GW 3 – Ones to Watch

Matt: Well we haven’t exactly set the world alight with our first couple of weeks worth of tips, but at least our 100% scoring record remains intact! Let’s see if we can raise our game a little and pull out some gems in week 3.

I’m definitely not going to endear myself to any Ebbsfleet United fans reading this, because for the second week running i’m tipping their opponents! Last Saturday AFC Fylde scored after just 4 minutes, but rather surprisingly that was as good as it got for those of us who backed them, as The Fleet showed great resilience to keep Fylde at bay for the rest of the game. Unfortunately for the Kent based side, the leaky defensive performances resumed in midweek by way of a 3-1 home defeat to Yeovil Town, whilst this weekend’s opposition Solihull Moors produced an outstanding 6-1 victory away at Chorley the same evening. We’re very much in the embryonic stages of the season, but this is a top v bottom clash in which i’m firmly expecting Solihull Moors to rack up some goals and help pile up the points!

Up in Scotland, there’s the League Cup competition available for selection and i’m quite sure Celtic and Rangers will be as popular as ever, given both their current goal-scoring form and the fact they’re facing lower league opposition. For me it’s a trip into League Two though, where newcomers Cove Rangers go up against Cowdenbeath at the Balmoral Stadium. The Wee Rangers have made a dream start in their new surroundings, but what really matters to us is how often they find the net……..and they’ve delivered the goods in every game so far! 18 goals in their previous five competitive matches cannot be ignored and it suggests that this could be a tough afternoon for Cowdenbeath, the side with arguably the best nickname around; The Blue Brazil! The visitors may need some true Brazilian inspiration if they are to put a halt to Cove’s hot streak in front of goal! Good luck to everybody.

Ally: My first tip of the weekend takes me to the Emirates stadium in London, where Arsenal will be looking to build on last week’s 1-0 win at Newcastle with victory over Burnley. The Gunners are widely regarded to have had a good summer in the transfer market, despite the loss of Aaron Ramsey to Juventus and former skipper Laurent Koscielny. They’ve smashed their transfer record to bring in exciting young French winger Nicolas Pepe, and together with the deadly Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang and the likes of Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil they certainly pose an attacking threat to worry any defence. Their issue is keeping the ball out of their own net, and at times they struggle to break opposition teams down. Sean Dyche’s side are reknowned for their dogged and physical style, particular away from home and I’m sure Saturday will be no different, but I’m backing hosts’ attacking players to have the quality to break The Claret’s resistance and get among the goals.

My other pick sees me north of the border for the Scottish League One clash between Falkirk and Montrose. The Bairns started the season with an uninspiring 0-0 draw at newly promoted Peterhead, but followed that up a week later with a thumping 6-0 win over Dumbarton at the Falkirk Stadium. They followed that up with a memorable penalty shoot out win on Tuesday night over Celtic’s under 21 side in the Scottish Challenge Cup, and the Bairns will be looking to make it a hat-trick of home wins by triumphing over Montrose. The good news for Falkirk is that the Gable Endies are not generally good travellers, with just 3 away clean sheets to their name since way back in October 2018 and I’m hoping to see Falkirk get amongst the goals again here. Good luck with your selections.