GW 6 – Ones to Watch
Matt: More good performances from my two tips last weekend, with both teams finding the net three times, although the gloss was completely wiped off by Lincoln City who caused an avalanche of minus scores – myself included! This game!! GW 5 was every bit as dramatic as we’d anticipated though, so let’s hope for more of the same here.
At first glance GW 6 looks to be a very tricky set of fixtures – you can see why so many players default to the Premier League as often as they do! As has become the norm, the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea are going to be in high demand! My first tip does indeed come from the top flight, but in Scotland rather than England. Rangers may be in 7th place and hardly setting the division on fire, but off the back of their first defeat of the season to hated rivals Celtic, a game against bottom of the league Dundee FC at Ibrox should provide the perfect opportunity to bounce back – and perhaps in some style! The Dee are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this season, have lost four games out of four and even managed a 3-0 reversal at home to Championship outfit Ayr United in the Betfred Cup! This fixture has a home win written all over it, but stranger things have happened! Either way, i have to believe that The Gers will find the net at the very least. If they don’t, Steven Gerrard may find himself under some early pressure!!
I’m actually half tempted to pick Lincoln City as a tip myself this week, despite their woeful result last weekend, as a trip to Macclesfield Town should present a golden opportunity to right that wrong to an extent. However, i’m gonna stay put in Scotland and head down the M77 from Glasgow into Ayr, where Ayr United host Falkirk. The Bairns are another team who tasted defeat last time out, a thrashing would be a fairer assessment actually, as they were hammered 5-0 by a rejuvenated Queen of the South. On home soil they are a different prospect altogether though; they’ve won seven of their last eight matches at Somerset Park and have scored there in EVERY match for over a year! This could be a huge kiss of death, but with visitors Falkirk having lost four out of four in the league, conceding 8 goals in the process, all the indications are that Ayr’s magnificent goal-scoring run isn’t ready to end just yet! Good luck to you all!
Ally: It really does seem slim pickings on first glance at the fixture list this week (if you avoid the absolute bankers that are Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester City – not exactly Ones to Watch as surely everyone will be watching them!), especially coming off the back of my disastrous last gameweek when I tipped Lincoln City!
Firstly I’m heading to the National League where Gateshead host basement side Braintree Town, who are yet to taste victory this season. Gateshead have won half of their ten league matches and currently occupy 8th place, just outside the play-offs. The Tynesiders have already won three of their five games at the International Stadium and scored in every game to boot, netting 8 goals in the process. Braintree meanwhile are yet to keep a clean sheet on their travels, though I should point out that The Iron haven’t conceded more than one goal in any of those games, so this may not be a goal fest. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
My second tip sees me on more familiar ground in the Scottish League Two, where Peterhead face an away trip down the east coast to Fife, with Cowdenbeath awaiting them. The hosts are fresh from a 4-0 rout of Berwick in their last home game, but Peterhead represent a far tougher proposition (on paper at least!) and head into this game having won both away league matches so far, with an aggregate scoreline of 6-0. I expect the Blue Toon to have the firepower to get among the goals again on Saturday.
Jamie: Back to normal this weekend after the ups and downs of the international break, which always turns out to be an entertaining gameweek and last week was certainly no exception. This week there’s a couple of English Premier League games that look like they could have the goals flowing, however I’m going to be heading up north to the Scottish leagues for my tips.
Firstly I’m going to choose Arbroath, who are currently sitting top of the Scottish League One table. The Red Lichties have been in fine goal-scoring form lately and interestingly the Scottish side from Angus hold the world record for the biggest ever victory in men’s senior football; this was set on 12th September 1885, when they beat Bon Accord 36–0 in the Scottish Cup!! They’ve not quite reached those scoring highs just yet, but they have bagged 10 goals in their last five games. Arbroath will be welcoming Forfar Athletic to Gayfield Park, with the visitors being a somewhat unpredictable team, but usually conceding a goal or two. I’m hoping this, combined with Arbroath’s current momentum, will lead to a few goals for the home side.
Secondly I’m dropping down into Scottish League Two and picking Clyde. The Bully Wee side welcome Albion Rovers to the Broadwood Stadium having recorded a few mixed results of late, but importantly only failing to score against high flyers Edinburgh City and Peterhead…….generally Clyde are good for a goal. Albion, on the other hand, are not only struggling to score lately but also cannot keep the ball out of their own net as they sit rock bottom of the Scottish League Two table, with a -13 goal difference only five games into the new season. Worrying times indeed!