Doncaster - Cheltenham, English Division 3
2004-03-13 16.00 CET
Pick: Doncaster
Stake: 3%
Odds: 1,62
Final reason for bet
· Table toppers Doncaster is in good form.
· Doncaster has an almost fully fit squad.
· Doncaster will get boosted by the return of their top striker.
· Cheltenham has a bad away record.
General comment about the game
Table toppers Doncaster will on Saturday afternoon face mid table team Cheltenham at home. Doncaster is in form and has so been since September. This has put them in top of the division currently with six points above second placed Hull. Last game was away to 10th placed Swansea in a game that ended 1-1. It was a very entertaining game with lots of chances in both directions. No new injury or suspension worries in front of Saturday’s clash meaning that Doncaster manager Dave Penney has an almost fully fit squad to choose from. Only absentee will be long term injury victim Francis Tierney (9(3) apps, 3 goals) who still has about three weeks before he has recovered from his injury. He has only played in one game since 21st of October. The team will get a major boost by the return of top striker Greg Blundell (32 apps, 14 goals) who sat out last weekends clash with Swansea with a one match ban.
Cheltenham has since New Year been in a run that have moved them up the table. Currently they reside on 12th place, which looks like a position that is safe from relegation (10 points) and too far behind the promotion race (13 points). The main reason for this good run is their home form with four straight victories lately. This has also put them in the upper half of the home table. On the other hand, their away record is one of the worst in the league. They have only managed to take 13 points from 17 attempts. However, lately their away record has been pretty good with only one defeat since New Year and that was against Darlington in midweek. Relegation battlers Darlington was the better team in the first half and also managed two score twice. In the second half Cheltenham performed much better than in the first but they could not come closer than 1-2. When considering their recent away record we must bear in mind that the opposition has not been so good; they have only played against teams that are in the bottom half of the home table. When playing away they often put their trust to their defence which means that their strategy is to hold on to the point they have when the game starts. Lately this has been a good strategy; five of their six latest undefeated away matches have ended goalless. On Saturday they will face the best home team in the league and also the team that score the most goals in front of their home crowd. So it would be a big surprise if the match ends goalless.
Cheltenham has no injury or suspension worries in front of the trip to Doncaster.
Very strong home team Doncaster will under normal circumstances win this match against poor travellers Cheltenham quite easy. Since in form Doncaster does not have any injury worries there are no signs of a down fall. Medium stake, 3% is suggested on a home win.
Recent games for home team
|
2004-03-05 |
Swansea-Doncaster |
1-1 |
|
2004-02-27 |
Doncaster-Kidderminster |
5-0 |
|
2004-02-21 |
Mansfield-Doncaster |
1-2 |
|
2004-02-14 |
Doncaster-Macclesfield |
1-0 |
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2004-02-07 |
Scunthorpe-Doncaster |
2-2 |
Recent games for away team
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2004-03-09 |
Darlington-Cheltenham |
2-1 |
|
2004-03-06 |
Cheltenham-Lincoln |
3-2 |
|
2004-02-28 |
Cheltenham-Mansfield |
4-2 |
|
2004-02-20 |
Rochdale-Cheltenham |
0-0 |
|
2004-02-14 |
Cheltenham-Boston U |
1-0 |
Home table
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Doncaster |
17 |
13 |
2 |
2 |
36-9 |
41 |
Away table
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Cheltenham |
17 |
2 |
7 |
8 |
15-28 |
13 |
Links for this game
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// SportsObserver 040312
