I cant imagine another slip up for Southend today after the loss away at MK Dons. They not only lost there, but also were outplayed by an inspired Dons side. And being sitting comfortably on the top of the table I presume they were over relaxed or overconfident and were fairly punished. Now they are still 6 points ahead Brentfotd and Huddersfield, but the Bees also have a game in hand. So Southend has the motivation here and will be looking to bounce back. 8 games to go, including this one and there are some tough fixtures - Swansea, Barnsley, Bristol City. I almost have no doubt Southend will be champions this year, but to complete that games like this should be won.

Team News BBC

Southend boss Steve Tilson will add on-loan Ipswich defender Gerard Nash to his squad, but Spencer Prior has suffered a recurrence of a knee injury.
Mitchell Cole is back in training, Kevin Maher and James Lawson are fit again and Wayne Gray could feature.

Hartlepool have no new injury concerns and Thomas Butler and Hugh Robertson both played for the reserves in midweek as they step up their comebacks.

Striker Joel Porter looks set to carry on in attack alongside Adam Boyd.
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Wont stake high, cos Southend showed us that being first with a comfortable lead sometimes leads to over confidence and probably underestimation.
Hartlepool are a decent side, but mainly at home. In their last 8 away games they got only 4 points from 4 draws and 4 losses. Managed to score only 3 goals, but also conceded only 9. Tight affair here, but with the exceptional home form of Southend I think they will prevail.

Pinnacle and Bet365 have probably one of the best price - 1.61

I had some doubts about this one as Blackpool are no mugs and its never easy to beat them. Then I watched Oldham trashing Bradford in their last game and I must say I was impressed by the chances they had and the good goals they scored. Its difficult to say whether Oldham was exceptional in this game or Bradford display was tragic and its probably both. But such win will boost Oldham confidence for sure ahead of this important home game. They are just 2 points below the play off zone and still have everything to play for. Last home game they defeated Colchester and Blackpool are no near Colchester, so on theory this must be a home win.
The relegation battle will be probably decided in the last 2-3 rounds and thats why every team below the 10th place needs points. Blackpool especially.
They had a nice unbeaten run of 4 games before the away defeat from Bradford, but I must say they were extremely lucky not to lose a game in that period. Looks like the honey moon is over and after the Bradford defeat I expect another one here.

BBC

Oldham are boosted by the return to fitness of midfielder Ritchie Wellens (back) and striker Chris Porter (knee).
Defender Will Haining is set to miss out with a thigh problem and Stefan Stam is still out after groin surgery.

Blackpool manager Simon Grayson is missing at least three players for the trip to Boundary Park.

Danny Coid (broken ankle) and Phil Doughty (leg fracture) are definitely missing, along with on-loan Plymouth midfielder Keith Lasley (foot).

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Pinnacle has 1.68 and its one of the best prices. Imo it deserves a medium punt as this is a massive game for Oldham and the opponent is not one to be feared of.

With Naylor suspended for Ipswich there is no doubt their defense will be more vulnerable as he is a basic defender with 38 games / 36 league /. So a Hull goal is not out of question IMO and OVER might be a good pick as well. 2-1 is a possible result, Ladbrokes gives 1.90 and I believe its worthed a small medium bet on it.

Ipswich, coming from a good result away at Palace will surely look for the 3 ponts here. 8 points below the play off zone, but Preston with a game in hand and just 7 rounds to go its almost impossible to catch the promotion train. But they need to win and boost their confidence. The team has changed a lot from the promotion contender last season and despite Royle has done a good campaign IMO with the current squad he can feel some pressure on him.
Hull needs about 3 more points to win in order to have absolutely no relegation worries. Easy task you say - 3 points in 7 games.

Yes but:

- today away at pay off hopefuls Ipswich.
- home with Leeds
- away at Sheff Utd
- home with Burnley
- away at Derby
- home with Preston
- away at Watford.

So they have yet to meet 3 of the biggest clubs in the division in 7 games left and thanks god for that 2 consecutive wins / against Crew and Plymouth at home /. Only reasonable chance for Hull in the upcomming games I see against Burnley at home.

Hull should have won with at least 2 goal margin against Crew, cos the visitors defense was a mess.
Against Plymouth they werent the dominate side as it was an equal game and Plymouth missed several big chances, but Hull won with a wonderful counter attack.

Juan is out for tractor boys and thats a blow, cos the on loan midfielder is a creative spark in thei squad, but Westlake and Garvan rare fit to play in Ipswich midfield, also Barron is ready to feature in the squad.

I will go for the home win here, cos Hull is strong and dangerous mainly at home. They had surprised many people this year and despite not having a top squas they have an excellent managment and coach stuff.
Ipswich should make a decent game today.

Ipswich, medium stakes, @1.80 is the average market price and anything below this is not worthed IMO.
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BBC

Ipswich defender Richard Naylor will miss the match as he completes a two-game ban.
Scott Barron is back in training after recovering from a hamstring strain, while Jimmy Juan and Danny Haynes are also big doubts with injuries.

