Mark Langdon: Saturday football tips and weekend accumulators

Monaco v Nantes

7pm Saturday

A miserable season for Monaco has shown signs of improvement since manager Leonardo Jardim returned to the club and they can land a vital victory over Nantes to potentially move out of the Ligue 1 relegation playoff spot.

Jardim left in October following a run of ten winless matches but his replacement Thierry Henry proved to be a disastrous appointment.

In three months he won two of his 12 Ligue 1 matches and turned the dressing-room against him, hence the return of popular figure Jardim.

The three fixtures under Jardim the second time around have been much better. They drew 2-2 at Guingamp before losing on penalties despite William Vainqueur's red card after just 14 minutes. They beat Toulouse 2-1 and had a 2-2 draw at Montpellier when a controversial injury-time penalty denied Monaco maximum points.

Not everything is perfect in the Monaco camp with Aleksandr Golovin injured and Jemerson suspended, but they are a strong side who should be nowhere near a relegation fight.

World Cup winner Djibril Sidibe is at right-back and beaten finalist Danijel Subasic has returned in goal, while Kamil Glik is a strong centre-back.

Cesc Fabregas and Adrien Silva can dominate midfield with on-loan Gelson Martins, a €30m signing from Sporting for Atletico Madrid in the summer, and Rony Lopes providing assists for Radamel Falcao.

Nantes had collected one point in five matches before a 1-0 victory at Caen, who are the worst side in France according to expected goal figures, on Wednesday.

However, they could be tired after playing 75 minutes with ten men after an early red card to Andrei Girotto and defender Nicolas Pallois won't feature as he is in Argentina for the funeral of former Nantes teammate Emiliano Sala.

The tragedy involving Sala has been felt more at Nantes than anywhere else as he was their star man prior to his move to Cardiff, scoring 12 of their 30 goals this season.

Only nine of those 30 goals have come away and Monaco should justify their odds-on status.

Recommendation
Monaco
2pts 4-5 bet365, BoyleSports

Gillingham v Scunthorpe

3pm Saturday

Relegation was not an option for Scunthorpe, who attempted to make sure of their Sky Bet League One survival with a busy January transfer window that has propelled the club from drop-zone candidates to the dizzy heights of mid-table.

Scunny have won six of their eight league encounters since Boxing Day, losing only to highflying Barnsley and drawing with Sunderland, and they can continue to show improvement against 21st-placed Gillingham.

Much has changed for Scunthorpe since they lost 2-0 at home to Gillingham on December 8 and also for the Kent outfit, who have triumphed just twice in ten league attempts since claiming maximum points at Glanford Park.

Centre-backs Gabriel Zakuani and Alex Lacey, who both featured for Gills that day, are injured and big-name loan signing Ricky Holmes is also sidelined.

Gillingham were battered by Barnsley last time out, allowing 14 shots on target, and while this should be closer, Scunny still appear to be the more likely winners.

Recommendation
Scunthorpe draw no bet
1pt Evs Betfair, Paddy Power

Southend v Portsmouth

Sky Sports Football & Main Event, 12.30pm Saturday

Portsmouth's promotion push can get back on track after five league matches without a victory when they head to Southend.

Pompey look as if they have lost their way, but it had been a packed and difficult schedule for Kenny Jackett's cup kings and a rare free midweek could be perfect for them heading into this clash, particularly as Southend were smashed at Doncaster on Tuesday.

Injury-hit Southend were lucky to lose 3-0 and that should be music to the ears of third-placed Portsmouth's talented front four of Ronan Curtis, Gareth Evans and Jamal Lowe behind Omar Bogle.

Southend have also lost ten of their 11 matches against teams currently in the top eight.

Recommendation
Portsmouth
1pt 21-20 Betway

Weekend football accumulators

Banker
Monaco 4-5
Surely too good to go down, Monaco have picked up their performances since Leonardo Jardim returned as coach and a tired Nantes side could be perfect visitors.

Blowout
Oldham 5-4
Paul Scholes had an ideal start as Oldham manager with a 4-1 win over Yeovil, but it could be tougher against in-form Crewe, who have lost just one of their last nine matches with six wins.

Accumulator
Forest Green 8-11, Lincoln 8-13, Atletico Madrid 8-11, Monaco 4-5 BoyleSports

Both teams to score
Games at Aston Villa 8-15, Swansea 8-11, Atalanta 8-11 Hills

Thought for the week

The clashes in kick-off times for the last-16 Champions League ties feels so unnecessary in this era when the sport is all about the TV audience.

Why are people around the world still being asked to choose between fixtures starting at the same time when they could be slightly staggered at 6pm and 8pm (7pm and 9pm in most European countries)?

Two games and two kick-off times. It's not hard, particularly after the first step was made in the right direction by going for group-stage double-headers.

Only rarely would there be a situation when the British team had to start early and it would be worth the odd issue of an early start for the overall benefit of being able to watch all of the top-class action.

However, in the absence of common-sense taking over, maybe BT Sport could help those who would rather watch both games in succession by not continually telling the viewers what the score is in the other game.

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