Barnet v Cheltenham Town
Football : England : Npower League Two
Saturday 4th September 2010 – Kickoff 3pm

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Early basement dwellers Barnet entertain visitors Cheltenham Town at their Underhill Stadium on Saturday afternoon, keen no doubt to climb off the bottom of the table.

Barnet (24th)

Barnet find themselves in familiar territory however, occupying the lower reaches of League Two. Last season they avoided relegation by four points as they ended up in 21st position – this was perhaps largely due to drawing too many games at home (10 out of 23), whilst their away form was certainly relegation material; 4-2-17 17/45.

Anyhow, it's not their away form that I'm focusing on here – they have won only twice in their last ten home matches (3-1 over Chesterfield in April and 1-0 over Rochdale in the final game of last season). This season they started with a 1-2 loss at Chesterfield, a 0-0 draw against Burton Albion, then a 0-7 demolition at the hands of Crewe Alexandra, then another draw 1-1 at home to Bury.

The Bees have conceded 10 goals in four matches, but it's their record against today's visitors that caught my eye. Last season, the two matches threw up a total of 8 goals altogether; Cheltenham beat Barnet 5-1 in the first fixture, then Barnet drew with Cheltenham 1-1 in the return match.

Bees team news :
Manager Mark Stimson has signed Sutton United young striker Charlie Taylor to boost his firepower up front; Taylor bagged 20 goals for United last season, while fellow forward Steve Kabba could be in line to make the squad following a suspected broken leg.

Cheltenham Town (6th)

Todays visitors, Cheltenham Town have made an encouraging start to the new League Two season with a 1-1 draw at Gillingham, followed by a 3-2 win over Crewe at home, then were involved in a 10-goal thriller as they lost 4-6 at Rotherham United.

However, The Robins quickly bounced back with a 2-1 home win over Burton Albion, young Coventry City striker Shaun Jeffers the architect with an assist and a goal to turn the game in Cheltenham’s favour.

The Robins have been involved in 20 goals in their four matches to date, and with leading scorer, striker Wesley Thomas (5 goals) on fire at the moment, there’s every chance the goals could flow again in this fixture. Thomas has already exceeded last season’s tally of 3 goals while at Dagenham & Redbridge.

Cheltenham team news :
Defender Martin Riley is sidelined for up to three weeks with a hamstring tear. On-loan Portsmouth midfielder Marlon Pack is in line to make his debut, while fellow loanee Shaun Jeffers provides attacking alternatives probably off the bench again.

The Betting Verdict :

Between them, these two sides have been involved in 32 goals so far in four matches each – that shows attacking intent in my opinion, and with strikers who know where the goal.

Thomas & Taylor with a bit of Jeffers in the mix, along with two leaky defences, so I'm expecting goals.

Also, as it's early days I'm not entirely confident with Cheltenham bagging an way win, so I'm backing total goals instead.

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Pick: Over 2.5 Goals at 2.07 with Pinnacle Sports. (main bet)

For the more adventurous, Cheltenham Town are priced at a tempting 2.82, again with Pinnacle.