English League Two
2012-09-29 - Chesterfield vs Torquay United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English League Two
Saturday 29 September 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Chesterfield
After relegation from any Division, it can be tough to raise the spirits of players for the coming season, but Chesterfield have made a decent, if not spectacular, start to life in League Two. The Division is a fairly open one so Chesterfield will feel they can get in amongst the promotion places if they can start turning some draws into wins.
That is because 5 of their 8 League games this season have ended with the points being shared and they are now 13th in the table with 11 points gained so far. That leaves them only 5 points behind those sides as high as 2nd in the table so Chesterfield won't be too concerned at the moment. They have a 2-2-0 record at home so far this season, scoring 9 goals and conceding 6.
Chesterfield could only draw 0-0 in Northampton last weekend, but that means they have extended their unbeaten run to 8 games in all competitions. Their home form has been much more impressive though as they have won 3 in a row here and have now lost just 1 of their last 9 at home in all competitions.
Torquay United
If getting over relegation is tough, it can also be very difficult to lift yourself if you fall short in the Play Offs. Usually it is toughest for the team that lost in the Play Off Final, but Torquay United's Semi Final loss will sting and it could be argued that they have suffered a mini-hangover to begin this season.
Like Chesterfield, Torquay will want to start turning some draws into wins as they too have 5 from their opening 8 games. The side are actually one place below Chesterfield in the table and also have 11 points to their name to leave them within striking distance of the sides occupying automatic promotion spots. They are 1-2-1 away from home so far, scoring and conceding 2 goals.
Torquay could only draw 1-1 with Burton Albion at home last weekend, although they have now lost just 1 of their last 8 games in all competitions. They did beat AFC Wimbledon in their last away game, a result that led to Wimbledon sacking their manager, but Torquay had failed to win any of their previous 7 away games in the League and they had lost 4 of 6.
Head to Head
Chesterfield hosted Torquay United in the FA Cup during last season, but were beaten 1-3 thanks to late goals for the away side.
They had previously never lost to Torquay at home, going unbeaten in 18 games against them while winning 14 of those games including 6 of the previous 7.
Prediction
I am going to back Chesterfield at odds against to win this game against Torquay United as I feel they have enough goals in the side to cause the away side problems.
Torquay have only scored 6 goals in their last 8 away games in League Two, while Chesterfield have scored at least 2 goals in 3 straight wins at home.
Chesterfield also have a fantastic home record against their opponents, outside of that Cup loss last season, and this is a long journey for Torquay that potentially is sapping their energy before they get to the ground and hence their poor return of results.
We have to remember that these sides won't stay in fancy hotels and a lot of the time will travel to games on the day, even if that means leaving home very early, and that can take its toll on anybody.
With the way current form is, I think Chesterfield may make hay here and will ignore the 'obvious' draw pick which may jump out considering both have drawn so many games already this season.
The Pick :
Chesterfield 2-1 Torquay United
