Big Kick Off: League Two Betting Tips

The League Two campaign is all set to get under way this weekend. The teams in this division look to be very evenly matched, as demonstrated in the bookmaker’s odds for the title.

There are four joint favourites in the betting for the eventual league champions. Bradford, Gillingham, Wycombe and Rotherham all top the list at around 10/1 (general) and each could state a justified argument for their team to walk away with the spoils in May.

Bradford have a very experienced manager in former England boss Peter Taylor. He has made a good signing in young full-back Robbie Threlfall from Liverpool.

Gillingham were relegated from League One on the last day of last season. They’ll be looking to bounce back at the first time of asking. Two of their key players, Andrew Crofts and Simeon Jackson, have left to join Norwich, and I think the Gills could struggle without their creativity and goals this season.

Wycombe were also relegated last season. Manager Gary Waddock improved the team after joining midway through the last campaign and they almost pulled off the great escape to stay up. They’ll be looking to carry on their excellent end of season form at the beginning of this season, with former Fulham forward Kevin Betsy the man to look out for.

Rotherham manager Ronnie Moore has been there before, and has led the club to promotion twice in his first spell in charge of the Millers. He took them to the play off final last season and has kept the majority of that strong squad in tact for another push this time around.

Looking at the opening day’s fixtures, the stand out game is at Gigg Lane with Bury hosting Port Vale. Both teams narrowly missed out on the play offs, and both are looking to push on in 2010/11. In Andy Bishop (Bury) and Marc Richards (Port Vale), there will be two of the best goalscorers in the division on show, so it should be a high-scoring and entertaining game. You can back over 2.5 goals at 11/10 with William Hill.

Another attractive fixture is the one between Shrewsbury and Bradford. The Shrews’ main problem last season was scoring goals, so the addition of Dave Hibbert is a welcome one and he will strengthen that area. Bradford will be looking to live up to their favourites billing, but could be in for a tough afternoon.

League Two tips for the weekend:

• Port Vale to beat Bury @ 11/5 (Bet365)
• Jack Lester (Chesterfield) to score first goal v Barnet @ 5/1 (SkyBet, Paddy Power)
• Accrington Stanley v Aldershot – HT/FT Draw/Aldershot @ 6/1 (SkyBet)

NPower League Two Fixtures:

Saturday 7 August

• 15:00 Accrington (13/8) v (5/2) Aldershot (7/4)
• 15:00 Burton (7/5) v (12/5) Oxford (21/10)
• 15:00 Bury (13/10) v (12/5) Port Vale (11/5)
• 15:00 Chesterfield (4/6) v (11/4) Barnet (5/1)
• 15:00 Crewe (10/11) v (5/2) Hereford (3/1)
• 15:00 Gillingham (4/6) v (11/4) Cheltenham (9/2)
• 15:00 Rotherham (5/6) v (5/2) Lincoln (4/1)
• 15:00 Shrewsbury (11/8) v (12/5) Bradford (2/1)
• 15:00 Southend (11/10) v (12/5) Stockport (11/4)
• 15:00 Stevenage (Evs) v (5/2) Macclesfield (10/3)
• 15:00 Torquay (11/8) v (12/5) Northampton (11/5)
• 15:00 Wycombe (Evs) v (5/2) Morecambe (10/3)

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