SkyBet: Back Boyd to punish Rovers after making move from Boro

With the Clarets and Reading in great form, Hull find themselves down in ninth place, but they can still boast an unbeaten run away from home which stretches back to September.

Coventry, on the other hand, have won only one of their last 15 league matches, and that was at home to a Crystal Palace side with an abysmal away record.

Leeds supporters should ignore Ipswich’s lowly league position, as the Suffolk side are performing much better under new manager Paul Jewell and shocked Cardiff 2-0 in Wales a fortnight ago.

Results have gone United’s way in recent weeks but they continue to concede goals at an alarming rate and there could be some value in backing Ipswich at a big price.

Nottingham Forest, one of Leeds’ main promotion rivals, continue to stutter and have won only once in eight games, losing their 18-month unbeaten home record to Hull last weekend. With goals proving hard to come by, Billy Davies has moved to freshen up his attack by bringing in Kris Boyd on loan from Middlesbrough, and he should find Doncaster’s generous defending very much to his liking.

Rovers have conceded 41 goals away from home – the worst record in the division – so ignore Boyd’s poor record at the Riverside and back him to get amongst the goals.

Sheffield United earned their first win under Micky Adams by beating Forest at Bramall Lane on Tuesday, but remain six points from safety. Watford’s prospects of reaching the play-offs may be receding, but they should have too much for the Blades at Vicarage Road.

Dave Penney survived only two months as manager of Bristol Rovers and his departure brought an immediate upturn in fortunes, with the Pirates winning 1-0 at relegation rivals Tranmere. However, eight defeats in 10 games underlines their ongoing struggle for survival and Huddersfield should come away from the Memorial Stadium with three points, extending their unbeaten run in the league to 15 matches.

Sheffield Wednesday appear to be making progress away from home but they are still failing to perform at Hillsborough. Today, they face Notts County, who have suffered back-to-back defeats without scoring, but those games were against the division’s two form teams in Leyton Orient and Peterborough. Back Paul Ince’s side to take a point back down the M1.

Tom Adeyemi’s stoppage-time goal gave Bradford victory over Rotherham on Tuesday and continued their decent record against teams at the top – Bury, Wycombe and Gillingham also having lost at Valley Parade.

However, only two teams have a worse record against teams in the bottom half, one of them being Morecambe, who host the Bantams today.

With neither side able to raise their game for the more mundane fixtures, there is little to get excited about from a betting perspective.

No team in the country has won more away games than Bury, who visit Rotherham after four consecutive wins.

They have won their last two on the road by three goals, with Ryan Lowe surpassing Adam Le Fondre as the division’s leading scorer by finding the net in nine consecutive matches. Take Bury to win this one.

weekend’s best bets

Hull to win at Coventry

Ipswich to win at Leeds

Forest v Doncaster – Kris Boyd to score

Watford to beat Sheffield United

Huddersfield to win at Bristol Rovers

Sheffield Wednesday v Notts County – Draw

Bury to win at Rotherham