GW 15 – Ones to Watch
Ally: After the shock Cup results involving the likes of Celtic, Hearts and Shrewsbury last weekend caused frustration for a large number of players, I’m hoping to at least get through my scorecard this week and select 7 teams who actually find the back of the net.
First up in my quest sees me head to Scottish League Two for the game which sees Edinburgh City face struggling Albion Rovers. The hosts aren’t exactly in sparkling form, particularly on home turf, but meeting Albion could be the ideal way to kick-start their season. The Citizens have had a couple of big wins on the road, hitting 5 past Brechin back in October and just last week travelled to Annan and recorded an impressive 4-0 victory, so they certainly have the ability to get among the goals when the mood takes them. It’s been a different story however back in the capital as they have scored just once in 3 games at Ainslie Park, that being a narrow victory against Elgin and losing the other two by the same scoreline. The Wee Rovers head down the M8 to Edinburgh with just one away league win since August 2019 and a solitary league clean sheet, and on that basis I’m tipping Edinburgh to re-discover the winning touch on Saturday.
Next up sees me a little closer to home in the East Midlands for the National League clash featuring Notts County and Woking at Meadow Lane. These teams occupy the final two play-off places with very similar records – 17 points and 17 goals apiece, albeit The Magpies have played a game less than their Surrey rivals. Notts have been in great goalscoring form on home turf, netting 12 times in just 4 games though surprisingly that includes a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Maidenhead. The Cardinals have kept just 2 away clean sheets in 20 games but have been in good goalscoring form of late themselves demonstrating a real ruthless streak to dispatch a pair of struggling teams, recording a thumping 5-1 win at Dover before following that up with a solid 4-1 home defeat of Barnet. Notts could only manage an uninspiring midweek 0-0 draw at Dagenham, but on home turf they are a different beast and so I expect Neal Ardley’s men to get back among the goals in what could be an entertaining afternoon. Good luck with your selections.