One Expert And Two Twits: TWITS Picks GW5
A late refereeing decision ruined all our Weekends last week, with Gillingham getting a late goal to equalise through a dubious penalty. In this post, we review how the rest of our Lower League Special Gameweek went, and look ahead to getting back to normality in Gameweek 5.
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Lower League Special Review
Kieran: 6 points
Picks
Bromley 2-2 Gillingham (BIG BET) - Home (0pts)
Bolton 3-0 Wimbledon - Home (3pts)
Plymouth 4-2 Stockport - Away (0pts)
Barnet 1-3 Shrewsbury - Home (0pts)
Forest Green 1-0 Hartlepool - Draw (0pts)
Buxton 2-1 Oxford City - Home (3pts)
Review
Listen, it’s not about who starts the quickest, this is a marathon not a sprint. Saying that, I was very sure of myself this week and disappointed to pick up only 6 points, especially as the Lower League Specials are a guilty favourite of mine.
When Buxton went ahead on 13 minutes I thought right here we go, this is finally my week. Only to be brought back down to earth by a Shrewsbury equaliser no more than a minute later. Pretty much sums it up.
I did have at least a few small wins though, Bolton and Buxton both winning, and Stockport getting a 95th minute consolation to save the -3 points. All in all, an average week, but it’s getting better and better slowly.
Schoey: 11 points
Picks
Bromley 2-2 Gillingham (BIG BET) - Home (0pts)
Bolton 3-0 Wimbledon - Home (3pts)
Newport 2-3 Bristol Rovers - Away (4pts)
Port Vale 2-3 Leyton Orient - Away (4pts)
Harrogate 0-1 Crawley - Home (0pts)
Forest Green 1-0 Hartlepool - Draw (0pts)
Review
11 points from lower league week is nothing to be sniffed at. But I can’t help but feel slightly hard done by, with a 98th minute penalty causing me to miss out on an extra 8 points in the Big Bet!
At the same time, Kieran and Will are still yet to beat me in a single Gameweek….mind the gap!
Will: 7 points
Picks
Bromley 2-2 Gillingham (BIG BET) - Home (0pts)
Newport 2-3 Bristol Rovers - Away (4pts)
Plymouth 4-2 Stockport - Away (0pts)
Rotherham 1-0 Exeter - Away (0pts)
Scunthorpe 2-1 Wealdstone - Home (3pts)
Chesham 0-0 Bath - Home (0pts)
Review
Anyone else glad they watched Bromley vs Gillingham instead of England’s training match? What a game it was, and as normal in the EFL a poor refereeing decision has robbed 3 points away from Bromley and more importantly 8 points from me.
As Lower League Specials go, I’m just happy to come away with some points. I am getting a little concerned about Schoey, another double-digit points week for him and he’s building a tidy lead on myself and Kieran, but he does tend to peak early (just ask his missus).
Gameweek 5 Picks
Kieran
Charlton vs Millwall (BIG BET) - Draw
Charlton have not won this fixture in 29 years, so I don’t want to give them any more bad luck by picking them to win. In all seriousness, I can see Millwall being hard to break down and catching Charlton a few times on the break. It could go either way, so I’m going brave with a draw.
Chesterfield vs Milton Keynes Dons - Home
Both not in the best of form of late, but I think the home side are going to come good. They were one of the favourites to go up before the season started, that quality doesn’t just disappear. Going for a solid home win.
Gillingham vs Notts County - Home
Unbeaten in the league and playing a team that are very on and off at the minute, and at home no less. Bit of a no brainer this one, although I had a few of those last week and they didn’t come off…
West Ham vs Tottenham - Away
West Ham had a good result last time out yes, but let’s remember that it was against Nottingham Forest, who haven’t exactly set the world alight. That win also came from essentially a collapse in the last 10 minutes. I don’t think this is going to happen again, Spurs win this.
Southampton vs Portsmouth - Home
Probably the game (outside of Oxford) that I’m most looking forward to watching this weekend. Although I would love for Pompey to get a result there, I can’t see anything other than a Saints win.
Manchester City vs Manchester United - Draw
Both a bit of a shambles lately, and we need to go for big points this week to catch up with Schoey. I’m praying for a scrappy, boring derby to end in a 0-0, with nobody happy… except for me!
