Saturday League One and League Two Tips: Evans can help us to weekend 6/1 and 9/1 accas | OneFootball

EFL League One & League Two

Steve Evans returns to his former club Peterborough this weekend

Alan Dudman marks you card for this weekend in the EFL with a pair of multiples for Saturday...

League One

Leg 1: Crawley Town v Shrewsbury Town, Saturday 15:00: Back BTTS 'No' @ 21/20

Both Crawley and Shrewsbury are struggling for points and goals at the bottom of the table and it's hard to nail down one team to win this with victories proving elusive for the pair thus far.

Crawley have lost of their last seven in the league and last scored a goal on the 21st of September so I am not sure about backing them at 6/5 here, while the Shrews have won just once all season - a 3-0 home win against Leyton Orient and a match where Orient were described by their manager Richie Wellens as playing the worst they had in his tenure.

You cannot back either with confidence. The hosts didn't create any chances last week at Wycombe with a paltry 0.31xG and with Shrewsbury equally unimpressive on that front as a whole this term (although they scored two at Bolton last Saturday), this really should be a low-scorer.

Victory here for Rotherham would take them above Peterborough and the mind games from Steve Evans has already started with the popular Scot suggesting Peterborough are the benchmark for success in League One.

Evans tends to do this a lot - shower the opponent with praise.

His team's goal struggles on the road make this prime for a dart on the draw here to boost the double with just two matches in League One this Saturday, with the Millers netting just three times in five games on the road with two draws.

Peterborough just haven't got going at all and the loss of their star players has impacted their efforts greatly this season and in two of the big games at the Weston Homes this term, they've faltered against Huddersfield and Wrexham and were far too passive in both.

League Two

Donny famously imploded against Crewe last season in the play-off semi-final with the Alex coming back from a two-goal deficit in the first leg to win on penalties and the duo meet again for the first time since then.

Doncaster are going well with 19 points this term and have been impressive at home this season with four wins, although their Sky TV performance away to Harrogate last month was a worry.

The Alex haven't quite been as goal happy this term, but Lee Bell's team always press high and look to get in behind with plenty of energy, and this is certainly a match-up between two progressive coaches. Indeed, Grant McCann said of Crewe: "It's interesting watching them and analysing them and seeing what they do in different situations. We need to be ready and make sure we cope with everything they throw at us."

I am hoping for an open game, and while Donny are short enough to win, and deservedly so, there might be more juice here in backing goals. Crewe's xA output is higher than their xG and the price of 20/23 for BTTS will do.

Leg 2: Gillingham v Accrington Stanley, Saturday 15:00: Back Gillingham @ 3/4

Gillingham sit joint-top in League Two with 19 points and am impressive home record of four wins, so it's rather surprising to see them at 3/4 in the Match Odds market, as I would have them a little shorter.

Plus Accrington have a dreadful record in this fixture in recent seasons with four losses from five.

Stanley, according to Mark Bonner the Gills' boss are open and stretch the game and are now using a new system, with Bonner citing statistics again with Accrington as one of the most direct passing and aggressive teams.

But let's not kid ourselves, they are not exactly Holland 1988 and are second from bottom and haven't won on the road. Bonner might fear the statistics, but the points don't lie and I can't work out why Gillingham are near to evens here.

Leg 3: Salford City v Grimsby Town, Saturday 15:00: Back Grimsby @ 21/10

Salford remain on the unconvincing list despite a recent 1-0 win against AFC Wimbledon but they left it late last week against a rusty Dons team with an 84th minute goal.

Salford's xG output remains one of the lowest in the division at just 1.11, and while they've won three at home this season, Grimsby look a little overpriced here at a tick over 2/1.

I've always had a bit of time for Grimsby manager David Artell, whose possession-based game will go head-to-head with the tippy-tappy king Karl Robinson. Artell's team can look a bit open at times with their 4-3-3, but they've won a couple of games on the road this term at Carlisle and Gillingham - and that was a super win at Priestfield.

Indeed, so much so, Artell compared the defensive performance of his team in Kent to Ac Milan by saying: "Our shape and work-rate was outstanding, it was like watching AC Milan under Arrigo Sacchi at one point."

Praise indeed, and I reckon Marco Van Basten would score in this.

Now read more tips and previews for Saturday's football here

Recommended bets

You can back Alan's League One double @ 6/1 0.5pt

You can back Alan's League Two treble @ 9/1 0.5pt

Multiples P and L 2024-25

+5.25pts