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Saturday 14 October 2023 - Uranus is Massive


Last Wednesday I went to see the actor and comedian Peter Serafinowicz who was in Nottingham touring a show based on his character Brian Butterfield.  While queuing to enter the venue, I was accused of being skinny which made me cachinnate (every day is a learning day) almost as much as Brian Butterfield did.  I am only skinny in the same way that Uranus is skinny compared to Saturn and Jupiter.  It is still a gas giant.  In the kingdom of the blind the one-eyed man is king and last Wednesday night I was the king of midlife obesity.  It felt like a lottery win.

Last Saturday’s recommended double also felt like a lottery win, with Leicester City and Juventus both winning 2-0 for a profit of £35.20 on the day and an overall profit of £47.53 since the start of the blog in August.  This is my tenth post of the 2023/2024 football season and in addition to my current challenge of making £100 profit in October, I now have the pressure of making it five winning weeks for a 50% strike rate!  But, as I hope I have already shown, you don’t have to win every bet to be profitable as long as you get back more than you put on over time.

It’s another international break but the fourth tier of English football carries on regardless.  Tempting as it is to back league leaders Notts County at home, they take on Mansfield Town in a lunchtime derby that can get a bit spiky.  Mansfield have one of the best defences in League Two but are struggling to do anything other than draw; Notts can knock in four away from home but still end up losing.  To borrow a term from the day job, if you could amalgamate Mansfield’s defence with County’s attack you would have the Manchester City of League Two.  I still think Notts will win but - famous last words - there are easier games to consider.

AFC Wimbledon (1/1) currently sit fourth in League Two, ten places above their opponents Bradford City. The Bantams recently sacked manager Mark Hughes and immediately won their next game under caretaker boss Kevin McDonald, before winning again last night in a 1-2 victory over Grimsby Town in the EFL Trophy that, for the sake of this week's double, was hopefully the apex of a classic dead cat bounce.  Crewe Alexandra (17/20) are currently two places below Wimbledon - with Mansfield in between - but sixteen points above Saturday’s opponents Tranmere Rovers.  Tranmere have won two of their last five league games, albeit at home to teams in the lower half of the table, but crucially lost 1-4 to Wimbledon who Crewe are on a par with.  Crewe and Tranmere also had games in the EFL Trophy last night, to no avail, so a line can probably be put through that.  Both selections kick off on Saturday at three pm and my “hypothetical” £20 win double currently returns £74 at combined odds of 2.7/1 with Sky Bet for a profit of £54 after deduction of stake.             

You never know.  I hope to see you next week.
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