Football League Acca: Jack Goddard is backing Peterborough on Saturday and here's why

The English Football League remains as eventful as ever. In this weekly column, Jack Goddard helps you find some value accumulator selections among the chaos.

Cardiff City v Preston North End 

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

Preston continued their remarkable goalless run at the weekend with another 0-0 draw, this time in slightly fortuitous circumstances at home to Watford.

This latest no-score draw means Lilywhites fans have still seen just one goal - Brad Potts’ wonder strike away to Luton - in all their league games this season. They have kept a club-record five clean sheets in a row, meaning North End are also the only club in the EFL and Premier League yet to concede a goal this campaign.

Meanwhile, Cardiff have been a pretty tough watch in their own right this season. The Welsh side have failed to score in their last two games and the future appears bleak as they are averaging just 2.8 shots on target, with a mean of just 0.85 xG in their home games so far.

In the ten league games these two sides have played so far this season, only two of them have resulted in more than 1.5 goals. It would be remarkable if this match bucked that trend.

Selection: Under 1.5 goals @ 2.56

Huddersfield Town v West Bromwich Albion

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

The Baggies finally recorded their first win of the league season last week in a 5-2 thrashing of Hull City. West Brom’s goals are like London buses - you have to wait a while before they all come at once - as the Baggies doubled their xG against the Tigers despite scoring below their expected level in their previous encounters.

Steve Bruce’s side have created a load of chances this season despite their solitary win, with their average xG (2.08) second only to Championship heavyweights Norwich. Their xG away from home (1.64) is also significantly higher than Huddersfield’s league-worst 0.7 at home, while the Terriers concede the most clear-cut chances on their own patch as well (1.99 xG). 

There is a reason why the Yorkshire side are struggling to fashion big chances. They are averaging just 14% of the possession inside the opposition’s box this season, which is by far the lowest in the league (the average is 27%). If they can’t work the ball into more dangerous areas, they will continue to suffer going forward. I fancy West Brom to win comfortably if they can keep their shooting boots on.

Selection: West Brom to win @ 1.8

Derby County v Peterborough United 

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

Peterborough’s price is far bigger than it should be, but there are a couple of good reasons why Derby are strong favourites for this enticing match-up.

Firstly, the Rams have a 100% home record courtesy of one-goal wins against Barnsley and Oxford, but it’s worth noting that both of those sides have had underwhelming starts. The Posh are the best team to visit Pride Park so far this year.

Another caveat is that Peterborough have only ever won at Derby once in seven previous trips, that victory coming 29 years ago. Since then the home side has taken all three points in this fixture 70% of the time.

Jonson Clarke-Harris has made a blistering start to the League One season

But it would be folly to forget that the Rams enter this game off the back of two consecutive goalless draws, while the Posh are absolutely flying. Whereas Derby have only scored three goals this season, Peterborough have netted 12 - making them the league’s joint-top scorers - and sit in second place with four wins from five.

The main reason for their success comes in the form of Jonson Clarke-Harris, who scored 31 times in this division two years ago. He’s already the League One top scorer this term with five goals, so look for him to blast Peterborough to a crucial victory at a great price.

Selection: Peterborough to win @ 4

Port Vale v Portsmouth 

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

Portsmouth currently sit one place below the Posh in the League One table after an unbeaten start to the season. They are the division’s other joint-top scorers, thanks in part to summer signing Colby Bishop and his four goals since signing from Accrington.

Vale, meanwhile, have made a topsy-turvy return to life in the third tier. Losses to MK Dons and Exeter have been offset with victories over Fleetwood and bottom-placed Burton, although Pompey - who have won their last three games on the spin - offer their sternest test so far.  

Port Vale were promoted last season on the strength of their away form, not their middling home results, while Portsmouth have scored more than twice as many goals away than Vale have at home so far this year. Expect the away side to continue their brilliant form here.  

Selection: Portsmouth to win @ 2.46

Tranmere Rovers v Colchester United 

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

I selected Tranmere in this column last week, a choice that backfired as they conspired to end Newport’s seven-game losing streak at Rodney Parade. However, Rovers are a totally different proposition on their own patch, a point that is proven by their league-best home record last season. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tranmere’s sole win this season came at Prenton Park - a 3-0 dismantling of freshly-relegated Gillingham. Of course, they have already tasted defeat on home turf, but that came against high-flying Stevenage on the opening day - a result that can be excused given the long summer layoff. 

Colchester finished strongly in their away games last year but are yet to win on their travels in two games this campaign. Rovers will want to bounce back from their Newport defeat and make amends in front of their loyal supporters. Make sure to include them in your accumulators.

Selection: Tranmere to win @ 1.93

Recommended bets

Cardiff v Preston - Under 1.5 goals @ 2.56
Huddersfield v West Brom - West Brom to win @ 1.8
Derby v Peterborough - Peterborough to win @ 4
Port Vale v Portsmouth - Portsmouth to win @ 2.46
Tranmere v Colchester - Tranmere to win @ 1.93