Dan Childs: free football tips for Saturday's EFL games

Free football tips, bets and analysis for Saturday's EFL games.

When to bet

Kick-offs 3pm Saturday

Best bets

Blackpool
2pts 10-13 RedZone
Back this tip with CoralBolton Wanderers
1pt 8-5 bet365
Back this tip with bet365
Forest Green Rovers
1pt 6-4 bet365
Back this tip with bet365
Crawley Town
1pt 20-21 BoyleSports, RedZone
Back this tip with Paddy Power

Verdicts

Blackpool v AFC Wimbledon

Sky Bet League One promotion-chasers Blackpool have recorded three successive victories in three different competitions and are worthy odds-on favourites to see off relegation-threatened Wimbledon at Bloomfield Road.

The Seasiders have been a much more united club since moving on from the unpopular ownership of Owen Oyston in February.

Blackpool's attendances are on the rise with this season's league average of 9,175 significantly up on the 2018-19 figure of 5,517.

The extra support seems to be having a positive impact. Blackpool are just one point outside the top six and won 4-3 at home to highflying Peterborough in their last league game.

Powerful striker Armand Gnanduillet has scored eight goals in 15 league games and there are signs that pacy attacker Sullay Kaikai is getting back to his best after missing a month through injury.

Kaikai was on target in last Saturday's 4-1 success at home to Morecambe in the FA Cup first round and can cause problems for Wimbledon, who have not kept a clean sheet on their travels this season.

Wimbledon have responded well to Glyn Hodges, who stepped up from the assistant-manager role in September when Wally Downes was charged with breaking FA betting rules.

In a caretaker-manager capacity, Hodges steered the club to three league wins, one draw and one defeat, so it was no surprise when he was handed the job full-time three weeks ago.

Hodges's brief is to steer the club to safety and if he is to be successful he needs to address the club's poor away record.

Wimbledon have lost seven of their eight league games on the road – the exception being a 4-1 success at struggling Southend – and another poor result is in the cards.

Bolton Wanderers v MK Dons

League One basement boys Bolton started the season on minus 12 points but they can move into positive territory - from minus two points to plus one - by winning at home to fellow strugglers MK Dons.

Third-tier survival looks a long shot for Bolton, who are 15 points adrift of safety, but they have made steady progress since their long-awaited takeover went through in September.

Their new management team of Keith Hill and David Flitcroft quickly assembled a decent squad and Wanderers have become much more competitive, bringing an end to the series of heavy defeats their young side suffered in the early weeks of the campaign.

The first win of the season arrived last month when Bolton deservedly won 2-0 at Bristol Rovers.

They started November with a 2-1 victory at home to Fleetwood and approach the MK Dons match looking for a third successive league win.

While Bolton are on the up, third-bottom Dons appear to be in turmoil after taking just one point from their last nine league games.

Owner Pete Winkelman has taken the bold decision to remove Paul Tisdale from the dugout and replace him with rookie manager Russell Martin.

But the Dons lost their first match under Martin, going down 1-0 at home to League Two Port Vale in the FA Cup, and may not get anything at Bolton.

Forest Green Rovers v Plymouth Argyle

Forest Green climbed to the top of League Two after a well-deserved 2-1 victory at promotion rivals Cheltenham a fortnight ago and they look great value to cement the position by beating mid-table Plymouth in Gloucestershire.

The markets are unconvinced by Rovers, who are 16-1 sixth favourites in the title betting and odds-against to beat a Plymouth side eight points and 12 places below them.

But there is plenty to like about Mark Cooper's side, who play attractive football and possess the best defensive record in the division, conceding just ten goals in 16 games.

Cooper made wholesale changes on Tuesday and watched his side crash out of the EFL Trophy with a 6-0 defeat at Walsall.

But he will revert to a first-choice line-up in the league as Rovers look to extend their seven-match unbeaten run on home soil.

Plymouth advanced to the FA Cup second round last Saturday with a 1-0 victory at Bolton but their supporters will have been more concerned about the previous league result, a dismal 4-0 defeat at bitter rivals Exeter.

Argyle's league results and performances have been nowhere near the standard expected and they may struggle to turn the tide against the leaders.

Crawley Town v Morecambe

Crawley have been on a poor run, taking one point from their last four League Two matches, but they can turn the page by defeating basement boys Morecambe in West Sussex.

Four of the Red Devils' five league wins have come on home soil and they look solid favourites to overcome the Shrimps, who have lost eight of their last nine away games.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport