Crawley Town V Mansfield

This should be an entertaining fixture as a win by Mansfield (12th) will move them up in the table to as high as 6th, should the game go their way. Crawley town is in a similar situation as they currently hold the 11th place spot on the table. With similar records on the year, this prediction is purely gut instinct. Crawley Town 2-1 over Mansfield.

Salford City v Cheltenham

Another match that could tell us a lot about the teams. Salford City is a newly promoted team to league 2 and Cheltenham is holding the 6th spot on the table. Salford got a win to start the year, but are 0-5-0 (5 pts) in their last 5. Cheltenham currently has 11 points and look to climb as high as 4th with 3 points. All this being said, I think Salford City break their current trend and come out on top 1-0.

Northampton v Newport County

This could be a beating in the making. 2nd place Newport County (13 points in last 5 games) should, in my opinion, dispatch Northampton (6 points last 5 games) “fairly easily”. Don’t really have anything to base this prediction on, but Newport County takes it 3-0.

Walsall v Bradford City

Walsall has had a hard time finding the back of the net so far this season, scoring just 3 goals in their 7 games played so far this season. Bradford City got a win last game after losing their previous 2, so maybe they are back on the right track and will start to progress up the table. Spots 6-11 on the table all have 11 points, so I anticipate a fairly decent shuffling in the standings this week. Predicting a 2-0 Bradford City win.

Swindon Town v Macclesfield Town

Separated by just 3 points on the table, look for this to be a hotly contested battle. Macclesfield have drawn their last 2, whereas Swindon have won their last 2. With them being so close on points, I’m predicting a 1-1 draw with a heartbreaker late goal for Swindon Town sometime after the 80th minute.

Scunthorpe v Morecambe

Putting it lightly, Scunthorpe is not having a very good season. The fact of the matter is, their defense is letting them down in a big way. With 5 goals on the season, you would think they might, just might, have more than 1 point, yes 1, for the year. Pointless in their last 4, they take on a team not much higher in the standings. Morecambe has 1 win in their last 5, but have also managed to scrape together a pair of draws so they can at least get some points on the board. Something tells me that Scunthorpe will make this a real interesting game, but will ultimately fail to convert anything in a game thay goes to a 0-0 draw.

Crewe Alexandra v Cambridge United

7 points separate these two. Crewe is looking to stay on their winning ways, only losing once in their last 5, but that was to Aston Villa in the FA Cup. Cambridge has lost 3 in a row and their offense is looking less than stellar. Crewe came up short on a promotion bid last year, but I think that will be a different story this year, provided they keep their form up. Combined with the fact that the game is at Gresty Road, Crewe wins 3-1.

Exeter v Leyton Orient

Top o the table vs 17th place. Leyton Orient started off well this season and seems to have hit a plateau as of late. They will need to be in top form if they hope to take down top ranked Exeter. This does not mean that Exeter should over look the newly promoted Orient. Prediction: 3-2 Exeter in a thriller of a match

Forest Green v Colchester

Here’s a fun fact, Colchester has 6 goals on the season and only 2 different goal scorers (one with 4 and one with 2). They are going to need to spread the ball around some more or Forest Greens defense will have Norris and Nouble on lockdown and Colchester will struggle as a unit. Prediction: 2-0 Forest Green

Oldham v Grimsby

A game of 2 teams that are currently struggling. Oldham is having a rough go of it this season and Grimsby, though in the top half of the table, have lost their last 2 contests. Getting back on the right track will be key for them here and I think they come out and hold Oldham scoreless. Prediction: 1-0 Grimsby

Port Vale v Plymouth Argyle

Quite possibly my favorite team name in all of football (Plymouth Argyle) v my favorite mystery kit that I received from Away Days. Plymouth started season in good form but have started a downward trend as of late. Scoring early and having an air tight defense will be their keys to the game. Port Vale have seen their fortunes turn for the positive, but are ultimately still behind Plymouth on the table and today’s game may show us why they are where they are. Prediction: Plymouth Argyle gets back on the winning track 1-0

Stevenage v Carlisle

Another match up of 2 teams towards the very bottom of the table. Stevenage has yet to win this season and Carlisle is holding on to 7 points. With teams all up and down the table trending in different directions, one of these teams needs to dig deep to pull out a win and, though still very early, salvage their season. I think today, that will be Stevenage. Prediction: 1-0 for Stevenage to get their first win on the season