English League Two
2013-02-02 - Port Vale vs Accrington Stanley
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English League Two
Saturday 2 February 2013 - Kick Off 3pm
Port Vale
Port Vale relinquished their lead in the League Two table thanks to their 2-2 draw at Wimbledon and Gillingham earning the points to take over, but Micky Adams will likely still be satisfied with their position in the table. With three automatic promotion places up for grabs, Vale are in a strong position to lock down one of those.
The side are 2nd in the League Two table and they have picked up 53 points which leaves them just 2 short of Gillingham at the top of the table and, more importantly, 8 clear of Northampton Town in the first of the Play Off places. Port Vale have a 6-4-3 record at Vale Park this season, scoring 30 goals and conceding 15 in those games.
The draw at Wimbledon means Port Vale have only lost 1 of their last 7 games in the League, while they had won 4 of their previous 5 games before the draw. Port Vale beat Plymouth 4-0 here last time out, snapping a run of 3 consecutive home losses in all competitions. The side have only won 2 of their last 7 home games in all competitions, an area they want to improve on if they are to take the League Two title.
Accrington Stanley
A bad run of form coupled with the bottom sides picking up results has dragged Accrington Stanley back down towards the bottom of the table. It looks certain to be a nervy final few months of the season for Stanley, beginning with this tough task at Vale Park.
Accrington are 19th in the League Two table but they have only 4 points between themselves and bottom club Wimbledon going into the weekend. The side bring in a 4-4-7 record on their travels, scoring 17 goals and conceding 25.
The poor run of form I mentioned has seen Accrington win just 1 of their last 11 games in the League, while they have lost 7 of their last 10 games. Accrington did draw 0-0 in their last away game at Plymouth, but they had lost 4 straight away games in the League before that.
Head to Head
Accrington Stanley beat Port Vale 2-0 at home earlier this season.
Port Vale have beaten Accrington 3 times in a row at Vale Park in all competitions, including a 4-1 win last season.
Prediction
I do like the attacking ability of Port Vale and I do think they are going to be too good for Accrington Stanley.
I am going to take a riskier option of backing Port Vale to cover the - 1.5 Asian Handicap in this one rather than backing them to cover - 1 with the benefit of getting the money back if they win by exactly one goal.
My reasoning is that Port Vale seem to be strong front runners and all of their home wins this season have come by at least 2 goals. On the other hand, Accrington were comfortably beaten at Rotherham United and Aldershot Town in recent away games.
With that in mind, the 2.50 being dangled that Port Vale win by at least 2 goals looks too good to pass up.
The Pick :
Port Vale 3-0 Accrington Stanley
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Port Vale - 1.5 Asian Handicap @ 2.50
