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Welcome to the league I love... the league I love, baby... welcome. English League One. I love it. Not quite as much as League Two but it's still pretty awesome. Would you like to see my fancies? Well so would I so let's get moving.
Brighton - Port Vale @ 1.57 Bluesq
Am I going to attempt to argue against Brighton here? No. 2 points off 6th, in decent form, excellent at home, incredibly tight and facing the league's bottom side. Port Vale have been battling valiantly of late though: back to back home wins over a struggling Gills side and a tough Leyton Orient. A 3-3 home to Leeds and 0-2 win at Crewe (also sweating it down the bottom) too I spy. Doesn't worry me a great deal though. Brighton have shown over the course of the season they're the better side by a fair distance and have ample motivation here to go for the victory and send Vale down to league two which they should really manage without too many scares. I didn't gulp there. Honest.
Bristol Rovers - Hartlepool @ 2.25 Bluesq
Bristol Rovers only 3 points outside the relegation zone so really have to do something in this one. Whether or not they're good enough against a not bad, mid-table Hartlepool is another matter. I think they might be as the away table will tell you, Hartlepool would rather stay at home: 14 defeats in 20 and only 4 wins. They aren't about to knock themselves out now so I'm happy to take Rovers at not bad odds although it should be noted both sides have a few injury problems.
Carlisle - Yeovil @ 1.55 Betway
I fully expect Carlisle to get their awesome home record back on track after the dissapointing 0-2 defeat by Nottingham Forest (Carlisle hit the woodwork twice, bit unlucky to lose I hear). Even with that loss it's still a stunning record and I certainly wouldn't exepect a rather poor Yeovil to put another dent in it, especially with Doncaster Rovers creeping up on Carlisle and that 2nd automatic promotion place. Not many teams manage to score at Carlisle either so a Yeovil side that... um... struggles to score (failed in 7 from last 10) shouldn't scare us. They don't. And they won't. Well they might but it's unlikely. I'd consider Carlisle to win to nil too. And even Carlisle to win by 2 or more @ 2.50 Bet365
Crewe - Southend (X) @ 3.25 Bet365
Southend look the bet on paper here with their excellent form: 2nd only to Carlisle's and Crewe hovering a single point above relegation. I'm not overly confident though. But why? I think Southend might feel ok with a point and Crewe do a good job of making it difficult for the top sides: 0-0 with Forest, 0-0 at Northampton, 1-1 at Leeds, 2-2 with Swansea, a narrow 0-1 loss to Carlisle. The odds available for Southend are decent enough but I'm too worried about Crewe and their stuffy draws.
