Saturday League 1 & 2 Tips: Go wild about Ainsworth's Gills in 13/1 treble | OneFootball

EFL League One & League Two

Gareth Ainsworth, known as "Wild Thing" has made Gillingham harder to beat of late

Alan Dudman picks out his latest trebles for this weekend in League One and League Two and Gillingham look prime candidates to beat MK Dons this Saturday...

Betfair Saturday Superboost

Aston Villa' January  Transfer Window signing Marco Asensio has enjoyed a fine start at his new club, becoming one of Villa's key goalscoring threats.

The Spaniard has registered 11 shots on target in his last seven games, and on Saturday, against the Premier League's bottom club Southampton you can back him at the super-boosted price of 1/1 (from 2/5) to have at least one shot on target.

To take advantage of this latest Betfair Superboost just click on the odds in the below bet banner to go directly to the pre-loaded betslip.

Football... Only Bettor. Watch the latest episode now.

🔗 Spotify

League One

Leg 1: Stockport County v Rotherham United, Saturday 15:00: Back Stockport to win @ 8/11

Stockport and Rotherham played out a 1-1 draw earlier in the season and deserved a bit more, and then manager Steve Evans (who has since been sacked) described Stockport as the best team they had faced bar Birmingham.

The Hatters wasted opportunities in the final third that day and lacked delivery from out wide, but they are in greater shape now and have won their last three going into Saturday and couldn't have been more dominant last weekend at Exeter.

They recorded a hefty xG of 2.53 and restricted the Grecians to just 0.65, in keeping with how Stockport's form is going at the moment as they have conceded just once in their last three and the 8/11 is far from a bad price.

Leg 2: Bristol Rovers v Exeter City, Saturday 15:00: Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 3/4

Both of these are barely mediocre at the moment although with five defeats on the spin, Rovers are in a poor state and quite where their next win is coming from remains a mystery.

Inigo Calderon admitted his team looked "tired" last Saturday and were chasing the ball and shadows at Bolton with just over 38% possession of the ball and just one shot on target.

Rovers were scrapping for a point and at least showed some resolution and discipline at the back, but on that performance, it's hard to see them producing goals - despite the fact they did net against Birmingham and Mansfield (both 1-2 defeats).

Exeter have scored just 16 in 19 away games this term and on the road have a woeful 0.95xG. The 3/4 for the Under 2.5 Goals should be a bit shorter in my view and the BTTS 'No' should also be considered.

Leg 3: Wigan Athletic v Wrexham, Saturday 12:30: Back BTTS 'No' @ 4/6

The Under 2.5 Goals price here is 2/5, and that's the sort of figure I would have expected for the Rovers and Exeter match, so for that reason I am going to play in the BTTS market.

Wrexham are F22 A18 on the road this term and backing the BTTS 'No' would have copped for backers in eight of their last nine League One games.

This fixture earlier in the season was a 2-1, but all the goals came in the second-half and Stephen Fletcher got the winner for Wrexham on 90 minutes.

Ryan Lowe has certainly made them harder to beat and are three draws from their last four - but crucially for a low-scoring game, the previous for Wigan matches have all been Under 2.5 Goals.

League Two

Leg 1: Port Vale v Bromley, Saturday 15:00: Back Port Vale @ 8/11

What a season it's turning out to be in League Two. The title race is very much on and Port Vale, one of my antepost tips to win the title, are in a great position on 73 points, level with Bradford, one ahead of Walsall, and three ahead of Doncaster.

Darren Moore - keep it going.

Vale have produced their two biggest results of the season recently with a 2-3 win at Walsall last weekend and a 2-0 home maximum against Bradford. A title market if ever there was.

It was all a bit too frantic last weekend in the first-half against Walsall, with neither side seemingly able to keep hold of the ball. It was a madcap game and the winner ultimately came from Ben Garrity, and he's much better when allowed to get further forward.

Port Vale couldn't score past Bromley at Hayes Lane earlier in the season, but their tails are up at the moment and Bromley may have been big winners recently against Accrington, but that was their first win in six and their xA away is an alarming 1.56.

Leg 2: Gillingham v MK Dons, Saturday 15:00: Back Gillingham to win @ 6/5

Gillingham have been very kind to the column of late as we've gone with the draw on more than one occasion since Gareth Ainsworth left Shrewsbury, and they keep drawing.

It's now six draws on the spin - and a roll call sheet that reads: 1-1, 0-0, 1-1, 1-1, 2-2 and 1-1. My first thought was to go for the draw again to bump up the price of the treble, but I just cannot back MK Dons with enough confidence to even get a point.

The Dons have been in freefall for a while now, and with Scott Lindsey doing well at Crawley, there must be something endemically wrong at the club considering their structure and finances.

They have lost three on the spin, and couldn't even beat Carlisle in a 2-2, and Carlisle are fairly dreadful.

With a 0-3 home loss to Barrow last Saturday, the visitors are readily opposed for this as at least Ainsowrth has got Gillingham organised and grinding out results, something which the Buckinghamshire club would take right now in 19th and just 46 points - and they have lost 12 on the road too.

We've been fairly conservative with the picks for this weekend, but the draw looks worth a punt at Rodney Parade as Newport's home form can easily, and often be overlooked. They've won 10 at home, which for a struggling side is quite remarkable considering the benchmark figure of 10 home wins is the preserve of the top eight.

Colchester themselves will still be seeing a shot at the play-offs but it's their draw column that really excites me - as they've collected 11 stalemates away from home this season, the most in the division.

The Essex side were 1-0 winners recently against Notts County, a win described as his "best ever" by manager Danny Cowley, as they'd been hit by a virus in their preparations. However, the organisation at the back was superb in restricting a high-class County frontline.

Their xG is a touch on the low side away from home, hence all the draws, and while the hosts might be underrated by the market, they might just be good enough to earn a point against the draw specialists.

Recommended bets

Back the League One treble 0.5pt @ 4/1

Back the League Two treble 0.5pt @ 13/1

Multiples P & L

2024-2025: -3.50pts *Advised to 0.5pt staked unless stated otherwise