Hull boss Peter Taylor looks set to hand a debut to on-loan Leeds defender Rui Marques.

Left-back Alan Rogers and midfielder Stuart Elliott are struggling with illness and could miss out.

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Good Luck

Team news from BBC

Derby boss Terry Westley is expected to be without two first-choice defenders for the clash with Crystal Palace.
Darren Moore and Tomasz Hajto are struggling for fitness with injuries, but Spanish playmaker Inigo Idiakez is set to play despite a thigh injury.

Eagles manager boss Iain Dowie must decide whether to pick 34-year-old midfielder Michael Hughes.

Dowie may choose Tom Soares on the right side of midfield, with Jobi McAnuff switching to the left.

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Palace won a massive game away at leeds and 3 points here will put their legs firmly on the play off ground. They have a game with Watford next round and in the last day of the campaign they visit Sheffield Utd.

After watching the highlights from the big game against Leeds I am quite satisfied with what Ive seen. Palace looked fairly strong in that game, had quite a number of good occasions to score and finally netted a remarkable goal. Probably Palace together with Watford are the most focused teams right now in the promotion race and I doubt they will lose focust till the end. There is hope for direct promotion and I must say that the way Palace play recently - 8 points gap in 7 games remaining is not a mission impossible, especially if Sheffield United continue their slump.
Next round they face Watford, so a win here will give them a major boost.
We all know that Derby is much improved side lately, but with 2 first choice defenders doubtful for today, they may have some problems to stop strong Palace midfield and attack. Also I believe that after the great pick up of Derby and the good games recently, before the defeat from Luton, where they didnt do almost anything during the whole game, its time for another not so good period for Rams.
I will go with low stakes on the away win, @2.30 almost everywhere. DNB is better of course.

I dont expect Boston to oppose hard Carlisle tomorrow. They lost from Northampton the day before yesterday with a late goal. Before that they won at home against Lincoln C in local derby.

Carlisle needs the 3 points as Grimsby is pushing to move them from the 1st position. Grimsby visits Lincoln C and is very possible to take points from there. Also next round they host Wrexham and for me there is almost no doubt they will get the 3 points in this game. And finally - on 08.04 is the massive game Carlisle - Grimsby, which may decide the champion.

Carlisle scored 8 goals in last 2 league games, didnt concede any. For me its almost impossible for Boston to take something.
And lets not forget Carlisle trashed Boston 2 months ago away at Boston with 5-0.

from BBC

Carlisle have a full-strength squad available, with Adam Murray recovered from illness.
Murray's return ensures the League Two leaders have no injury or suspension concerns as they seek to further enhance their promotion chances.

Boston could again be without captain Stewart Talbot, who has an ankle injury and is only rated "50-50" to play.

The Pilgrims have no other concerns as they attempt to bounce back from the midweek defeat against Northampton.

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I will definetely back Carlisle here. Boston is safe from relegation and 8 points below play offs, but they dont have the needed quality to reach them. A major sponsor stepped down last few days, so after securing league status they may look into next season and secure the financial status of the team.
Also they have some much easier games till the end, especially at home.

I believe we will see some goals here. QPR miss their most influential defender - Rose and surely thats a blow. However veteran Furlong is expected to recover abd take his place in Rangers attack.
Cardiff needs the points as this is one of their most important games in order to step in the play off places. And with Preston struggling lately Cardiff has a good chance to do it. So I expect them to attack from the very beginning. QPR also has a decent chance to score and I take OVER 2.5 goals here. Expected result: 2-1, 3-1

Good Luck

Not much to say here. A game that could lift Bova back into first place before the game against eternal rival River Plate next round.
Boca is in tremendous form in the local Liga and won last 4 games, scoring no less than 11 goals in them, conceding only 2.
Tiro lost their last 2 games, conceded 5 goals in them and didnt score even once.
There is a huge class difference in these 2 teams and note that the game will be played at the stadium of Newells. Tiro will have about 2000 supporters, while Boca will bring more than 14 000.

Boca will play with full squad.

Probable line ups:

BOCA: Roberto Abbondanzieri; Hugo Ibarra, Mat?­as Silvestre, Daniel D?­az and Juan Krupoviesa; Pablo Ledesma, Fernando Gago and Daniel Bilos; Federico Ins??a; Rodrigo Palacio and Mart?­n Palermo. Coach: Alfio Basile.

TIRO: Jorge Vivaldo; Gabriel Ruiz, Adri??n Romero, Miguel Abrigo and Fernando Caffaso; Germ??n Basualdo, Silvio Iuval?© and Alejo Gelatini or Hern??n Buj??n; Luciano De Bruno or Gelatini; Ariel Carre?±o and Javier C??mpora. Coach: Oscar Del Solar.


Anything else different from BOCA win will be a huge surprise and I believe they can even cover the handicap without many difficulties.

