Football betting tips: Good Friday
1pt Draw in Oxford vs Leeds (20:00) at 4/1 (bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes)
Oxford vs Leeds
- Kick-off time: 20:00 BST
- TV: Sky Sports +
- Home 15/2 | Draw 19/5 | Away 1/3
Relegation-battling Oxford and promotion-chasing Leeds round off a packed Good Friday in the EFL.
There is undoubtedly a clear gap in quality between these teams, but at this stage of the season context is vitally important, opening the opportunity to capitalise on the painfully short 4/11 about an away win.
Sheffield United's implosion has meant Daniel Farke's side may very well be able to DRAW their way back to the Premier League over the remaining four games, especially given the fact the Blades must travel to Burnley on Easter Monday.
Oxford, who go into the weekend six points clear of the relegation zone, would most certainly take a point.
The U's results under Gary Rowett can be neatly split into three parts.
An initial reaction to his arrival saw five wins and four draws, that nine-match unbeaten run then overlapped with a winless spell of the same length, and over the past month they have pulled clear of danger by winning three of five games.
W8 D6 L7 is an enormous improvement for a team who were destined for an immediate return to League One, and Leeds will meet an obdurate opponent when they arrive at the Kassam on Friday night.
Back-to-back wins may have arrested Leeds' alarming run of one win in six, but they have still only won one of their past four away matches.
Other than the error prone nature of Ilian Meslier, the Whites' 13 draws from 42 league games is the primary reason they aren't clear at the top of the table, and at the 4/1 available I'm happy to back that outcome here.
Already advised
2pts Plymouth +1.5 Asian Handicap vs Middlesbrough (15:00) at 17/20 (bet365)
1pt Birmingham to win from behind vs Crawley (15:00) at 8/1 (BetVictor)
1pt Fabio Jalo to score anytime in Leyton Orient vs Barnsley (15:00) at 13/2 (bet365)
1pt Barnsley to win (Draw No Bet) at 11/4 (Sky Bet)
1.5pts Draw in Sheffield United vs Cardiff (17:30) at 3/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
1pt Cardiff to win at 5/1 (bet365, Betfair)
Middlesbrough vs Plymouth
- Kick-off time: 15:00 BST
- TV: Sky Sports +
- Home 1/3 | Draw 4/1 | Away 7/1
There are plenty of reasons to get against Middlesbrough on Good Friday when PLYMOUTH visit the Riverside, with Argyle breathing fresh life into their fight against relegation from the Sky Bet Championship via two late goals to beat Sheffield United last weekend.
Blades manager Chris Wilder did not like it, not one bit.
Ugly scenes at Home Park as Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder clashes with Plymouth Argyle players in the tunnel after the Blades' late loss š¬ pic.twitter.com/eG5MhOUylS
ā Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 12, 2025
Ten points from six matches for a side who looked destined for League One is hugely impressive, and that run includes a battling goalless draw at Watford and victory at Portsmouth - two of the division's stronger home teams.
Play-off chasing Middlesbrough have wobbled at the wrong time, and while in fairness to Michael Carrick's men losing to Leeds and at in-form Millwall is nothing to be ashamed of, Boro have struggled against defensively stubborn visitors throughout Carrick's reign; that is exactly what they will meet in Miron Muslic's team.
Taking the 17/20 about PLYMOUTH +1.5 ASIAN HANDICAP which pays out should Argyle lose by one goal, draw, or win is the way to go.
Three of the current bottom half have left the Riverside with points this term, with four others edged by a solitary goal.
Birmingham vs Crawley
- Kick-off time: 15:00 BST
- TV: Sky Sports +
- Home 2/7 | Draw 4/1 | Away 13/2
Was it enjoyable to see 5/1 Peterborough upset the odds at Wembley, causing Birmingham owner Tom Wagner to wag his finger at his expensively assembled squad as though they were a group of naughty schoolboys? Yes. Quite.
What are Tom Wagner and Tom Brady saying to the Birmingham City players here? š¤ pic.twitter.com/MPZnQVbQDP
ā Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 13, 2025
I'm sure the fact that 24 hours earlier Blues were confirmed as League One champions will have helped soften the blow somewhat.
