Here's hoping for a repeat of last week's successful tips and further trimming on the ante-post portfolio front of Cardiff and Torquay. As for this weekend ...
Bournemouth to beat Notts County at 5-4
The amalgamation of success, financial situations and player ambition inevitably ends in one thing: the sale of valuable commodities from the lower end of the Football League. Not that the Cherries missed the now-departed (to Bristol City) Brett Pitman at Tranmere last weekend, a 3-0 win lifting them to fifth in League One hot off the back of their promotion from the fourth tier. Indeed, following a 1-0 defeat at pre-season fancies Charlton on opening day, Eddie Howe's team have responded with a 5-1 smiting of Peterborough (who themselves bounced back in a 4-2 recovery win against another heavily-fancied team, Huddersfield) and that triumph at Prenton Park. Michael Symes will probably now find extra onus placed on him up front, but the star of the show last week was arguably 20-year-old midfielder Josh McQuoid. Eddie Howe expects to name an unchanged line-up tomorrow and County, despite a win against bottom side Dagenham & Redbridge last week and progress to the Carling Cup third round, can expect another troubling trip to Dean Court.
Rotherham to beat Hereford at 15-8
Tomorrow, Middlesbrough travel to Barnsley. They're 13-8 and look a decent shot to win. But scan down the coupon and you'll find Rotherham heading over to Edgar Street, for which the win is priced at 15-8. I think both away teams should be priced up the same, but there's invariably better value lower down the League, hence why this tip is on the Millers. Last weekend's games involving the two teams produced 14 goals - Rotherham scoring six and Hereford conceding four (the same number scored by Adam Le Fondre against Cheltenham). "I don't want to see anything like it again as a manager," said boss Ronnie Moore after his team recovered from 3-1 down. "We showed a bit of character but you can't defend the way we defended today, it was unacceptable." Expect a far more polished all-round display against a Bulls team that hasn't scored in 254 minutes.
NB: all prices with Betfair at the time of publication
