Welcome to our tipping round-up. Most of you know the drill by now, but for those who don't, every week I post my betting suggestions for the weekend (which you may well wish to steer clear of), as well as our predictions contest. The blog can also act as a talkboard for any Football League-related discussions over the weekend.
Colchester to beat Swindon Town at 21-20
A brutal away run featuring trips to three of League One's top four in their past five outings has helped to drop Colchester out of the play-off positions (as did a miserably incorrect point-costing refereeing decision at Charlton) but the Essex boys should be able to find a second wind against an abject Swindon on Saturday. The Robins are winless in eight, including five defeats, during an awful run of their own; indeed, only two of their eight opponents were in the top half of the table at the time of their games. This was capped by the midweek trip to an admittedly in-form Leyton Orient, who sent Danny Wilson's team packing in a comfortable 3-0 win, and Wilson will be acutely aware that a number of far more trigger-happy chairmen of clubs above Swindon in the table have already taken action. Fourth from bottom and with no team in the division having played more games, defeat here would add to the pressure.
Shrewsbury to beat Stevenage at 5-4
Shrewsbury, who have enjoyed a second wind, have to be favoured at home in this meeting, fresh off nine points out of nine. The wild midweek 5-1 victory at Lincoln (it was 5-1 after 35 minutes), who had won five in a row going into the game, merely bolstered confidence in them after their impressive recent resurgence. The manager, Graham Turner, was even talking of the League Two title after the game at Sincil Bank, which seems a little bullish, although it does highlight the confidence flowing through the squad. As for Stevenage, a comfortable mid-table cruise to the end of their debut Football League season most likely beckons, with the play-off positions a little beyond their reach after losing one and drawing the other two of their past three outings. A generous price for third v 13th.
NB: prices with Betfair and correct at the time of publication
Tipping contest
As you'll note from the scoring, late starters have been awarded one point for every week they have missed. Thanks to markier for honourably noting an erroneously added point to his tally last week. Aligned with no home wins, it tightens the top of the standings just that little bit.
The top of the table so far (The full table will be posted in the comments section below) …
markier 62
PiggyPingoPiglet 58
Bobby142 53
captainmorganrum 52
josedinho 52
Thewalthamstowone 47
TheRealRingo 46
stevegrant 44
horne94 44
richardw 43
Me 43
As for this week: make your result (not scoreline) prediction for each of the games below, with one point per correct result. The deadline is 3pm GMT on Saturday.
Derby v Leicester
QPR v Nottingham Forest (Sun)
Charlton v Peterborough
Colchester v Swindon
Bradford v Wycombe
Shrewsbury v Stevenage
I'm tipping Leicester, draw, Charlton (but +3.5 goals!), Colchester, Wycombe and Shrewsbury. You can also follow me on Twitter if you want more money-losing tips/predictions through the week.
