Football – England – FA Cup 1st Round
Sunday 4th November 2012 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
League Two Burton Albion will be looking to go into the hat for the FA Cup 2nd round when they take on Blue Square North outfit at The Pirelli Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Burton currently sit on the fringe of the play-off positions in League Two thanks to losing just once in their last eleven league matches which was a 1-4 loss at League Two leaders Gillingham at Priestfield, while at home so far they’ve recorded wins over AFC Wimbledon 6-2, Oxford United 4-0, York City 3-1 and 5th placed Bradford City 1-0.
The Brewers’ home record in League Two stands at 4-3-1 19/9 and I know that league form doesn’t always go according to plan, but they’ve built up a strong track record at home so far this season and they should be too strong for their opponents today.
Burton Albion have a number of key attacking players at their disposal namely leading scorer Calvin Zola (6 goals, 2 assists), Jacques Maghoma (4 goals, 3 assists), defender Alex Diamond (3 goals) and striker Billy Kee (2 goals) who scored 12 last season for The Brewers.
Altrincham, once of the Blue Square Premier, now ply their trade in the Blue Square North and currently sit in a mid-table position. A recent good run of form consisting of six matches unbeaten including four straight wins has recently come to an abrupt end as Alty have lost their last three on the trot; defeats against Workington, Solihull Moors and a home loss to Guiseley 1-3 in midweek is not ideal preparation for travelling to league side Burton Albion.
Altrincham’s away record was going pretty well too until their defeat at Solihull and their record on the road now stands at 3-2-2 16/12. Their main goal threat is likely to come from leading scorer and striker Damien Reeves who has scored 15 goals in 13 matches so far this term, and he bagged an astonishing 42 goals last season. Duncan Whatmore (3 goals) and Simon Richman (2 goals) have also contributed.
The visitors are on a poor run of form right now while the hosts, Burton, have strung together some decent results at a higher level of two leagues, and together with home advantage, should not only win this match but also cover the -1 handicap in the process; I’ll back The Brewers for either a 2-0 or 3-1 home win here today to progress to the FA Cup 2nd round.
Pick: Burton Albion AH-1 @ 1.92 Pinnacle
