James Milton: Saturday EFL predictions & free betting accumulator tips

Free football tips, bets and analysis for this weekend's action.

Best bets

Charlton
2pts 13-10 Hills

Swansea
2pts Evs general

Coventry draw no bet
1pt 6-5 Betfair, Paddy Power

Swindon Town v Charlton Athletic

3pm Saturday

It should be a good time of year for Robins but there is a distinct lack of festive cheer at the County Ground after 12 defeats in 18 League One games for Swindon this season.

Their 2-1 reverse at Doncaster on Tuesday extended their losing run to four matches and they may struggle to stop the rot at home to a solid Charlton side on Saturday.

John Sheridan took over in November but the only points Swindon have picked up since his arrival came in narrow wins over fellow strugglers Oxford (2-1) and Bristol Rovers (1-0) and a 3-3 draw at Shrewsbury where they scored a 93rd-minute equaliser.

Their record against teams outside the bottom ten is alarming – ten defeats in 11 matches including five home losses to nil – so they face an uphill task against seventh-placed Charlton.

The Addicks' midweek fixture against coronavirus-hit Bristol Rovers was postponed so they should be fresher than their hosts and they recorded their biggest win of the season last weekend, beating AFC Wimbledon 5-2.

Charlton matches are not usually such expansive contests and they have seen off far stronger opponents than Swindon on their travels this season, winning to nil at Portsmouth, Ipswich, Blackpool and Crewe.

Swindon have problems in both penalty areas. Diallang Jaiyesimi's late penalty at Doncaster is the only goal they have scored in their last three games and before that run they blew a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 at Crewe.

Sheridan's men managed only two shots on target in their last home fixture, a 1-0 defeat to Fleetwood, and the Robins may find themselves frozen out again by Charlton.

Swansea City v Barnsley

3pm Saturday

Barnsley are not opposed lightly in the Championship after a run of eight wins in their last 12 matches but a trip to Swansea represents a step up in class for the Tykes.

The Swans lost in the playoff semi-finals last season and are up in the top six once again despite a midweek defeat at improving Derby.

They enjoyed a better derby result last weekend when Jamal Lowe's brace gave them a 2-0 win at Cardiff, who were restricted to just two shots on target.

That defensive excellence has been a key part of Swansea's success under Steve Cooper this term and they have conceded only four goals in nine home Championship matches.

Bournemouth and Blackburn, comfortably the two highest-scoring teams in the division, have both been shut out at the Liberty Stadium and Barnsley may struggle to break down their hosts.

Seven of Barnsley's eight league wins have come against teams in the bottom ten and their last meeting with one of the promotion contenders ended in a 4-0 home defeat to Bournemouth.

Valerien Ismael's side have since claimed 2-1 wins over Wycombe, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston but they can expect a tougher test against a Swansea side smarting from their defeat at Derby.

Sheffield Wednesday v Coventry City

3pm Saturday

Before the November international break, promoted Coventry were struggling to cope with the step up to the Championship, conceding 23 goals in 11 games and losing seven of them.

Since returning to action, however, the Sky Blues have let in only four goals during an eight-match unbeaten run and they can extend that sequence at struggling Sheffield Wednesday.

Cov have had four goalless stalemates in 19 league games this term, as well as 1-1 draws at highflying Norwich and Derby in the last six weeks, so they look a solid draw-no-bet selection at Hillsborough.

Mark Robins' men beat Rotherham 3-1 in their first fixture of December and they claimed their first away win of the season at Wycombe last weekend.

Defensively they have little to fear from Sheffield Wednesday, who have won one of their nine home games this season and have scored only eight goals in 18 league fixtures since an opening 2-0 win at Cardiff.

Tony Pulis's side managed only one shot on target in their midweek defeat at fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest and they look uneasy favourites against a Coventry side growing in confidence at this level.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Newport County
The League Two title favourites have taken 22 points from a possible 24 at home this season and should see off an Oldham side without a clean sheet in 18 league games.

Blowout
Manchester City
The betting markets retain great confidence in City but they have scored only three goals in their last five away league matches and face a Southampton side who are full of beans.

Accumulator
Newport County 5-6, Tottenham 21-20, Marseille 7-10, Sevilla 4-7. £1 accumulator returns £9.76 with Hills.

Both teams to score
Games at Manchester United 4-7, Luton 8-11, Burton 3-4. £1 treble returns £4.73 with bet365.

Thought for the week

For Europe's top clubs, the Champions League is on the back-burner until the round of 16 starts in mid-February.

For punters, however, now is an excellent time to focus on the last-16 ties and the outright betting as plenty could change during a busy winter schedule in Europe.

Holders and 11-4 favourites Bayern Munich will have a shorter winter break than usual in the Bundesliga and Manchester City are second-favourites despite their poor Premier League form.

Liverpool have long-term injury problems and a battle on their hands to retain their Premier League title and Barcelona and Juventus have made patchy starts under Ronald Koeman and Andrea Pirlo.

Zinedine Zidane and Thomas Tuchel are also under pressure in their jobs at Real Madrid and PSG while Borussia Dortmund, always dangerous outsiders in the Champions League, sacked Lucien Favre this week.

The doubts over so many of the usual suspects should ensure a fascinating knockout stage and the 7-2 about Porto knocking out Juventus in the last 16 could get punters off to a flying start.

Porto are 150-1 outsiders for the trophy but they qualified impressively as runners-up to City in Group C, keeping five clean sheets in six games, while Juve, who lost to Lyon last term, are struggling for consistency under Pirlo.

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