VALLADOLID ??“ CASTELLON
I am not sure Valladolid has lost their chances for promotion this year and also I am not sure how much they want this promotion at this particular moment. Sitting on the 10th place, 8 points behind the promotion places with 14 games to go, including this one doesn??™t mean they have lost everything, but the competition is very strong this year and I think they will satisfy with another mediocre season. They had great troubles with sacking their previous coach and so far the new one still wasn??™t able to step in. I think this problem is solved now and the new coach will hopefully be able to take charge at the club.
They are coming from a 1-2 defeat away at Almeria / probably the strongest home team /, before that they managed to win 1-0 against Madrid B at home. Very disappointing results before that and honestly I am amazed of the tragic season they have.
Castellon is in fierce battle for survival and needs every point from now on. They are third from the bottom 4 points below safety. Last 2 games they managed to get good results, beating Gijon / another great Spanish club, fallen into mediocrity just like Valladolid / 1-0 at home and clinching a 1-1 draw away at Tenerife.
First game between them finished 0-0. Castellon is a poor traveler and plays a lot better in front of their own crowd. Valladolid won only 1 game at home in their last 8 home games and had 5 draws.
Now the main reason for me to take Valladolid is the situation with missing players in both teams. Valladolid will have their influential goalkeeper Bizzarri back. But they will miss important midfielder Sousa.
Castellon is missing 6 players:
- Raul Sanchez (tonsilitis) - top scorer with 9 goals from just 11 games this season
- Pedro Hernandez (defender) - injured - has missed 4 games this season, Castellon are 0-1-3 for those games
- Miguel Garcia (midfielder) - injured - has missed 7 games this season, Castellon are 3-1-3 for those games
- Epitie (striker) - suspended - 2 goals from 13 games this season
- Xavi Mor?© (striker) - suspended - 1 goal from 25 games (many of them as sub though)
- Pepe Castell (midfielder) - suspended - has played in half of their games this season. Of the ones he's missed, Castellon are 1-3-10.

Thanks rcgills

All in all after only 3 wins in last 16 games I finally expect Valladolid to start winning some games, especially at home, where they used to be quite strong before. The competition for the promotion places is too strong for Valladolid at the present moment, but new coach Merino knows that games like this today are must win and I hope players will be motivated enough in front of their supporters and will take the 3 points from a team, that is fighting against relegation.

Lewis is currently 3rd in Conference South and altough they may have no big chances to reach the automatic promotion places, they must keep on winning points in order to stay in the play off positions. With Cambridge, Havant and Farnborough all pushing behind this is a must win game for Lewes. Cambridge got 3 points deducted due to blogistartive reasons and that was pretty good news for Lewes. Now Cambridge has a tough visit to leaders Weymouth and no matter of the outcome in that game, Lewes will benefit if they win today. And I rate their chances to take the 3 points very high as the guests just ended a long undefeated run losing at home from Cambridge. Before that they drew at home with Thurrock. All season they struggle playing against top teams and win points again the low ranked ones. Now they visit a top team in an excellent form, coming from 2 wins in a row in which they scored 7 goals and conceded only 1.
Important players are missing for Bishops - captain Dave Rainford suspended and important midfielder Ryan Maxwell very doubtful.
All in all I expect Lewes to continue with their fine form and I really think that after the good non losing period, which ended last round, its time for Bishops to suffer some more defeats.

Not a big price for Colchester, but looks like I am going to take it. They have been amazing trough all the campaign, but after the game with Chelsea for the FA Cup things messed big time. Like many other teams, after facing a big club and putting a decent performance Colchester suffered a heavy hangover, which led to current run of more than a month since last winning. To be honest their last 5 games after the clash with Chelsea have all been against the top teams in this league, so there is some kind of reason for them not winning lately. They played with Swansea / twice /, Southend, Barnsley, Oldham ...
Things are still under control, because they are still in the play off zone altough they could easily enjoy theirselves in the direct promotion p[laces if there wasnt such a form drop lately.
Swindon has all to play for sitting only 2 points below the line. The problem is that after a good period untill the middle of February now they are back in a slump and lost 3 of tehir last 4 games. The one to remember is for sure the 1-7 defeat away at Nottingham Forest some 3 weeks ago.

Team news BBC

Kem Izzet will be back for Colchester after a one-match ban and Tony Thorpe is set to return after being cup-tied for the LDV Vans game against Swansea.
Richard Garcia is still rated doubtful with a knee injury as they look to stop a run of eight games without a win.

Swindon manager Iffy Onuora has no fresh injury worries for the trip to Layer Road.

Jerel Ifil is still ruled out through suspension while Paul Smith is still recovering from a foot injury.

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Izzet is back for CUs and this is very important. Despite missing almost all of the 2004-2005 season he has always been a basic player in Colchester midfield. Great young lad, who can make the difference in the middle of the park, especially against teams like Swindon.
I will go for first Colchester victory in 8 games, cos I think the time and the current opponent are perfect for them to get back on track.

Good Luck