GW 13 – Ones to Watch

Matt: Another excellent week for me tips wise in GW 12, as Sunderland and Ross County banged in 9 goals between them to maintain my 100% record in this section. There, i’ve cursed it now!

To me GW 13 looks anything but straightforward, which is actually a good thing in terms of the the vast range of teams we’re likely to see selected, but quite the opposite in terms of tipping anyone! I’m going to go all the way down into the Scottish League Two for my opening choice, as second placed Peterhead take on rock bottom Albion. The Aberdeenshire side have been a favourite of all us tipsters over the past couple of seasons and i see no reason not to back them here; they’re top of the form guide and winning for fun right now! Surprisingly though, the Blue Toon’s home record isn’t overly impressive – before their 3-0 victory over Elgin last time out, they’d only scored 3 goals in the previous four matches at the Balmoor Stadium. Given Albion’s woeful away form, i don’t see this being of any concern on Saturday though, i’m confidently predicting a comfortable afternoon for the home side that should result in a few goals.

I’m staying in Scotland for my second tip, moving up a division but down the East coast to Fife. It’s Raith Rovers v Brechin City at Stark’s Park, with Rovers aiming to bounce back following last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at Forfar Athletic. They’re generally good for a goal or two on home soil (even though their away record is far superior in terms of finding the net – think 5 at Dumbarton and 4 at Airdrie as prime examples), and with Brechin suffering back to back 3-1 defeats over the past fortnight, Raith should be firm favourites to get on the scoresheet as they aim to prevent Arbroath pulling any further clear in the League One standings. Good luck!

Ally: For my first tip I’m heading to League One, where in-form Sunderland face one of their longest away trips of the season to Home Park in Devon, with Plymouth Argyle lying in wait. Sunderland boast an enviable goalscoring record, having scored in every league game so far to propel them up to third place, and it is this consistency that has caught my eye. They also happen to be on a five match winning streak too. Plymouth, meanwhile, have only recently moved off the foot of the table thanks to back to back wins against fellow strugglers Scunthorpe and Gillingham, but overall they have only one home clean sheet to their name this season. I fancy the Black Cats to keep that statistic in place on Saturday.

Next up sees another away side, this time National League pace setters Salford City, who also face a long journey to the south coast, in this case to Eastleigh. Salford boast an excellent away record, having won their last six league and cup matches on the road and scoring 16 goals in the process. This is in stark contrast to their home form which has seen them draw their last 2 games and generally struggle to dispatch teams that you would expect to beat comfortably. The hosts Eastleigh are winless at home since September, losing two of their three games at the Silverlake Stadium, and I hope to see Salford among the goals again this weekend. Good luck!