Boro set to take three points

Saturday January 5, 2008

Droylsden v Crawley Town

Prices correct at time of writing (4.30pm, Wednesday January 2, 2008).

Home 9/4 Draw 9/4 Away evens

Droylsden will be reeling after conceding two goals in the last minute of their eventual 4-3 defeat at home to York on Tuesday. In an absolutely amazing game, Droylsden were 2-0 up after 40 minutes but then goals from Emmanuel Panther and Craig Farrell made it 2-2. Droylsden's Jody Banim popped up in the 89th minute to score what Droylsden fans must have thought was the winner, only for Richard Brodie to equalise in the 90th minute and then score the winner in stoppage time.

That must have been a massive blow for Droylsden, who remain bottom of the Blue Square Premier. On their day, at home, Droylsden are not the worst side in the world but this time around they are up against a Crawley side that was boosted by a 2-0 win over Oxford, which took them to within a point of the U's. I don't think Droylsden are quite as bad as people think and I think they can get a result here, so it's a draw for me in this one.

Verdict: Draw

Ebbsfleet v Weymouth

Home 4/6 Draw 12/5 Away 7/2

Contrasting starts to the New Year for Ebbsfleet and Weymouth. The Fleet thrashed Grays 4-1 while Weymouth lost 3-0 at home to Salisbury. Ebbsfleet are one of the bets of the weekend and the team with the cyber-fans are flying at the moment. By all accounts their second-half performance against Grays was excellent and I expect them to see off Weymouth, who have got to be careful because with 23 points on the board they could easily get dragged into the relegation battle with Farsley, Altrincham, Northwich, Stafford and Droylsden. Weymouth badly need a win but I don't think they're going to get it this weekend.

Verdict: Home win

Farsley Celtic v Histon

Home 2/1 Draw 9/4 Away 11/10

Farsley lost 2-0 to 10-man Halifax on New Year's Day while Histon beat Cambridge 1-0. I'm taking Histon to win after they put in a good performance to beat their local rivals. They've done really well this season, they are seventh in the table with 41 points and are on the fringe of the play-off places. Histon are picking up a bit now and I think that they'll do well and get a win against struggling Celtic.

Verdict: Away win

Forest Green v Grays Athletic

Home 4/5 Draw 9/4 Away 3/1

Forest Green lost 1-0 at Kidderminster on New Year's Day and will be looking to bounce back when they entertain Grays. The big talk at Forest Green is about Stuart Fleetwood, who we've heard has been the subject of two offers from League One club Gillingham. Mark Stimson will know all about him having previously been manager of Stevenage before he left for the Priestfield and it will be interesting to see whether that has unsettled Forest Green. Fleetwood is the top scorer in the Blue Square Premier with 21 league goals.

Verdict: Home win

Northwich v Aldershot

Home 4/1 Draw 12/5 Away 8/13

Northwich suffered a blow in their attempt to pull off the Great Escape when they were beaten 2-1 at home to Altrincham on New Year's Day. I'd be very wary of taking huge odds on about Aldershot in this one because they're a Jekyll and Hyde team as far as I'm concerned. One thing you can say about this match is that it looks like it could be full of goals and Northwich could be a very big price to cause a huge upset. Remember Aldershot lost at Grays last week and they were far from convincing in their 2-1 home win over Woking. Although the Shots are the league leaders I wouldn't be surprised if they were to come a cropper here, but I can't go for Northwich with confidence so I'm going for a draw.

Verdict: Draw

Oxford United v Altrincham

Home 8/15 Draw 13/5 Away 9/2

Altrincham's tails are up after their 2-1 win at Northwich on New Year's Day while Oxford are a team that's low on confidence. Altrincham really needed that win and it will be interesting to see if they can produce another performance away from home. I'm going for a draw here. It might be a case of my heart ruling my head but I just think that victory for the Robins after a run of defeats (which saw them go out of the FA Trophy to York, lose 5-1 at home to Stevenage and lose at home to Northwich) has lifted the club. Altrincham managed to bounce back after going a goal down against Northwich. Had they lost to the Vics, that could have proved the point of no return as far as their battle to beat the drop is concerned. Oxford are struggling so I'm going for a draw.

Verdict: Draw

Rushden & Diamonds v Salisbury

Home evens Draw 9/4 Away 9/4

Rushden & Diamonds conceded two goals in the 90th minute to lose 2-1 at Stevenage on New Year's Day and consequently will be looking to bounce back against Salisbury, who had a good win at Weymouth. Salisbury have picked up recently and this could be an away win here, even though Rushden are playing reasonably well at home.

Salisbury and Rushden are evenly matched, City have 34 points while Rushden have 30, and there will be a lot of punters thinking this is the banker draw of the weekend. In this type of game I look for the value and I think Salisbury is the way to go.

Verdict: Away win

Stafford v Stevenage

Home 7/2 Draw 12/5 Away 4/6

Stafford are the only side in the division still without a home win and they entertain Stevenage, who are going well in third after a dramatic victory over Rushden on Tuesday. Boro boss Peter Taylor must have been relieved to put it mildly. Stevenage are flattering to deceive and if they are going to be realistic challengers for the Blue Square Premier title, they've got to win at places like Stafford and this is a match they really should win. I think Taylor is a class act and I'm expecting a Stevenage win.

Verdict: Away win

Woking v Halifax

Home 11/10 Draw 9/4 Away 2/1

Two sides looking to pull further clear at the bottom are Woking and Halifax and they meet on Saturday. I think home advantage will be the key here. Halifax won't fancy the journey to Woking, who were far from disgraced in their 2-1 derby defeat to Aldershot on Tuesday. It's a home win for me.

Verdict: Home win

York City v Kidderminster

Home 5/6 Draw 23/10 Away 11/4

Even though Kidderminster beat Forest Green on New Year's Day, York are on a roll and are currently in 10th place. ln terms of making the play-offs they haven't given themselves too much to do. They are only eight points behind Cambridge and Burton although they've played a game more. It's certainly been a real rollercoaster of a season for York so far and I'm going to take them to continue their fantastic run. There's a great spirit at the club at the moment after a poor start and they're racing up the table. I'm going to take York to beat Kidderminster.

Verdict: Home win

Angus Loughran Best Bets

Stevenage 4/6

Woking 11/10

York 5/6

Banker Bet

Ebbsfleet 4/6