Jimmy's Punt 25/26: Staked 186pts | Returned 191.57pts | P/L +5.57pts | ROI 3%
Football betting tips: EFL
Barnsley vs Wimbledon (Saturday 15:00)
3pts Over 2.5 goals at 9/10 (bet365)
Bradford vs Peterborough (Saturday 15:00)
1pt Peterborough to win at 5/2 (General)
MK Dons vs Newport (Saturday 15:00)
2pts Callum Paterson to score anytime at 6/5 (bet365)
0.5pt Callum Paterson to score 2+ goals at 7/1 (bet365)
0.25pt Callum Paterson to score 3+ goals at 33/1 (bet365)
After a clean sweep of losers last weekend the column's ROI - return on investment for the less financially savvy amongst us - for the campaign dipped to 3%.
It now means that in terms of returns, you would have been better off putting your money into a Cash ISA - even an easy access one - than following Jimmy’s Punt this season; I'm very across these things you see having opened one for my newborn son this week.
That's where the smart money is. Take care of your pennies. That's important.
Then there's hopefully always a few quid left over for a bit of fun punting on the thrills and spills of the English Football League. Take last weekend's nap for example - overs in Mansfield’s clash with Exeter. Sure, it ended 0-0 but you can’t put a price on that kind of nail-biting excitement can you?
On we go...
Barnsley vs Wimbledon
- Kick-off: Saturday, 15:00 GMT
- Live odds, form and stats
"We haven't kept enough clean sheets.” That's a direct quote from Barnsley boss Conor Hourihane.
No, you have not.
He is now 47 games into his tenure and his side have kept three and although Hourihane has assured fans that sorting the defence out is a top priority, I am a little sceptical that it’ll be fixed in time for this weekend's clash with Wimbledon.
So, at 9/10 OVER 2.5 GOALS is the bet.
You have to go back to New Year's Day for the last Barnsley fixture not to see at least three goals (seven games ago).
Across that sample, the Reds' opponents have covered the line on their own three times and Barnsley have covered it on their own once themselves which leads us nicely to the other good thing about this angle.
Barnsley score plenty of goals. They may have lost top goalscorer Davis Keillor-Dunn in January but still have plenty of attacking options.
They’ve scored the fifth most goals in League One (44), which is even more impressive considering they have got four games in hand on some of the other teams in the league.
Wimbledon’s games are comparatively stingy averaging 2.4 goals per game but nine of their 15 away games have met the threshold.
Bradford vs Peterborough
- Kick-off: Saturday, 15:00 GMT
- Live odds, form and stats
When Luke Williams took charge at PETERBOROUGH back at the end of November, he inherited a side rock bottom of League One.
Posh had 10 points from 13 games, 17 points behind Saturday’s opponents Bradford, who were second at the time on 27 points. Fast forward 15 games or so and that 17-point gap between the clubs has shrunk to eight.
If the league started when Williams took charge at London Road, Posh would be fourth, eight points off top spot and Bradford would be 12th, closer to the relegation zone then Peterborough are.
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts…
The point is these two clubs are heading in different directions.
The Bantams let Brad Halliday, Alex Pattison and Andy Cook all leave in January and they come into this clash having lost four of their last five.
Peterborough’s form has been a little patchy of late but they backed up their 6-1 annihilation of Wigan with a win at Mansfield in midweek.
At the prices, I want to get the visitors onside TO WIN.
MK Dons vs Newport County
- Kick-off: Saturday, 15:00 GMT
- Live odds, form and stats
Christian Fuchs is 13 League Two games into his Newport tenure and his side have taken 10 points (W2 D4 L7), averaged a goal a game and conceded two a game.
It’s the latter which interests me here.
In all competitions, they’ve conceded 2+ in 10 of 14 fixtures and three of more in 43% of those games.
Next up, a trip to the division's top goalscorers.
MK Dons have netted 59 this season. Since they last drew a blank eight games ago, Paul Warne’s side have netted 16 times.
CALLUM PATERSON has bagged seven of them, he’s got 14 for the season and can be backed at 6/5 TO SCORE ANYTIME on Saturday.
He recently bagged a hat-trick against Shrewsbury and with him on penalties, I could certainly see him taking home the match ball in this battle between the division's best attack and worst defence.
So, at 7/1 and 33/1 respectively, backing him TO SCORE 2+ GOALS and 3+ GOALS appeal as well.
Odds correct at 13:10 GMT (12/2/26)
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
