Steve Davies's Saturday match tips & weekend football accumulators

Ipswich v Shrewsbury

3pm Saturday

Questions over Ipswich’s aptitude for life in the third tier have been erased by the Tractor Boys’ flying start to the season and they can maintain their grip on top spot in Sky Bet League One by seeing off Shrewsbury at Portman Road.

Unbeaten in five league games under Paul Lambert, Ipswich have acquitted themselves well so soon after the ignominy of relegation from the Championship.

They have won three of those five fixtures and even in the draws – against likely promotion rivals Sunderland and Peterborough – they were the better team.

Last week against Bolton, admittedly severely depleted when Ipswich played them, Lambert put James Norwood and Kayden Jackson together up front and the response was electric. They have seven goals between them and represent as good a pairing as you will find in this section.

Shrewsbury would dearly love to have that amount of firepower on their books.

Sam Ricketts’ men have failed to score in four of their last five in all competitions and striker Fejiri Okenabirhie, one of only three Salopians to have found the target this season, is out with a hamstring injury.

The Shrews beat Portsmouth on the first day of term but were fortunate to do so having been played off the park. Their other win this season was a gallant come-from-behind effort at Accrington, who can’t be measured in the same bracket as resurgent Ipswich.

Recommendation
Ipswich
3pts 21-20 Coral

Accrington v MK Dons

3pm Saturday

It has been a stuttering start to life back in Sky Bet League One for MK Dons but maybe Tuesday night’s emphatic EFL Cup win at Southend and subsequent dream draw against Liverpool will inspire Paul Tisdale’s side.

The Dons, a game down on most of their rivals, have six points with wins against Shrewsbury and Lincoln offset by losses to Wycombe and Peterborough.

They have played three away games this term, at Wycombe in the league and Wimbledon and Southend in the League Cup, and have banged in eight goals.

They are set up to prosper on the road with a three-man defence, wing-backs and lashings of pace up front where Tisdale can play the trio of Kieran Agard, Rhys Healey and Jordan Bowery.

Milton Keynes represent a threat to any side and they will be optimistic of success at Accrington, whose form is not good at all.

They are winless after five games in all competitions and there haven't been many hard-luck stories during that run. Last time out they were deservedly beaten 2-0 at Fleetwood and were already two goals behind when Sean McConville was sent off.

McConville is suspended while on-loan frontman Courtney Baker-Richardson has returned to Swansea after picking up an injury last weekend.

Only three sides won fewer home games than Stanley last season and that is a weakness which a lively Dons side can exploit.

Recommendation
MK Dons
2pts 9-5 Coral

Crewe v Bradford

3pm Saturday

Crewe have sustained a couple of home hammerings this season – one predictable, one less so – and that should give Bradford hope that they can snatch a welcome win at Gresty Road.

The Railwaymen’s opening-day fixture was a home encounter with Plymouth which they lost 3-0. Then, on Tuesday night, they hosted Aston Villa in a League Cup tie and were battered 6-1.

Clearly, the first of those results is more telling than the second in assessing where punters stand with Alex, who find themselves in sixth spot in Sky Bet League Two after three wins and two defeats.

They are a point better off than Bradford, who suffered their first league defeat since relegation last Saturday when they were pipped 1-0 at Valley Parade by Forest Green. That was just the second goal Gary Bowyer’s men had shipped in their first five games.

Bowyer is tinkering with formations and styles. He’s blessed with some high-quality midfielders and his squad boasts real style out wide in the form of players such as Sean Scannell and Zeli Ismail, who is in line for a first appearance after injury.

The Bantams boss also possesses a massively experienced and dangerous front two in James Vaughan and former Alex favourite Clayton Donaldson.

Bradford haven’t got off to the flying start that many had predicted but then nobody has in a division where every side have failed to win at least two of their five matches. However, the visitors rate a tempting bet as 2-1 outsiders for what looks a very winnable contest.

Recommendation
Bradford
2pts 41-20 RedZone

Weekend football accumulators

Banker
Rotherham 7-10
The Millers should fancy taking care of a Tranmere side who have lost four out of five (their sole win was against troubled Bolton) and they are beset with injuries and suspensions.

Blowout
Reading 20-21
The Royals have been on a successful nationwide tour over the last ten days but they may not find unbeaten Charlton an easy nut to crack back at the Madejski Stadium.

First goalscorer
Kayden Jackson 5-1
The Ipswich striker has emerged from James Norwood’s shadow with three goals in his last two games and he can extend that sequence by notching at home to Shrewsbury.

Accumulator
Rotherham 8-11, Swindon 8-13, Bayer Leverkusen 4-7, Angers 3-4.
£1 acca returns £6.70 with Betfred

Both teams to score
Wigan v Barnsley 4-6, Peterborough v Sunderland 4-6, Walsall v Grimsby 10-11
£1 treble returns £4.33 with Betfred

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