Football Accumulator: Jack Goddard plumps for Pompey among five EFL selections

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.

Preston North End v Watford 

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

Preston have scored just one goal in four league matches this season. Normally that would be considered poor, but they have also kept four clean sheets. The accumulative total is the lowest goal return at this stage of the season of 552 second-tier sides this century.

It’s therefore fair to say that Ryan Lowe has made North End hard to beat - this is the first time in the club’s history that they have kept four clean sheets in a row. But the law of averages suggests the Lilywhites can’t continue at this rate. They will begin to net more than one goal (it was incredible, by the way!) as their attacking intent increases, and eventually concede a few too.

However, only two teams have let in fewer than Watford’s two goals this season, while the Hornets haven’t yet scored more than once in a game so far. Now that Nigerian winger Emmanuel Dennis has left the club, and with mounting speculation over Ismaïla Sarr’s future, I envisage them struggling in front of goal.

I have a strong suspicion this might end goalless, but if you’re especially bold you can back Preston to win at 2.8. I’m not quite so brave though, and prefer to tackle the ‘Both teams to score’ market!

Selection: Both teams to score - No @ 1.88

Sheffield United v Blackburn Rovers

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

Blackburn came back down to earth with an almighty bump on Wednesday with a 3-0 thumping at the hands of Paul Ince’s Reading - a scoreline that, if anything, flattered Rovers.

You can’t win them all, though, and the Lancashire side’s first three games suggest they will be a threat this season as long as they can hold on to Ben Brereton-Diaz this transfer window.

The Blades became just the second side to beat Sunderland since Alex Neil took over in February, and were clearly inspired by a brilliant attacking display from Anel Ahmedhodžić. After opening the scoring, the Bosnian brought the overlapping centre-back strategy back to Bramall Lane, squaring perfectly for Max Lowe to roll the ball in the net.

The entire move for United’s second goal perfectly summed up their quality this season, and I expect them and Blackburn - who had scored five goals in two games before Wednesday - to play out a high-calibre game on Saturday.

Selection: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.95

Portsmouth v Bristol Rovers 

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

Portsmouth are unbeaten in their last 12 home games, which stretches back to last season. They’ve scored 32 goals in that period (2.67 goals per game), and have won five of those matches by two goals or more. Simply put, they are formidable at Fratton Park.

Bristol Rovers have had a good start back to life in League One, securing back-to-back wins before an unexpected 3-0 defeat to Barnsley. Gas manager Joey Barton described his players as “rabbits in the headlights” after their defeat on Tuesday as his side was overwhelmed by the Terriers’ fast start.

Pompey, meanwhile, will be hoping new signing Colby Bishop continues his fine start to the season with five goals in as many games. 

The former Accrington player has already accumulated more than a third of his 14-goal total from last season. Could this be a break-out year for the 25-year-old? I’m backing him and Pompey to keep firing here.

Selection: Portsmouth to win @ 1.8

Exeter v Cheltenham 

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

Newly-promoted Exeter are absolutely flying this season. The Grecians have already thumped Port Vale and beaten last year’s League One play-off finalists Wycombe to sit comfortably in fifth place.

Cheltenham, on the other hand, have had a disastrous start to the new season and sit second-bottom with just one point from their four games. The Robins have failed to score in each of their last three games, a worrying sign considering the 66 goals they netted last season (their 15th-place finish can be attributed to the 80 goals conceded).

The lack of goals could be due to Alfie May’s slow start (one goal) - the Cheltenham striker scored 26 in all competitions last year. Robins fans can take solace from the fact that May took his time to get going back then too, though, scoring just once in his first seven matches.

As things stand, this can only go one way - especially considering Exeter’s 7-0 win in this same fixture in the EFL Cup just over a week ago.

Selection: Exeter to win @ 1.75

Newport County v Tranmere Rovers

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

Newport are currently in a wretched run of form at Rodney Parade, losing their last seven consecutive home matches while conceding 14 goals (two per game) in the process.

Tranmere, meanwhile, have course-corrected after losing their first two matches of the season. They boasted the second-best defence in League Two last year and have now kept two clean sheets on the bounce - a 3-0 defeat of Gillingham and a goalless draw at Hartlepool.

Rovers’ away record last term wasn’t good (they did have the best home record, though), winning just five times. In fact, they’ve won just one of their last 12 away games, hence the favourable odds.

They will, however, have taken confidence from their last two matches. My advice would be to proceed with caution, but I fancy them to grab their first away win of the season against weak opposition. 

Selection: Tranmere to win @ 3.95

Recommended bets

Back Preston-Watford Both teams to score - No @ 1.88
Back Sheffield United-Blackburn Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.95
Back Portsmouth to win @ 1.8
Back Exeter to win @ 1.75
Back Tranmere to win @ 3.95