Dan Childs: Saturday football tips and EFL accumulator

Free football tips, best bets and accumulator for Saturday's EFL games including Wigan Athletic v Luton Town, Stoke City v Hull City, Accrington Stanley v Tranmere Rovers and Carlisle United v Colchester United.

When to bet

Kick-offs 3pm Saturday

Best bets

Wigan Athletic
3pts 3-4 Betfred
Stoke City
3pts 6-10 Betfred, Coral, Ladbrokes
Tranmere Rovers +0.5 on Asian handicap
2pts Evs bet365
Carlisle United draw no bet
1pt 11-8 Betfred

Wigan Athletic v Luton Town

Wigan have had to work incredibly hard to get out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone and they can put a bit more distance between themselves and the bottom three by justifying odds-on favouritism against basement boys Luton at the DW Stadium.

It has been a difficult campaign for Wigan, who have had to play catch-up since losing four of their opening five games of the season.

They were in the drop zone from the end of November until last Saturday, when they achieved a well-deserved 1-0 success at leaders West Brom.

Winning at the Hawthorns was a fantastic achievement and capped a fantastic February for the Latics, who kicked off the month with a smash-and-grab 1-0 success at Leeds.

Over the last eight games, Wigan have collected 17 points and they are sure to be targeting another three at the expense of the Hatters, who have the worst away record (won three, drawn none and lost 15) in the division.

Luton have been on a decent run – taking ten points from their last five games – and showed a never-day-die attitude last weekend when James Collins' injury-time penalty salvaged a 1-1 draw at home to Stoke.

However, they have conceded 71 league goals this season – ten more than any other team – and their suspect defence could be exposed by Wigan, who look good things to rack up a fourth successive victory.

Stoke v Hull City

Championship strugglers Stoke have found it difficult to string results together but can go four unbeaten for the first time this season by defeating injury-hit Hull at the bet365 Stadium.

The Potters have improved under Michael O'Neill, who inherited a team anchored to the foot at the Sky Bet Championship and has steered them to nine league victories, four draws and eight defeats.

Stoke's last three successes have all been registered on home soil and they have nothing to fear from Hull, who have taken just two points from ten games since New Year's Day.

The Tigers are two points better off than Stoke but look at greater risk of the drop with confidence low and injuries piling up.

Nine players were absent as the Tigers lost 4-0 at home to Leeds last Saturday and only one - Keane Lewis-Potter - has returned to contention for the trip to the Potteries.

The injury crisis has struck at the worst possible time for Hull, who were probably bracing themselves for a difficult end to the season after the January sale of Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki.

Both have been sorely missed and it is hard to see who is going to get the goals to keep Hull in the division.

Accrington Stanley v Tranmere Rovers

Tranmere breathed life into their Sky Bet League One survival quest with a 3-2 victory at Shrewsbury last Tuesday and can put in another strong performance at Accrington, where they look overpriced to avoid defeat.

It was a tough winter for Rovers, who had gone 11 league games without a victory since winning 1-0 at home to Wimbledon in the weekend before Christmas.

Their small squad was not helped by a busy schedule, topped by FA Cup clashes against Watford and Manchester United, which required them to play 15 matches within a seven-week period between Boxing Day and February 11.

However, Tranmere have been in action just twice across the last three-and-a-half weeks and played with greater energy at Shrewsbury last week.

Substitute Corey Blackett-Taylor popped up with their injury-time winner in Shropshire which might just be the start of a push towards safety.

Accrington will be up against a more confident Tranmere and they have been hit by the absence of experienced defender Mark Hughes, who misses the rest of the season with a calf strain.

Stanley are 14 points above the bottom three but have taken just one point from their last three games and look vulnerable odds-on favourites.

Carlisle United v Colchester United

Carlisle are fifth-bottom in Sky Bet League Two but have been playing better in recent weeks and look dangerous opponents for promotion-chasing Colchester at Brunton Park.

Chris Beech's Cumbrians have lost just one of their last nine games and were well-deserved 2-1 winners at Cambridge last Saturday.

Maintaining those standards would give them a good chance against faltering Colchester, who have lost three of their last four matches.

Accumulator

Wigan 7-10, Stoke 6-10, Sunderland 17-20, Plymouth 4-7. £1 accumulator returns £7.90 with Coral.

First scorer

Rhys Healey MK Dons v Doncaster
1pt 6-1 bet365

MK Dons striker Rhys Healey has missed a large chunk of the season through injury but the 25-year-old has looked a class act in recent weeks – scoring six goals in his last seven appearances – and is a likely first scorer against Doncaster, who have lost three of their last four away games.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport