English League Two
2011-10-14 - Port Vale vs Northampton Town
A Sports Betting Pick by ArmchairPunter
Football – England – League Two
Friday 14th October 2011 – Kickoff : 1945hrs
Promotion candidates Port Vale take on unpredictable Northampton Town at Vale Park on Friday night as the hosts look to propel themselves into the top six.
Port Vale
Port Vale have put together a good consistent run over the past few weeks which has seen them lose just once in the last six matches and they sit on the fringe of the play-off places. Their home record stands at 3-1-2 15/11 which is not outstanding at first glance but consider their two losses were against top six opposition; losing 2-3 to leaders Southend United and 2-3 to Shrewsbury Town.
Vale have recorded wins over Accrington Stanley 4-1, Bradford City 3-2 and Rotherham United 2-0 and goes to show that they are no strangers to finding the back of the net! In fact, only Swindon Town (16 goals) have scored more home goals so far in League Two.
Port Vale have numerous options open to them in attack with strikers Tom Pope (3 goals, 3 assists), Marc Richards (4 goals, 1 assist) and Ben Williamson (2 goals, 2 assists), along with a potent midfield consisting of Sean Rigg (4 goals), Louis Dodds (2 goals), Doug Loft (3 goals, 2 assists) and Gary Roberts (4 goals, 2 assists) means that the Valiants have scored in all 14 of their matches this season so far and need just another goal this Friday to create a new club record.
Northampton Town
This may not faze visitors Northampton Town too much as they too have scored in every one of their away matches so far, but Friday night will see if they can keep a clean sheet against high-scoring Vale.
The Cobblers are unpredictable at the best of times but they are capable of creating trouble on the road which is evident this season as they’ve recorded wins at Aldershot Town, AFC Wimbledon and Barnet, and a 2-2 draw at leaders Southend United.
Their away record therefore reads 3-1-2 10/8, but some very important team news is that their leading scorer Adebayo Akinfenwa (5 goals, 3 assists) will miss the trip on Friday night due to a fractured jaw sustained in Northampton’s last match against Crawley Town. Midfielder Arron Davies (4 goals) has done well so far this season, while striker Marlon Jackson may be deployed as the lone forward on Friday night.
The Betting Verdict :
Port Vale really need to win these types of matches if they are to break into (and remain) in the top six, and with Northampton missing their leading scorer, this is an ideal opportunity to break a club record and move into the play-off positions – a solid 2-0 win to the hosts I feel.
The Pick :
Port Vale 2-0 Northampton Town
BEST BETTING TIP :
Pick :Take Port Vale to win @ 1.90+ which looks a generous price
