5 League Two Tips - 7/5/22

In the first of our tips, league leaders Exeter will host Port Vale at St James’ Park, with both teams needing the three points here, albeit for slightly different reasons.

As stated, Matt Taylor’s side currently sit top of the table, and they have been guaranteed a spot in League One for next season. But with promotion all sewn up for The Grecians, they will now be looking to be crowned as title winners as well. And with 2nd-place Forest Green Rovers just a point behind them on 83, it is imperative that Exeter win this game to ensure that it is them that lift the league title come the final day.

The opposition need a win here as they strive for a play-off place. Port Vale currently sit sixth on 75 points, but a loss in this one coupled with a good result for Sutton United in their clash with Harrogate means that Port Vale could lose out on a play-off spot.

Therefore, with both teams needing three points in order to achieve their respective goals, this should be a game full of goals.

For Exeter, one of their main threats is attacking midfielder Matt Jay, who has bagged 14 goals this season. Midfielder Timothee Dieng has scored 12, and centre-forward Jevani Brown has scored seven times and has managed to get 12 assists, so Exeter will be looking to these three men for inspiration on Saturday.

For the visitors, striker Jamie Proctor and midfielder Ben Garrity will be the dangermen, with both having scored 12 goals so far this season.

17th-place Harrogate Town will host play-off chasing Sutton United in our 2nd tip, with Sutton desperate for the 3 points in this one.

The U’s are currently just outside the play-off spots in eighth, but they can take comfort in the fact that they are just one point behind Swindon, who occupy the final spot on 74 points.

Swindon will take on 15th-place Walsall on the final day, and Matt Gray will be hoping that Walsall can cause an upset to help his side out. They take on a Harrogate side who haven’t had a great season and come into the game with three losses in their last five matches, so a win for the visitors looks extremely likely here.

Despite having a leaky defence, Harrogate have managed to stay up due to the strength of their attacking players, with three of their forwards all having scored more than 10 goals this season. Strikers Jack Muldoon and Luke Armstrong both have 12 goals to their name, and left-winger Jack Diamond has 13. Combined, the trio have laid on 17 assists this season as well, so we definitely expect them to trouble Sutton’s defence in this game.

For Sutton, they have not had to rely on a small group of individuals for their goals – it has been a team effort from them. Six of their players have scored five or more goals this season, with full-backs Rob Milsom and Joe Kizzi contributing seven and six goals respectively. Ultimately, we expect Sutton’s quality all over the pitch to be too much for a poor Harrogate side.

Fourth place Bristol Rovers hosts rock-bottom Scunthorpe on Saturday, in what will likely be a formality for Joey Barton’s side.

The impressive Rovers are assured of a play-off place, so will not be playing for anything here, but a win is expected against a Scunthorpe side who have had a miserable season. Scunny have just four league wins all season and have suffered a staggering 27 defeats, the same amount as the league’s top three sides combined.

The Irons have let in 83 goals in their 45 league matches this season, scoring less than 30 themselves, with departed striker Ryan Loft their top scorer on just six goals. In stark contrast, Rovers have managed to win 22 of their games this season, scoring 64 goals in the process. And that is why we expect an easy win for Rovers in this match.

Their top scorer is striker Aaron Collins, who is the only player in the squad with over 10 league goals this season. But the likes of Harry Anderson, Elliot Anderson and Antony Evans are also capable goalscorers, with 21 league goals between the three of them. So, with the variety of goalscorers in their squad, we are backing Bristol Rovers to win 3-0 here.

Swindon Town travels to the Midlands on the final day in need of a win to secure their play-off place.

The Robins currently sit on 74 points in seventh, and anything but a win would potentially allow eighth place Sutton United to leapfrog them to the final spot. For midtable Walsall, this is a meaningless game as they are destined to spend yet another season in the fourth tier since their relegation from League One in 2019.

For this one, Ben Garner’s side will be relying on their high-scoring forwards to get them the win. In contrast to Walsall’s tally of 47, Swindon have managed to score 74 goals in the league this season, and it is because of the likes of Harry McKirdy and Jack Payne that they are in such a high league position.

Striker McKirdy has scored 19 goals this season and has also chipped in with eight assists, whilst attacking midfielder Jack Payne has 11 goals to his name, along with five assists. These two are Swindon’s dangermen, and we expect them to add to their goalscoring tallies in this game against a relatively poor opposition.

In the last of our tips for this weekend, Newport County welcomes Rochdale to Rodney Parade in what is a dead-rubber match.

The hosts have not managed to make the play-offs this year as they sit in 11th place on 69 points, agonisingly short of Swindon Town who occupy the last spot on 74 points.

The visitors have managed to avoid relegation this year, managing to finish in 20th place. Both sides come into the match in identical form, with two wins and three losses in their last five – there isn’t much separating them.

However, one thing that could separate the two sides is the hosts’ superior goalscoring record, with Rochdale on 49 and Newport on 67.

One reason Newport have scored 67 goals is due to the form of their striker Dominic Telford, who we are backing to score anytime in this match. The Englishman is the division’s top-scorer this season with 25 goals and therefore, could potentially add to his tally against a Rochdale side who have shipped 59 goals this season.