Phil Agius previews the action from another jam-packed Saturday EFL schedule and picks out a 23/1 accumulator.
Best bets
Leicester to beat Stoke /
Leyton Orient to beat Carlisle /
Shrewsbury to beat Cambridge Utd /
MK Dons to beat Barrow /
Accumulator odds 23/1
Stoke v Leicester (15:00)
Leicester are loving life at the top of the Championship as they bid to return to the Premier League and with rivals Ipswich dropping points in recent games the Foxes have forged 10 points clear at the top.
Enzo Maresca’s team have won 11 of their last 15 matches in all competitions and their only defeat in that time came when they were reduced to ten men in the first half of a 3-1 loss at Coventry.
The Foxes beat Swansea 3-1 in their latest game after a 3-0 FA Cup win over Birmingham and they have won ten of their 14 away contests in the Championship.
They beat Stoke 2-0 in the teams’ first meeting this season and the Potters are out of form, having lost three of their last four games and registering only two wins in their last 16 matches in all competitions.
Leyton Orient v Carlisle (15:00)
Leyton Orient and Carlisle were both promoted from League Two last season but the Londoners, who finished top of the table, are coping far better in the third tier than the play-off winners.
After a mixed start to the season, the O’s are really finding their feet now and have climbed into the top ten of League One with a six-match unbeaten run in the league which includes victories over Charlton, Cambridge, Portsmouth and Bolton.
The only teams to have beaten Orient in their last 11 league outings are promotion contenders Derby and Bolton, and struggling Carlisle do not offer the same threat as those teams.
The Cumbrians have won only one of their last 14 league games and have taken just one point from their last eight away matches. They have already made the long trip to Brisbane Road once this season when losing 3-1 in the FA Cup in November and this should be another fruitless journey.
Shrewsbury v Cambridge United (15:00)
Shrewsbury responded well to a managerial change with an excellent away win at Northampton in League One last week and they have a great chance to follow it up at home against Cambridge.
Matt Taylor left the Shrews after a run of seven losses in eight games including an FA Cup defeat by League Two Wrexham, but Paul Hurst’s appointment appeared to have an immediate effect.
The team looked rejuvenated in a 2-0 win at Sixfields and the margin of victory could have been wider. There should be a positive atmosphere at the Meadow for once this weekend.
Cambridge fell below Shrewbury in the standings last week when they were held to a goalless draw at home by Burton even though the visitors played the final 26 minutes with only ten men.
Cambridge’s only success in their last six games was against rock-bottom Fleetwood and they could struggle to take anything from their trip to Shrewsbury.
Barrow v MK Dons (15:00)
Barrow have impressed for the majority of their League Two campaign so far and are still in an excellent fourth place with only five league losses in 29 games. However, the visiting MK Dons look a value bet at 2/1 to extend the Bluebirds’ current run of weaker form.
Barrow have won only one of their last seven matches, including a 3-1 defeat by Crewe in their last home game and a 2-2 draw against relegation-threatened Sutton.
They will need to find a better level of form to deny the Dons, who have won seven of their last nine games to sit two points behind Barrow with a game in hand.
The Dons already have five away wins in the league this season, while Barrow have won only six of 13 at home and the visitors look overpriced for this assignment.
