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Horse Racing EFL Acca Tips and Predictions: Three promotion hopefuls catch the eye as the season nears its end
Here we go – it really is the business end of the EFL season with nine months of blood, sweat and tears coming down to the final handful of fixtures which of course we have you covered for EFL predictions and acca tips.
With only one relegation (Rotherham) or promotion place confirmed there is still so much to play for in a landscape which seems to change daily. Jack Wright has three angles that combine at 8.97. Focus on two play off challengers in The Championship and a League Two side looking to gatecrash the post season party.
EFL Acca Tips and Predictions
- Birmingham vs Coventry: Coventry to Win
- West Brom vs Sunderland: West Brom to Win
- Doncaster vs Accrington: Doncaster to Win
Bet365 Acca Odds: 7.04
Birmingham City vs Coventry City: Sky Blues play-off challenge Simms-ering to the boil
England, Championship, Saturday, April 13th, 15:00 (UK)
Coventry’s play-off charge hit a bump in the road following their midweek 2-1 defeat at Southampton. However, sixth-placed Norwich’s implosion at Sheffield Wednesday means the gap between the two is five points, with the Sky Blues having a game in hand.
Mark Robins had seen his side win five of their previous six fixtures in all competitions prior to the blip at St Mary’s. However, if at 0-0, Haji Wright converted his 10th-minute penalty instead of slipping and missing, the outcome could have been very different.
The defeat coincided with the first game in five in which Ellis Simms had not hit the back of the net, with the former Everton man opening the scoring in the impressive weekend win over Leeds. Most successful teams have a reliable goalscorer, and the 23-year-old fits the bill for the Midlands outfit, having plundered 14 goals in his last 12 appearances.
In fact, Coventry have two, as between them, Simms and Wright have 28 league goals. With the exceptional Callum O’Hare pulling the strings behind them, the Sky Blues look to have too much firepower for the relegation-haunted hosts.
Blues are second from bottom and lost their own midweek clash with Cardiff. Gary Rowett has been brought in as interim boss until the end of the season to stave off relegation but has suffered a pair of 2-1 defeats to QPR and Leicester, as well as a 1-0 home win against Preston.
Coventry are unbeaten in the last 11 games between the two sides with Birmingham not tasting success since 2011. Mark Robins has guided his side to all three points in three of the last four meetings.
Not only do the visitors make the short trip to St Andrews with an extra day of recovery but also with better knowledge than any other away stadium. They spent two years ground-sharing in the second city between 2019 and 2021, actually winning the 2019-20 League One title there.
- Selection: Coventry to Win (TRACKED BET)
- Best Odds: 2.65
- Bookmaker: Unibet
- Stake: 7/10
West Brom vs Sunderland: Brom to Bag bragging rights by beating Black Cats
England, Championship, Saturday, April 13th, 15:00 (UK)
West Brom are another side who have a fixture to fulfil at time of writing. But I would be shocked to the core should they slip up at already-relegated Rotherham.
A win at the Hawthorns on Wednesday night would open a four-point cushion to Norwich in sixth place with four games to play. But, crucially, it’s nine to Coventry in seventh, who would have a game in hand.
That means a win here against Sunderland could potentially seal a play-off spot with room to spare. It may be the last time we see a full-strength Baggies before the postseason.
Ignoring the Rotherham game for now Carlos Corberán has seen his side win seven of their previous nine games in front of their own fans. Their superb home record built on a rock-solid defence which has seen them concede just 16 goals on home soil across the campaign. Only Leeds (13) and Leicester (15) have shipped fewer.
Visitors Sunderland may have played 24 hours prior to West Brom but had to put in some shift to emerge from a trip to Leeds clutching on to a very hard-earned point, riding their luck after surviving a couple of penalty calls for handball.
The Black Cats have lost seven of their last 11 Championship fixtures as they meander toward the end of the season under the interim management of Mike Dodds. The Baggie’s focus is on the here and now, and I think their desire to get the job done will give them that extra edge to pick up all three points.
- Selection: West Brom to Win
- Best Odds:1.82
- Bookmaker: Unibet
- Stake: 7/10
Doncaster Rovers vs Accrington Stanley: Rovers return to form to mount late play-off charge
England, League Two, Saturday, April 13th, 15:00 (UK)
Doncaster racked up a seventh successive win following their 2-1 defeat of Walsall on Tuesday evening. That run of form has propelled Rovers into a playoff race, having climbed from the lower reaches of League Two up to 10th in the table, just four points off the top seven.
The smallest fly in the ointment was the concession of an added-on time goal, which ended close to eight hours without the opposition scoring. Grant McCann declared it the most satisfying of those seven victories but will be looking for his men to raise the bar further back on home soil for the visit of Accrington.
Prior to their 3-1 win at Newport on the same night Stanley had one win in 10 games, losing six of those fixtures. A sequence which has seen them slip tamely away from the promotion race and down to 17th in the table 11 points adrift of the playoffs with just four games remaining.
I do not believe the form lines of a win at Newport hold any strength at all with the Welsh side having now lost five games on the spin. Graham Coughlan uses phrases in his post-match interviews such as “taking a group of boys as far as you can”, “the things we are doing are car-crash material”, and “we have just fallen off a cliff”, saying it all.
This will be a much sterner test against the inform team of the EFL who know they cannot drop any points if they harbour any desire to gatecrash the post-season playoff party. Money has come for the hosts who opened as big as 2.10. However, in my opinion, Donny makes plenty of appeal at anything north of 1.73.
EFL Acca Tips and Predictions Odds via Unibet as at 15:30, April 13th, 2024. Odds may now differ.
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