow. Add over 2.5 goals @ 2.26/5.

Goal threat makes Latics' big price worth chancing

Cheltenham 2.021/1 v Oldham 4.67/2; the draw 3.55/2

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola - and England striker Phil Boden - both heaped praise on Cheltenham striker Alfie May after the visitors beat the Robins 3-1 in the FA Cup.

I wonder if Pep would love watching him just as much when he wasn't the only striker in a 4-5-1? Surely George Lloyd or Andy Williams - or both - will be restored alongside May against the Latics, as per Michael Duff's formation preferences in League Two so far.

The manager insisted the players should enjoy the moment, but would be back to work on Monday morning, for Tuesday's game. They certainly need to get back to winning ways to firm up promotion ambitions. Thoughts of leading City for 20 minutes, until Foden and friends found three goals in the final 10 minutes, are sure to have left them emotionally exhausted, never mind the effect on their muscles.

The Robins have had a tough run of league fixtures. They have scored just three times in a seven-game winless run, drawing five. These were against Salford, Colchester and Newport as well as lowly Stevenage and midtable Bolton.

Scoring has not come easy, while Oldham's last six matches have reaped 21 goals - 3.5 per game, 11 for and 10 against. Ironically, when I tip high-scoring games involving Oldham, they choose those occasions not to oblige!

While they drew their last two away games, 1-1 at Walsall and 0-0 at Grimsby, overall Harry Kewell's men remain very capable of banging in goals. Games against Bradford, Walsall (one of the recent two), Newport (twice) and Mansfield have all reaped four and in most cases five goals.

They showed no fear of falling behind early at long-time leaders Newport on Saturday, equalising through Davis Keillor-Dunn (four goals this season) and Robert Grant, to be level at 2-2 at half-time, before forcing an own goal to win.

Northampton, struggling in League One, must be flush with talent if they can allow experienced Nicky Adams to join the Latics. With winger Marcel Hilssner, on loan from Coventry, now also in the mix, Conor McAleny has few excuses not to double his season's 10-goal tally.

While there is no guarantee of goals against a team which seems stubborn, led by Ben Tozer at the back, they seem over priced at 4.57/2 given the circumstances. They are, after all, League Two's second highest points takers away from home with six wins and three draws, and the division's highest away scorers.