Stay with Bristol City here

I mentioned the need for a clean sweep last week and we very nearly achieved one, with Southampton, Sheffield United and goals in the Ipswich v Bristol City game ensuring a handsome profit. It was just a pity Walsall could not account for Crewe and I fear the bubble may have burst, though they weren’t a bad shout at 40/1 as a saver bet to the Blades in League One overall.

MK Dons will turn things around under their excellent manager but they are in some disarray at present with injuries at the back meaning a flood of goals going in  –  six against Southampton and three more against Derby. This is a bad time to play BRISTOL CITY, who did well in the 2-2 draw at Ipswich and owe their supporters a resounding win. City are far better than their league position suggests and they can start making up for lost time here.

Just when Portsmouth’s long-suffering supporters were starting to think the long road back might be opening up, Exeter dented a good recent run. That will not have gone down well, especially as the Grecians are managed by long-time Southampton stalwart Paul Tisdale. I still think Pompey are getting a lot of things right against the odds and they should beat Yeovil, who spent so long battering on the football league door that it would be a desperate shame if they dropped out again. Sadly that is perfectly possible and this is a very difficult game for them.

Forest Green started like the proverbial house on fire in the Conference but things have just started to turn and they play arguably the best team, Grimsby, on Saturday. The latter are hitting their stride now, looked a shade unfortunate in the play-off final against Bristol Rovers last May, and can go up this time. Three points on Saturday will help.

In the Premier League, Swansea looked rather ordinary at Southampton last week and there is work to be done. They may struggle against Tottenham, though the Europa League commitment hardly helps Spurs. This is a game to avoid, while I wouldn’t back Chelsea to beat the Saints, though I acknowledge a certain gap in class. The bookmakers are really tempting people with some 8/11 in this but Southampton have the best back four available now and Ronald Koeman can put Romeu and Wanyama in front of them if he wishes. It may be a close call.

BRISTOL CITY 40 units at 19/20 (Betfred) to bear MK Dons
PORTSMOUTH 20 units at 4/9 to beat Yeovil
GRIMSBY 20 units at 10/11 (Coral) to beat Forest Green