IT seems like an eternity, but League Two football finally returns with a vengeance on Saturday, with
BURY the best bet of the weekend.
The Shakers made the long trek to Bournemouth and a general 5-2 to come away with three points and that seems to big a price to be ignored. Alan Knill's men have one of the best away records in the division and if they could produce the goods on a regular basis at Gigg Lane then they would be challenging in the top three and not languishing just outside the play-off zone.
This will be Bury's fourth consecutive game on the road, having lost at Dagenham & Redbridge, won at Accrington and drawn at lowly Grimsby, but despite the news that star striker Andy Bishop still won't be available due to injury, I can still foresee a win for the Shakers given Bournemouth's patchy recent form.
The Cherries lost at home to Northampton last time out and although they have Warren Cummings and Marvin Bartley back in the squad, with veteran striker Steve Fletcher also set to start, I just feel they could be vulnerable especially now that Ryan Lowe and Andy Morrell have begun to click up front for Bury.
If the game between LINCOLN and Barnet gets the go-ahead after an early-morning inspection, then the Imps will warrant serious respect at 14-5 to away from Underhill with all three points.
Lincoln may be languishing near the foot of the table, but their performances just recently have smacked of a side on the way up after beating Chesterfield and giving Bolton a damn good game despite the 4-0 defeat. After a shaky start, boss Chris Sutton is starting to stamp his authority on the side and despite a plethora of loan and cheap signings, he's starting to assemble a decent squad.
Sutton has used his contacts to good effect to raid Premier League sides Aston Villa and Fulham for talented youngsters, with the likes of Chris Herd, Adam Watts, Matthew Saunders, Joe Anderson and Michael Uwezu adding some seriously good quality to the CIty squad, with many of the clubs around them in the table looking on in envy. Clark Keltie has also joined the club this week to add some bite to their midfield and they are also boosted by the return of striker Paul Connor who has finally recovered from a knee injury.
As for Barnet, they haven't played for nearly three weeks so may be a little ring-rusty, while they haven't won for 10 games and are without a League win since beating an awful Darlington side 3-0 on October 24. The Bees have also been hit by the departures of loanees Dean Sinclair, Yannick Bolaise, Craig McAllister and Calum Butcher to leave them struggling for numbers, although boss Ian Hendon signed former Chelsea kid Lee Sawyer this week and will also have Gary Breen back from injury.
This looks an away banker and at a price that is nearly touching 3-1, it could be the bet of the weekend.
ALDERSHOT TOWN should be backed at 10-11 to win at Darlington, whose manager Steve Staunton has yet again hit the panic button by signing seven players this week, none of whom will set the pulse of any Quakers fan racing.
It definitely is a case of quantity over quality for Staunton who has signed players for fun during his reign in the Darlo hotseat, for all the good it has done, and if they do finally manage to get a game on – they haven't had a home match since December 5 – they could well be set for more heartache.
They remain rooted to the foot of the table, 10 points shy of Grimsby and have suffered a catalogue of poor results recently, losing 5-0 to Torquay, 4-0 at Notts County, 4-0 at home to Morecambe and a 5-2 loss at Chesterfield, and not even the return of veteran defender Alan White, on loan from Luton, will stem the tide.
Aldershot's last outing – on Boxing Day – saw them thump Barnet 4-0 and with Marvin Morgan set to return, along with Kirk Hudson and Anthony Charles, they will have too much quality for a an abject Darlington side.
Elsewhere, the game between Macclesfield and Northampton has a draw written all over it at 5-2 (Skybet, Ladbrokes), leaders ROCHDALE should comfortably overcome Port Vale at 4-7 (various), while SHREWSBURY can pick up their third straight away win at Burton Albion, at an inviting 15-8 with Coral.
