James Milton: Saturday EFL & FA Cup football predictions and free accumulators

Free football tips, bets and analysis on this weekend's Premier League, EFL, FA Cup, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga action.

Best bets

Luton draw no bet
2pts 5-4 general
Cambridge United
2pts 9-5 Betfair
Portsmouth
1pt 19-10 bet365

Huddersfield Town v Luton Town

3pm Saturday

A 70th-minute James Collins volley gave Luton a 1-0 win at Rotherham in the Championship on Wednesday and the Hatters could enjoy more success on the road at Huddersfield.

The victory over the Millers kept Luton in the top ten and manager Nathan Jones said afterwards: "We're in a decent position and it doesn't flatter us".

Sceptics may point to the fact that all five of their league wins this season have come against teams in the bottom seven.

A trip to Huddersfield doesn't appear significantly tougher than visits to Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham, all of whom were beaten 1-0 by Luton.

Jones also spoke on Wednesday about the consistency of his team's performances at the end of last season and the beginning of this term.

Luton looked in serious relegation danger until losing only two of their last 15 matches – a sequence that included a 2-0 win at Huddersfield in July.

That completed a league double over the Terriers, who finished level with Luton on 51 points, and the Hatters look the more progressive of the pair this season.

A tight, cagey game looks likely as only two of Luton's ten league matches have featured goals at both ends and Huddersfield have lost three of their five home fixtures, all by a one-goal margin.

That includes their last two, 2-1 defeats to Preston and Bristol City, and Luton, with the draw no bet, look a tempting price to extend that trend.

Cambridge United v Shrewsbury Town

3pm Saturday

Shrewsbury's excellent 2019-20 FA Cup run ended with a 1-0 defeat at Anfield, having come from 2-0 down in the original tie to earn a fourth-round replay against Liverpool.

However, the League One Shrews may not enjoy the competition so much this time around as they face a tricky first-round tie away to in-form League Two side Cambridge United.

Only three teams separate Shrewsbury, 22nd in the third division, and Cambridge, who are second in the fourth tier, in the English football pyramid and there is no doubt which side comes into the cup game with more confidence.

Shrewsbury needed an equaliser in the ninth minute of injury-time against Burton on Tuesday to end a four-match losing streak while Cambridge came from behind to beat promotion hopefuls Salford City 2-1.

Six of their seven league wins have come against teams in the top half, including a 2-1 home victory over leaders Newport County, so beating a struggling League One side should not be beyond Mark Bonner's men.

Cambridge have already beaten Championship side Birmingham in the EFL Cup and League One Burton in the EFL Trophy this season and they can continue their winning habit in the FA Cup.

Ipswich Town v Portsmouth

3pm Saturday

Portsmouth's away form is hauling them up the League One table after a slow start to the season and they are worth backing for an FA Cup victory at Ipswich.

An impressive 3-1 midweek win at highflying Lincoln made it four victories in five away league games this term for Pompey, who have scored 12 goals on those five trips.

Last month's 3-1 win at promotion rivals Sunderland was a major statement of intent while Kenny Jackett's men also thumped Northampton 4-0 at home recently.

John Marquis and Marcus Harness are in excellent goalscoring form and the 2008 FA Cup winners can put a dent in Ipswich's fine home record.

The Tractor Boys have won five out of five in the league at Portman Road, without conceding a goal, but all of those victories came against teams in the bottom half.

They have lost all three of their league meetings with top-ten sides, going down to defeats at Doncaster, Lincoln and, on Tuesday, Sunderland, and Portsmouth's forwards have the class to cause problems for Ipswich.

They have scored eight goals in four EFL Cup and EFL Trophy ties this term and relished the knockout competitions last season, reaching the EFL Trophy final and the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Metz 4-5
Metz have won four and drawn two of their last six games and they should prove too strong for Ligue 1's bottom club Dijon, who have failed to score in six of their nine league matches.

Blowout
Bristol Rovers 5-4
Rovers have taken one point from their last three League One games and face a tricky FA Cup trip to a Walsall side whose only League Two defeat this term came against highflying Cambridge.

Accumulator
Chelsea 2-5, Cheltenham 1-3, Sampdoria 11-8, Metz 4-5. £1 accumulator returns £6.98 with BoyleSports.

Both teams to score
Games at Norwich 4-5, Barrow 3-4, Stuttgart 4-9. £1 treble returns £3.54 with bet365.

Thought for the week

While the biggest betting event of the week pitted a 77-year-old against a 74-year-old, Borussia Dortmund showcased the benefits of their youth policy in a 3-0 Champions League win over Club Brugge.

The victory – an eighth win to nil in 11 games for BVB this season – featured a brace from striker Erling Haaland, taking his Champions League career tally to 14 goals in just 11 appearances.

Haaland and his fellow 20-year-old Jadon Sancho are practically elder statesmen compared with 17-year-old midfielders Gio Reyna and Jude Bellingham, who have both appeared in all three Champions League matches this term, as well as 18-year-old Real Madrid loanee Reinier.

In 2017, Dortmund sold Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona for €105 million, a year after signing him for €15m, and similar riches await them as Europe's top clubs are already circling around Haaland and Sancho.

From a purely footballing perspective, however, it would be fascinating to see what BVB could achieve if they dug their heels in and kept this crop of youngsters together – if not for a presidential 'four more years', then at least for a couple of seasons.

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