EFL acca tips: Portsmouth to consolidate top spot but no plane sailing for Mansfield
- George Dempsey
- 5 January 2024
Leagues One and Two take centre stage this weekend and we’ve picked out a handsomely priced acca from the surviving fixtures on FA Cup weekend.
Place a £5+ all-correct accumulator (min. 5 selections) and get up to a 50% BONUS on your winnings.
This weekend’s EFL acca is priced at 15/1 at the time of writing.
EFL acca
Port Vale vs Charlton: Over 2.5 goals
Swindon vs Colchester: Over 2.5 goals
Mansfield vs Crewe: Over 2.5 goals
Burton Albion vs Wycombe Wanderers
Burton continue to get no respect from the bookies and to have them as the underdogs at home to Wycombe is just an incorrect assessment of this game.
Albion have won back-to-back games with clean sheets and five of their last eight at home. Exeter are the only side outside of the top seven to win here.
Wycombe are recovering from injuries and a transition period, but they’ve won one of nine away from home and allowed the fifth-highest xGA in League One.
Cheltenham Town vs Portsmouth
Portsmouth had a mini wobble before beating Stevenage 2-1 last time out, but their 2-1 loss at Bristol Rovers was their first away loss in 18.
Cheltenham have recovered from their historically bad start to the season but Portsmouth have plenty of motivation and they’re creating too many high-quality chances for the hosts to handle.
Port Vale vs Charlton Athletic
On paper, few teams are likelier to produce goals than Port Vale playing at home to Charlton. The Valiants have scored 14 in 11, but the underlying stats reflect that can’t continue.
Their last three home games have finished 3-2, 2-3 and 3-0 and all are a far truer reflection of the chances they’re creating and allowing.
On the other hand, Charlton is matching their output and both teams to score has landed in 11 of their 15 away matches across all competitions.
Swindon Town vs Colchester United
The dropoff in Swindon’s results from October onwards is remarkable but the warning signs were there early on. Despite being unbeaten in nine, they allowed 14 goals.
They’ve allowed more than two goals per game since then and while they’ve been hit and miss in front of goal, they’ve scored in bunches against the weaker teams.
Colchester will get their chances and they often take them, but they just can’t keep the ball out. Their most recent away defeat was 5-3 against Wimbledon and they allow 2.4 goals per game.
Mansfield Town vs Crewe Alexandra
Last but not least, Mansfield have the chance to go top with a win against Crewe but there’s no guarantee they’ll get it.
They’ve won nine of twelve, but beware of their growing tally of home draws.
Crewe have avoided defeat in eight of 12 on their travels and more importantly have rattled in 21 goals in the process.
They’ve been far less prolific over the last five but they’re creating just as many chances so we think a return to form is in order this weekend.
