Ben’s Bookie Bashers: Bluebirds and Robins to fly

Many punters will have experienced that feeling that comes with getting every result on your Accumulator correct, bar one…

Having felt this over-riding wave of emotion over the past two footballing weekends, I think it is time that I show the bookies who is boss by getting some of my cash back.

Ben is hoping to reduce the bookmakers to tears.

Here are some tips that really take my fancy in the lower breadths of the Football League.

There is a lot of pushing and shoving in the Championship for one of the four coveted Play-Off positions, and there are over half of the league vying to get into the end-of-season tournament. One of those teams that are hitting form at the current moment is Cardiff City, who are in third place and have lost the fewest games (four) in the whole division. They play host to a Portsmouth side that are battling on through major problems behind the scene, and are struggling to stay in the division after suffering relegation only two seasons ago. The hosts are 20/23 with Boylesports.

Dropping down a level to League One, and the top fixture on the coupon here is Bournemouth v Tranmere. After starting the season superbly, the men from Merseyside have dropped off remarkably and currently lie in 16^th position. The complete opposite has happened on the South Coast, as the Cherries endured a bad start, occupying one of the relegation places for a time before a change in their fortunes means that they are poised nicely in 9^th, only four points outside of the Play-off places. A home win is a best priced 10/11 by William Hill.

Staying in League One, the most surprising team this season by far has to be Stevenage, who are aiming for a third promotion in a row. They have taken to this division admirably, adopting unique tactics that have given them every chance of carrying on their success. This has led to manager Graham Westley leaving to become manager of Preston North End, but this didn’t seem to affect them as they cruised to a 1-5 away win at Rochdale, and they appear to be too good for up-and-down Scunthorpe, who are struggling to adapt to life back in this division. A Stevenage win is 6/4 with Coral, a definite contender for bet of the weekend.

Finally, we go value hunting in League Two, where there are plenty of good bets available. One of the surprises of the whole football season is the form of Cheltenham, who are second in the table having been tagged as potential relegation candidates. They are there very much on merit and base their success on keeping things tight at the back, having kept 11 clean sheets. This weekend, they come up against a Bristol Rovers side that has underwhelmed in search of promotion so much so that they recently relieved Paul Buckle of the managerial duties at the Memorial Ground. If the home side want to prove more people wrong then they need to win their home games at Whaddon Road. This is one that should be fairly straightforward, and the Robins are a fairly-priced 4/5 with Sky Bet.

Ben’s Bookie Bashers

• Cardiff to beat Portsmouth @ 20/23
• Bournemouth to beat Tranmere @ 10/11
• Stevenage to beat Scunthorpe @ 6/4
• Cheltenham to beat Bristol Rovers @ 4/5

Put in a four-timer, these predictions come in at an appetising 16/1.