Blue Square Premier
Saturday 4th February 2012 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Top of the league Fleetwood Town take on mid-table Tamworth on Saturday and will no doubt be looking to extend their lead at the summit of the Blue Square Premier with another win.
Fleetwood have won their last five league matches on the trot while it’s an incredible fifteen matches unbeaten since their last defeat which was at home to Newport County back in October last year.
The Cod Army’s recent run of results reads 6-0 at Southport, 4-1 at home to Barrow, 1-0 against Darlington, 3-1 home win over Braintree Town and a 2-1 win at Forest Green Rovers last weekend. Their home record stands at a solid 8-5-1 30/15, and are now unbeaten on home soil in six matches.
Forward Jamie Vardy (18 goals, 7 assists) is on fire at the moment and is backed up well by Andrew Mangan (10 goals, 7 assists), attacking midfielder Magno Vieira (9 goals, 3 assists), with forward Richard Brodie (7 goals, 6 assists) coming off the bench. Midfielder Jamie Milligan (4 goals, 8 assists) has provided ammunition amongst others as Fleetwood’s attacking artillery is envied by most teams at this level.
It’s also worth noting that Fleetwood have beaten Tamworth in their last two encounters.
Tamworth make the trip up north filled with trepidation despite their narrow 1-0 win at Cambridge United last weekend which was their first league win in seven matches. However, they face a very stern test indeed at the league leaders who possess far more attacking quality and depth in squad.
Apart from the Cambridge result, Tamworth have struggled on the road previously with defeats at Kidderminster Harriers, Darlington, Forest Green, Alfreton Town and Ebbsfleet United. The Lambs’ away record stands at a shaky 4-3-8 14/26, failing to score on five occasions whilst keeping just three clean sheets.
Leading scorers for Tamworth are Iyesden Christie (9 goals) and Kieron St Aime (7 goals) but neither of them featured at Cambridge last week. Midfielder Kyle Patterson (4 goals) has also chipped in but they don’t possess the kind of firepower that Fleetwood have at their disposal.
With that in mind, I have to back Fleetwood here to cover the -1.5 handicap against a poor travelling Tamworth side despite their win last weekend. Fleetwood Town to win 3-1.
Pick: Fleetwood Town AH-1.5 @ 1.94 Ladbrokes
