EFL Betting Preview – Saturday 27th January 2024 – Matt Jones
I'm a sports broadcaster and commentator Matt Jones and I'm having a look through the League One and League 2 fixtures for you ahead of this weekend because, well, the championship's been decimated, hasn't it? by the FA Cup fourth round, only three games taking place in the second tier and I have to say, I didn't really fancy any of them.
So I've picked out a little game from League One and one game from League 2.
So let's start with the game in the third tier and that one is Northampton against Shrewsbury. Look, this might be an obvious pick, but Northampton look, a really, really good bet to win this game.
They're ninth in the table, nine points outside the playoffs at the moment, but John Brady’s side only in their first season back in League One, remember, really have crept up the table in recent weeks.
They've got three wins from their last four matches and three of their four home defeats have all come to sides in the top 7.
The anomaly being Wycombe Wanderers and that doesn't bode well for their visitors. Shrewsbury, now of course under the new management of Paul Hirst. He's back at the club having left in 2018 to take charge of Ipswich, and he's charged now with guiding the Shrews away from the League One relegation zone. They're away form is one of the major reasons for where they are in the table. They've lost 10 of their 14 league matches on the road and that means they sit only just above the bottom 4.
They've also lost three in a row in all competitions and three in a row away from home. Shrewsbury 1, Northampton 0 in October, but Northampton, unbeaten in the last four meetings at Sixfields. And that game in October was when Northampton really were still trying to get used to playing in League One once again. They've certainly done that now and I fancy them for a home win in this one.
Into League 2 and it's another obvious home win for me. Walsall against Sutton. Walsall have lost their last two I'll give you that one was against Stockport and one in the FA Cup against high flying Southampton, Southampton, of course 2 divisions above them and looking set for a return to the Premier League, but both of those matches were away from home.
They've actually won Walsall four in a row at the Bescott Stadium, and they've also kept 4 clean sheets in their last five matches there. Their most recent home fixture, A 3-1 success against. Wrexham and before the defeats to Stockport and Southampton, they were on a run of six wins in seven outings so Matt Sadler side are doing very well at the moment. He was getting a lot of criticism earlier on in the season. Not so now. Seven points off the playoffs. Are they making a late promotion push? It certainly looks like it and they'll fancy their chances of picking up another three points. Meanwhile Sutton, now under, of course, the charge of former Cardiff boss Steve Morrison, though this will be his third game in charge of the team. And he has drawn his first two matches in charge, but they head to the Midlands with a quite shocking record. To be quite honest, they have the worst away points tally in League 2. They've only picked up six of them all season, won one, drawn three, lost nine. It is an unenviable record and they're on a run of five games without a win when you consider home and away matches as well. There are five points from safety in the relegation zone. They're in a lot of trouble. Steve Morrison has a big job on his hands to keep them up.
So I'm fancying a home win in this one, two games for you this weekend. Northampton to beat Shrewsbury and Walsall to beat Sutton.
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