It's Round and It's White
This week’s treble comes from the Football League with high flying Championship and League One teams under the spotlight.
Most teams in League One and Two hit the magical “ten games” mark this week and Championship sides will do so this weekend. Quite what the significance of “ten games in to the season” actually means is open to discussion but it is a phrase that is often cited, usually in reference to a manger under pressure or by fans whose team have undergone a lot of changes. Equally, for anybody who enjoys a flutter on football, ten games is often considered to provide enough a reasonable enough form to make a more accurate assessment of a team’s chances of winning.
With Premier League teams still only having played six games, the form is still pretty unreliable in the top flight and as such, this week’s treble will concentrate on three teams in the Football League and if they all win, will pay combined odds of 29/1 with Skybet.
Crystal Palace v Burnley – home win @ 11/8
First up is the Championship clash between Crystal Palace and Burnley at Selhurst Park where the rejuvenated Eagles are the pick to extend their unbeaten run to seven games at the expense of Burnley, who has a record of just one win and three defeats on the road so far this season.
In contrast, Dougie Freedman’s side has won five of their last six games, including its last three, made up of two impressive away wins at Bolton and Watford in the past seven days and dispatching table toppers, Cardiff City, last time out at home.
Palace’s striking partnership of Glenn Murray and Wilfried Zaha are on fire currently with the duo accounting for the club’s last six goals and if either player continues their vein of form on Saturday, they should have too much fire power for the visitors.
Burnley also has a player in rich goalscoring form in the shape of Charlie Austin, who is the country’s top goalscorer with 11 goals in eight league games so far this term. However, without the goals from the former bricklayer, the Clarets would be in deep trouble and despite scoring a hat-trick midweek, it was not enough for the team to beat Sheffield Wednesday. Without a clean sheet in ten games, Burnley look set to struggle against an inform Palace side, which is why the home win looks great value at 11/8.
Notts County v Tranmere – away win @ 5/2
With both these teams flying high at the top of League One, you may argue that it is difficult to call the winner and that may well prove to be the case, however, at odds of 5/2 we’re happy to side with league leaders, Tranmere Rovers, to pick up the away win.
Since arriving at Prenton Park for a third stint as manager back in March, Ronnie Moore has been a revelation at the Birkenhead club. After guiding the team to safety last season, his side has started this term as the division’s runaway leaders, already four points clear of second place Stevenage after an unbeaten start to the season, which boasts seven wins and three draws from their first ten games. A sequence of results that make them very difficult to oppose, home or away!
Notts County currently sit fourth in League One with five wins, three draws and two defeats from their first ten games. However, those two defeats came at Meadow Lane, one of which was against Stevenage this past midweek and the other against Walsall, which suggests that Keith Curle’s team aren’t unbeatable, something we have to be proved otherwise about Tranmere! The away win should never be priced at 5/2 in this game and as such, we’re happy to snap up the value and include the visitors in the treble.
Brentford v Crawley – away win @ 13/5
We’ve gone for another away win in League One to complete this week’s bet and it will be Crawley who we’re hopefully relying on to complete the hat-trick of wins.
Richie Barker’s side have adapted well to life at this level following promotion last season and with six wins from ten games, they sit third in the table. Three of those wins have come on the road and they can make that four wins against a Brentford side that has only won one of its last five games, including a 0-0 draw last time out on Tuesday night against a Shrewsbury Town side that has yet to win away.
Much like the argument put forward for backing Tranmere, the odds about the Crawley win are too big to ignore and in what, on paper at least, looks set to be a close run affair the 13/5 about the away win is the call.
Good luck with your weekend bets and if you’re looking for further help, check out what Steve Claridge has got to say in his column over at Betting Directory, this week he’s also tipping up a Palace win, along with victories for Stevenage and Leicester.
You can fan follow me on Twitter @Rodonsport and let me know how your own trebles have got on.