Six days on, and who knows how many pints deep, they must play the first of six remaining pointless matches when Crawley visit St Andrew's.
The 100-point barrier and the all-time third-tier record (set by Wolves in 2013/14) of 103 are still motivating factors of sorts, but nothing close to what Chris Davies' side have been playing for over the opening 40 league games of the season.
So inevitable has their clinching of the title been that it's no surprise Birmingham have slipped from their incredible high standards just a little, with no clean sheet for seven successive matches having kept out their opponents in six of their previous seven league matches.
Crawley, meanwhile, appeared to have given themselves a fighting chance of avoiding relegation when Scott Lindsey returned to the club and secured the team's first back-to-back wins since the opening two games of the season.
Three straight defeats have followed, but in four of the Red Devils' five matches since Lindsey retook the reins they have scored first.
It would very understandable for BIRMINGHAM to start a little slowly on Friday, especially against an opponent as gung-ho as Crawley, but I still fully expect them to win.
Taking them to WIN FROM BEHIND at 8/1 is therefore the advised selection.
Leyton Orient vs Barnsley
- Kick-off time: 15:00 BST
- TV: Sky Sports +
- Home 8/13 | Draw 11/4 | Away 7/2
It's been a tough watch as a Barnsley fan since Michael Duff left for Swansea in the summer of 2023, not because of results, but formation.
For reasons unbeknown to me and many other followers of the club Neill Collins, Martin Devaney, Darrell Clarke and Conor Hourihane all persisted with a back three when it was unsuitable for the squads available to them.
Not only did it fail to get the best from the team, it also effectively prevented Barnsley's most exciting academy product in two decades from making it into the XI.
A combination of injuries, suspensions and I would hope some level of insight eventually forced Hourihane to play 4-3-3 against Bolton last weekend, with the teenage FABIO JALO on the right of the attack.
BARNSLEY proceeded to end a seven-match winless run by thrashing seventh-placed Bolton 4-1, with JALO scoring twice.
- CLICK HERE to back Barnsley (Draw No Bet) with Sky Bet
- CLICK HERE to back Fabio Jalo to score anytime with Sky Bet
Leyton Orient remain very much in the hunt for the play-offs and are in good form themselves (W4 D1 L1) but this feels like a change in circumstances worth exploiting by backing both BARNSLEY (DRAW NO BET) at 11/4 and JALO TO SCORE ANYTIME at 13/2.
WATCH: TOP 16 VERDICTS FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Sheffield United vs Cardiff
- Kick-off time: 17:30 BST
- TV: Sky Sports +
- Home 3/5 | Draw 14/5 | Away 9/2
On paper, this is a straightforward home win for Sheffield United as they aim to keep Burnley and Leeds honest in the battle for automatic promotion from the Sky Bet Championship.
Unfortunately for Chris Wilder's stumbling side, and luckily for Omer Riza's relegation-battling Cardiff, football doesn't always work out that way.
Three successive defeats at exactly the wrong time look as though they will be costly for the Blades; doesn't their manager just know it...
Another angle of Chris Wilder's clash with the Plymouth players after full-time š pic.twitter.com/hmai6RfMEx
ā Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 12, 2025
They aren't quite out of things just yet, but it's amazing how often a team's race is run a game earlier than anticipated.
With the spectre of a trip to Burnley on Easter Monday looming, it could be the hurdle immediately prior that proves to the Blades' terminal trip.
CARDIFF may sit in the drop zone, they may have won only one of their past eight games and they may end up playing League One football next season, but it is rare they don't make a very good game of it.
Only once since December 21 have the Bluebirds lost a league game by more than a goal, suffering six one-goal defeats, drawing nine and winning five matches.
In that time they won 1-0 at Bramall Lane in the third round of the FA Cup before battling to a 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa in round four.
Taking CARDIFF to win at 5/1 and the DRAW at 3/1 to appropriately balanced stakes offers marginally better returns than the current top price of 11/8 about the double chance.
Ultimately that comes down to who you bet with, either route is fine, but backing an upset is very much worthwhile.
Odds correct at 1545 BST (16/04/25)
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