Having managed to get themselves in a commanding position at the top of League One, Sheffield United will be looking to extend their six point lead when they travel to take on Oldham at the weekend. However, the hosts are not the easiest of teams to beat so this may not be as straightforward as many expect.
Although the visitors are currently something of a dominant force in this division, they’ve shown a few signs of weakness in recent times, particularly at the back. At the prices, backing Sheffield United to come out on top simply cannot be justified. There are two bets that do catch the eye and these are ‘Both Teams to Score’ and ‘Over 2.5 Goals’.
Oldham aren’t necessarily a League One team that you’d associate with goals, but the visitors definitely are. Recently, if Sheffield United are involved then it’s a case of goals all round. The visitors play an expansive game, scoring plenty of goals, but often leave themselves open at the back. This should encourage a home side who’ve often thrived when allowed to play on the counter during this campaign.
Although they are scoring a lot of goals, it would be difficult to feel too confident about Sheffield United keeping a clean sheet here. Chris Wilder’s men have conceded in each of their last three on the road, letting in a total of seven goals in those three fixtures. In addition, the league leaders have kept just three clean sheets in 19 attempts on their travels this season.
As touched on above, goals are never too far away when Sheffield United are in town this season. The visitors have failed to score just twice on the road, with both teams scoring in a massive 79% (15/19) of their away matches this season. What’s more, ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ has landed in 74% of their away matches – a total that can only be bettered by one team in the entire division.
Oldham have certainly had their problems in front of goal, but they’re undoubtedly suited to a counter-attacking sort of game, something that they should get here, while they’ve also started to score a few more in recent weeks. John Sheridan’s side have scored in each of their last two, including when netting twice during a victory (2-1) over play-off chasing Oxford in their last home match.
In a fixture where the visitors are a tad short in the betting, siding with a high-scoring fixture is a viable alternative.
More League One tips can be found here.