Our League 1 & 2 Tips for the Weekend - 30/04/22

Shrewsbury host table-toppers Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon, in a match that looks to simply be a formality for the Latics.

They are top of League One with 89 points and have won 26 of their matches this season, losing only eight times. They will be hoping a win here will be another step on their road to being crowned champions and also being promoted back to the Championship.

In contrast, The Shrews sit in 17th place on 50 points – not in the relegation battle, but also nowhere near the play-off places. They look set for another mid-table finish, with the club having finished in 17th, 15th, and 18th in League One in the last three years.

We are backing Wigan’s Will Keane to score anytime in this game. The Englishman, who is currently the league’s joint top-scorer this season with 24 goals, is likely to add to his tally against a Shrewsbury defence that has shipped 48 goals this season.

Keane is currently on red-hot form, having scored four goals in his last six matches, so that is why we are backing him to score in this fixture.

19th-place Morecambe host fifth-place Sunderland on Saturday afternoon, with both sides in desperate need of the three points, albeit for very different reasons.

With only the top two sides receiving an instant promotion to the Championship, Sunderland need every point they can get and have to hope that teams around them drop points so that they can finish in one of the top two spots. The Black Cats currently sit on 81 points and could still make it to the top two but this is very unlikely, so ultimately it looks like they may finish in the play-off places.

Morecambe are just two places and two points away from the relegation places and need the points here so that they can put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone, as things are very tight down at the bottom of the table, with Gillingham and Fleetwood close behind Morecambe and fighting for survival.

With both sides possessing forwards that have scored over 20 goals this season, we are expecting both of those forwards to score here.

Sunderland’s Ross Stewart is currently the joint top scorer in the division, with 24 goals. Morecambe’s Cole Stockton is not far behind Stewart, with 23 goals. With 20+ goals to their names, these are two clinical strikers. And that is why we are expecting both of them to score in this game. But Sunderland’s overall squad quality should also help them to a win here.

The last of our League One tips for this weekend is for Cambridge’s match at Cheltenham.

Cambridge sits in 14th place, with Cheltenham one place behind them in 15th. Only two points separates the two sides, with Cambridge on 57 and Cheltenham on 55. They have a similar record in terms of form and goal records – Cambridge have won 15, drawn 12 and lost 18, whilst the Robins have won 13, drawn 16, and lost 16.

United have scored 64 goals as opposed to Cambridge’s 54, but the hosts have conceded six fewer goals than Cheltenham’s 78. Ultimately, this is a matchup with no stakes or meaning – both sides are playing for nothing here.

The similarity in league performance between the two sides is why we expect an intriguing contest at Cambridge, with our tip being Joe Ironside and Alfie May Both to Score. Ironside has scored 14 times this season, whilst for the visitors, their top scorer is May with an impressive 21.

League leaders Forest Green Rovers host 19th-place Harrogate Town on Saturday at 3 pm, with both sides in need of a win here.

The league leaders are currently on 83 points but so are second-place Exeter, who have been relentless in their chase of Forest Green. Both sides possess identical win/loss records, with the only thing separating the two being goal difference.

But with Exeter taking on third-place Northampton in what could potentially be a very difficult tie for Exeter, Rovers have the opportunity to go a few points clear of them as their opponent are at the wrong end of the league table. Harrogate currently sit 19th in the table.

Both sides possess players who are among the top scorers in League Two this season, with Forest’s Jamille Matt on 18 goals this season, and Harrogate’s Jack Diamond and Luke Armstrong both on 12 goals. Combined, these three forwards have 42 goals between them this campaign. Therefore, it’s no surprise that we expect some of them to bag in this game.

Our last League Two pick sees Tranmere host already-relegated Oldham Athletic at Prenton Park on Saturday afternoon.

Tranmere currently have 69 points and sit in 10th place, with nothing to play for with just two games of the season left. The visitors have already had their relegation confirmed and will finish the season in 23rd place, just ahead of rock-bottom Scunthorpe United.

It has been a dreadful season for Oldham, who have won just nine games all season, losing an astonishing 25 games. The club has been beset by problems for many years and have slid down the divisions, but this is the season that fans finally saw them relegated from the Football League.

Their match against Salford was marred by a pitch invasion that saw fans protesting at their owner, and with so much turmoil and malaise currently at the club, it is impossible to see them getting anything at all out of this game.

Tranmere, whilst not having an amazing season, have won 19 games and will see Oldham as the perfect opponent for them, as they will be able to add to the 50 league goals that they have scored this season with ease due to Oldham’s awful defensive numbers this season – the Latics have conceded an astonishing 70 goals.