Schoey
Charlton vs Millwall (BIG BET) - Away
In this week’s big bet I’m backing an away win. Not just because Millwall have started the season slightly stronger, but have also won 3 away games in 3 in all competitions this season. On top of that, Charlton lost 2-0 at home to QPR in their last fixture, who were utterly woeful the week before against Coventry!
Crystal Palace vs Sunderland - Home
Sunderland, much to my disgust, have had a surprisingly good start to the season, though I do feel they’ll struggle away from the stadium of light. Palace are also unbeaten and proved away at Villa that they’re not shy of goals, even without the brilliance of Eze.
West Ham vs Tottenham - Away
Should I be backing West Ham after they handed me -3 points on Gameweek 3? Probably not. But I’m still not convinced after their shocking start to the season. Spurs’ 1-0 loss at home to Bournemouth makes this look even more of a risky bet, but I still think they look so much better under Thomas Frank. I hope the risk pays off!
Manchester City vs Manchester United - Home
I’ll start this by saying it’s a Manchester derby so anything can happen. But I’m going to continue by saying this could be the biggest tap in 3 points we are gifted this season. I know City haven’t started the season well but they still possess an abundance of world class quality. Whereas we all know what happened to United in the league cup, followed by a scraped win at home to newly promoted Burnley. Amorim doesn’t impress me in any way whatsoever.
Wrexham vs QPR - Home
After I watched my team destroy QPR 7-1 I’ve had to go for a Wrexham home win here. QPR go into this game having lost 3 in 3 away games so far this season. Not only that, but Wrexham have surprised me with how well they have started. Signing Ben Sheaf and Dom Hyam on deadline day certainly wouldn’t have harmed them either!
Gillingham vs Notts County - Home
Gillingham now sit top of League Two after eking out a result in the last minute of the game away at Bromley, keeping them unbeaten in 7 league games. Notts County have had a good start too, with their only loss being away to Barrow in the first game of the season. I just think away from home at Gillingham may be too much of a challenge for them.
Will
Charlton vs Millwall (BIG BET) - Home
From all the derbies happening this weekend, this is going to be a corker. The last league game between these two teams was 5 years ago, with Millwall coming out on top winning 1-0 away at The Valley. I’m going for a Charlton win this time around. It’s going to be a lively encounter, Charlton players will need to keep their heads and make sure they keep 11 players on the pitch, as Millwall are not going to be easy to beat.
Crystal Palace vs Sunderland - Home
Palace are having a strong start to the season, and I’ve been very impressed with how solid they look at the back. Sunderland are going to find it very difficult to break this stubborn back line down. Palace come into this off the back of winning 3-0 against Villa, showing they can create without ex-main man Eze. I think it’s going to be a very long afternoon for the Black Cats at Selhurst Park, and an even longer trip back up to the North East.
Coventry vs Norwich - Home
After Coventry’s lacklustre display against a resilient Oxford United, I’m backing them to get back to winning ways against Norwich. If Coventry are serious about challenging at the top this year, these are the games where they must be walking away with 3 points.
Southampton vs Portsmouth - Home
Another massive derby on the South coast this weekend. The glaring difference between the two is that Southampton have a much superior squad, but with Pompey making a solid start to the season it’s not going to be a walk in the park for the Saints. With the quality Southampton do possess, and with being at home, I’m going for a Saints win.
Leyton Orient vs Bolton - Draw
Both teams sitting level on points in the league and both coming into this game with impressive wins last weekend. Charlie Wellens stole the points for Leyton Orient at Port Vale, scoring a 95th minute winner to win 3-2. Bolton on the other hand won 3-0 against 9 man Wimbledon. I think these two are going to cancel each other out and it’s going to be a very tight match, I’m backing the draw in this one.
Peterborough vs Wycombe - Draw
It’s all going wrong at Peterborough, and Wycombe are only doing a little better as well. The Chairboys managed to get their first win of the season last weekend against Mansfield, with the Posh putting up a bit of a fight at Huddersfield but ultimately losing 3-2. It’s going to be a close affair on Saturday, I can’t split them and think it’s going to be a classic bore draw, 0-0.
