Football betting tips: Saturday best bets
1.5pts Lincoln to beat Reading at 5/4 (General)
1pt Wigan to beat Port Vale at 12/5 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
0.5pts Sheffield United to win, Wes Foderingham to be carded at 60/1 (Sky Bet)
0.5pts Paul Mullin to score a brace in Wrexham vs Colchester at 6/1 (Sky Bet)
Chelsea vs Sheffield United
- Kick-off time: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 2/9 | Draw 21/4 | Away 12/1
James Cantrill (@JimmyThePunt)
Full disclosure, I am a Sheffield United fan. We are so back!
Chris Wilder has returned to S2 for his latest stint at the club and he has taken three points from a possible six. Yes, both games were at Bramall Lane but there is genuine enthusiasm around the club that if the spirited performances continue, the Blades can claw their way back from the brink.
Maintain the level of the 2-0 defeat against Liverpool and the 1-0 victory over Brentford and they will give the hosts a run for their money at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are more a member of the ‘big six’ on stature these days and not merit.
Excluding promoted and relegated teams, since the start of 2023, no top flight club has picked up fewer points than the Blues. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have only won two league games on home soil this term, losing as many as they have drawn (3).
There are a few ways to oppose them here, backing Sheffield United on the handicap or even on the nose but if you are as greedy as I am there is only one way to go.
Combining a SHEFFIELD UNITED WIN with WES FODERINGHAM TO BE SHOWN CARD pays out at 60/1.
Sheff U’s stopper already has two cards for his time wasting antics this season, the most recent coming last Saturday.
Lincoln vs Reading
- Kick-off time: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 6/5 | Draw 23/10 | Away 21/10
Michael Beardmore (@MickeyBeardmore)
Reading have been absolutely woeful on their travels this season, losing eight of nine, scoring just eight goals and conceding 21.
It's the worst away record in the third tier and they've hardly been losing to the elite either - Port Vale, Exeter, Cambridge, Northampton, Leyton Orient, Shrewsbury and, in the FA Cup, non-league Eastleigh.
Which makes odds-against prices on LINCOLN extending that run look very inviting.
The Imps sit ninth, have hopes of the play-offs and need TO WIN this kind of game if those ambitions are to be fulfilled.
Port Vale vs Wigan
- Kick-off time: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 23/20 | Draw 23/10 | Away 11/5
Michael Beardmore (@MickeyBeardmore)
If not for their eight-point deduction for off-field financial issues, Wigan would be nine points and eight places above hosts Port Vale in Sky Bet League One. Even despite those docked points, they are still a point and three positions better off.
Vale made a decent start to the season but have dropped off dramatically, winning just one of their past 12 league games, losing eight amid that run.
They did win 1-0 at Exeter last time out to halt an 11-game winless league run but the Grecians are in an even worse state than the Valiants so little heed should be paid to that result.
WIGAN have lost only once in their past 14, winning eight during that sequence and look huge value TO WIN at 12/5 against a side with relegation-esque home form (W3 D0 L5).
Wrexham vs Colchester
- Kick-off time: 15:00 GMT, Saturday
- Home 2/5 | Draw 19/5 | Away 11/2
James Cantrill (@JimmyThePunt)
On the road, Wrexham are averaging less than a goal a game and have conceded 12 in 10. They look an entirely different proposition at the Racecourse.
They have taken 23 points in 10 games and most impressively scored 33 times, more than any other side in the division.
PAUL MULLIN looks the most likely player TO SCORE 2+ GOALS. The frontman has bagged four in his last two home appearances in the league and took home the match ball after scoring half of his side's six against Morecambe.
After an initial upturn under Matthew Etherington, Colchester have regressed losing their last four on the spin and shipping 13 goals in the process.
Odds correct 1000 GMT (15/12/23)
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