Mark Langdon's Good Friday EFL football tips and weekend accumulators

Middlesbrough v Stoke

3pm Friday

Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis has a strong record against Stoke but his former club could put a serious dent in his Sky Bet Championship playoff ambitions at the Riverside.

Pulis has gone 14 games unbeaten as a manager against Stoke, a run which dates back to his Bournemouth days in 1992, and he would dearly love to send the Potters packing with maximum points secured.

Boro have won their last two games against Bolton and Hull without conceding to reignite their top-six hopes and victory is imperative if they are to put pressure on Bristol City.

However, Pulis has bemoaned the lack of finishing quality in his side and stubborn Stoke should make life difficult.

Draw specialists Stoke have lost only one of their last 11 matches despite not kicking on in the way Nathan Jones would have liked after leaving Luton to take over at the bet365 Stadium.

That loss to Swansea came with nine men and the red cards may have impacted on a lethargic second-half show in Saturday's
2-2 draw with Rotherham.

England keeper Jack Butland showed his quality and had kept six straight clean sheets prior to the last two matches.

Recommendation
Stoke or draw double chance
1pt 21-20 RedZone

Newport v Bury

3pm Friday

Lincoln are already promoted from Sky Bet League Two but there is an almighty slog for the other two spots with only two points separating second-placed Bury from MK Dons in fourth.

Bury, who got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Colchester last time out, have had off-field issues that seem to have affected their recent performances.

The cash-strapped Shakers had lost to Swindon, Cambridge and Carlisle, conceding three in each match, and even the Colchester triumph was not totally convincing.

Newport have conceded just once in five matches and they seem to be making the most of their home games.

County's Rodney Parade league record in 2019 reads: P8, W4, D3 L1 F5 A1 and their defence has improved since Regan Poole rejoined them on loan from Manchester United in January.

Newport have not totally given up on the playoffs, although it remains a tall order.

Whatever the final outcome, the Exiles, with a strong defence and Padraig Amond and Jamille Matt capable of troubling the opposition, look overpriced.

Recommendation
Newport draw no bet
1pt 13-10 Hills, RedZone

Exeter v Crawley

1pm Friday

Exeter's performances don't always give the impression that they are a top-seven outfit and City will be the outsiders of four should they make the playoffs, but even so they warrant support against Crawley.

Nicky Law's early penalty settled their nerves in the 2-0 win over Port Vale last week and Hiram Boateng doubled the advantage with an outstanding second as Exeter comfortably dealt with in-form opponents.

This time the visitors are Crawley who definitely cannot be stuck in the in-form category.

They had lost four matches in a row before last week's 1-0 win at Yeovil - a team who are looking every inch relegation candidates - and the Red Devils were far from swashbuckling in securing maximum points.

Veteran playmaker Filipe Morais's goal proved to be the difference as Crawley scored with one of only two shots on target and there's a 19-point gulf between them and Exeter.

Recommendation
Exeter
1pt 20-21 BoyleSports

Weekend football accumulators

Banker
Exeter 20-21
There's maybe not enough being made of the need-to-win factor for this Devon encounter. Crawley are basically safe from relegation whereas the hosts are desperate to stay in the playoff positions.

Blowout
Real Madrid 1-2
Zinedine Zidane's side have won their last three at home, but their performances have not been particularly good and visiting Athletic Bilbao are on a run of just three defeats in the last 18.

Accumulator
Aston Villa 4-11, Bayer Leverkusen 3-10, Juventus 2-5, Chelsea 2-7. £1 acca returns £3.19 with Sky Bet

Both teams to score
Games at West Ham 8-13, QPR 8-13, Sunderland 4-5. £1 treble returns £4.72 with Hills, RedZone

Thought for the week

On April 20, 2017, Ajax beat Schalke to progress through to the Europa League semi-finals and two days later I wrote about the ace Amsterdammers in this section.

"Other clubs around Europe with less class and history possess more money, but Ajax's philosophy will never die. Their fans sing the Bob Marley classic 'Three Little Birds' and this Europa League run has made me realise for Ajax every little thing will be all right."

Ajax promptly got absolutely stuffed in the final by Manchester United and were knocked out of Europe in record time the following season, beaten by Nice in their first Champions League qualifier and then by Rosenborg in the Europa League playoffs.

How shrewd!

Three players - Justin Kluivert (Roma), Davy Klaassen (Everton) and Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham) - who played key roles away to Schalke departed for big money but on the bench that night were Frenkie de Jong, Donny van de Beek and David Neres.

Those three, now influential first-teamers, were outstanding as Ajax dismantled Juventus on Tuesday having done the same thing the week before. They have also outplayed Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

This thrilling Ajax side will be broken up in the summer and it may take a while for them to find new stars, but find them they will.

Ajax's philosophy will surely never die and as long as they remain true to their footballing principles expect them to be relevant on the biggest stage.

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