English League Two
2012-09-18 - Rotherham United vs Rochdale
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English League Two
Tuesday 18 September 2012 - Kick Off 7:45pm
Rotherham United
The moment Steve Evans took over as manager of Rotherham United, they were installed as the favourites to win the League Two title this season. The former Crawley Town manager had worked wonders at that club and he has overseen a solid, if not spectacular, start to the new season with Rotherham.
They are 6th in the League Two table at this early stage of the season and they have picked up 10 points from a possible 18 which means they are trailing leaders Gillingham by 6 points. Rotherham have won all 3 home games they have played in the League, scoring 8 goals and yet to concede.
Rotherham beat York City 1-0 here over the weekend to snap a 2 game losing run in all competitions and also erase the memories of their 6-2 loss to Port Vale. Their form to open the season has pretty much picked up from where they ended the last season and Rotherham have won 7 of their last 8 home games in League Two.
David Noble is currently unavailable for selection while manager Steve Evans is serving a touchline ban. The same starting line up from the weekend is expected to get the nod here.
Rochdale
After spending 36 years in the bottom tier of the English League pyramid, Rochdale won promotion to League One in 2010. They could only survive one season before being relegated in the second and are now trying their best to not have to wait so long for promotion back up the ladder.
They are 14th in the League One table with 8 points to their name as they get used to this level of competition again, but the nature of the League means any kind of momentum will see them quickly rise up the table. They have a 1-1-1 away record, scoring 5 goals and conceding 6 in those games.
Rochdale won their first away game in the League this season over the weekend at Wimbledon and they have now lost just 1 of their last 4 games in all competitions. Before that win at Wimbledon, Rochdale had failed to win any of their last 16 away games going back to last season when they were relegated from League One.
Peter Cavanagh, the club Captain, is having some injury issues and will not be risked in this one. Luke Watson, Reece Gray and Matt Edwards all remain sidelined.
Head to Head
This will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2009/10 season.
Rotherham won that season at home, but they had previously failed to win in 3 straight at home against Rochdale.
Prediction
I can understand why people would be backing Rotherham United at odds on to win their fourth straight home win to open the season, but I am instead going to back over 2.5 goals at the bigger price than the home win.
Rotherham clearly do score goals in front of their own fans so I do expect they will get at least one in this one, but Rochdale have shown they are also capable of troubling the opposition goalkeeper and they look good for a goal too.
Recent history between the teams also points to goals as the last 6 games between them have seen at least 3 goals go in, while 6 of the last 7 here in Rotherham have also seen at least 3 goals scored.
The over 2.5 goals has been priced at 1.95 and that will be my pick here.
The Pick :
Rotherham United 2-1 Rochdale
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back the Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.95
