Dan Childs: Saturday football tips and EFL accumulator

Free football tips, best bets and accumulator for Saturday's EFL games including Huddersfield Town v Charlton Athletic, Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury Town, Macclesfield Town v Salford City and Oldham Athletic v Newport County.

When to bet

Kick-offs 3pm Saturday

Best bets

Huddersfield
3pts 17-20 Sky Bet
Back this tip with bet365
Bristol Rovers
3pts 8-5 Coral, Ladbrokes
Back this tip with bet365
Salford
3pts 10-11 general
Back this tip with bet365
Oldham draw no bet
3pts 19-20 Ladbrokes
Back this tip with bet365

Huddersfield v Charlton

The Sky Bet Championship survival scrap is getting tense and a key battle takes place at the John Smith's Stadium where hosts Huddersfield are worth backing to defeat Charlton.

Last weekend Charlton manager Lee Bowyer warned that the relegation battle was far from clear-cut, saying: "There's a lot more teams in this scrap than people realised."

His views were soon backed up by the midweek results which featured victories for basement boys Luton, second-bottom Barnsley and third-bottom Wigan.

Just nine points cover the last nine teams and 19th-placed Huddersfield and 18th-placed Charlton approach the weekend knowing a defeat could leave them in the drop zone.

Huddersfield remain just two points above the bottom three despite registering a dominant 2-1 victory at home to Bristol City on Tuesday.

Terriers' boss Danny Cowley praised his players after the game but knows they have plenty more work to do.

However, Huddersfield look in decent shape and had a far better midweek experience than Charlton, who conceded a 95th-minute goal in a 1-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday.

Charlton could have no complaints as they lost the shot count 24-6 and they may still be suffering from physical and mental fatigue when they take on the Terriers.

Having an extra day's rest should benefit the home side, who look solid favourites to bag their second victory in five days.

Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury

Ben Garner waited seven weeks for his first victory as Bristol Rovers manager but he is starting to get his ideas across and can lead the Gas to a home win over Shrewsbury.

There should not be much end-of-season drama for either side with Rovers 16 points clear of the drop zone and Shrewsbury just four points worse off.

But Garner needs to chalk up a few more victories to cement his relationship with the Rovers supporters and will have taken a lot of confidence from the 2-1 success at home to Blackpool a fortnight ago.

The Gas had a setback last Saturday, losing 3-0 at highflying Sunderland, but they have a good chance to complete back-to-back home wins against the Shrews, who have shown signs of tiredness since exiting the FA Cup with a 1-0 loss at Liverpool.

Shrewsbury lost 3-2 at home to third-bottom Tranmere on Tuesday and are likely to suffer a second defeat in five days.

Macclesfield v Salford

Salford's spending has raised a few eyebrows in Sky Bet League Two and it should ensure they have the edge over cash-strapped Macclesfield at Moss Rose.

The playoffs are the target for Salford despite last Saturday's 2-1 loss at home to Colchester which increased the gap to the top seven to 11 points.

Graham Alexander's side have been dominating games without getting enough victories and their luck will have to change soon if they are to extend their season.

However, they have been more consistent on their travels, banking 11 points from the last five away games, and have little to fear from the Silkmen, who are battling to avoid relegation to the National League.

Macc manager Mark Kennedy is doing his best with meagre resources and has been unable to name a full compliment of substitutes in any of the ten games since his appointment.

His team have picked up just two points from the last seven matches but they have an eight-point cushion over basement boys Stevenage, who have suffered seven successive defeats.

However, Macc are heavily reliant on Stevenage's ongoing ineptitude to save them from the drop and they may struggle to cope with a Salford side focused on joining the promotion battle.

Oldham v Newport

Newport's faint League Two playoff hopes suffered a major blow with a 4-2 loss at Grimsby on Tuesday and another setback is on the cards when they face Oldham at Boundary Park.

The Exiles are probably paying the price for fixture congestion.

Mike Flynn's side have played eight matches in February and there is little respite on the horizon with 13 more games to cram in before the end of April.

They looked a tired side at Grimsby and will have to steel themselves for a tough match against Oldham, who are improving under Dino Maamria.

The Latics are unbeaten in their last four home matches and look a solid wager with the draw no bet.

Accumulator

Huddersfield 5-6, West Brom 9-20, Exeter 4-5, Salford 10-11. £1 accumulator returns £9.12 with Betfred.

First scorer

Josh Benson Grimsby v Northampton
1pt 25-1 Betway

Grimsby manager Ian Holloway has put his trust in several young players including 20-year-old midfielder Josh Benson, who looks overpriced to net the opener against Northampton. Benson has quickly established himself as a regular under Holloway and has notched in two of his last three appearances.

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