Out-of-form Lincoln travel to out-of-form Oxford on Friday evening, and Jake Pearson has previewed the match, picking out his best bet.
Football betting tips: Oxford v Lincoln
1.5 pts Both Teams To Score No at Evens (BetVictor)
Neither Oxford nor Lincoln come into this game in particularly sparkling form, with the hosts having lost their last two fixtures, while the visitors find themselves winless in their last four.
Despite their disappointing recent results however, Oxford still find themselves in contention for a place in the play-offs, sitting just three points behind sixth-place Blackpool, who they frustratingly lost to in their penultimate outing.
That was followed by an even more disappointing result, as they were beaten 2-0 away at relegation-threatened Northampton on Tuesday evening.
Lincoln have fared no better in recent weeks though, winning just one of their last eight matches, a run that has seen them slip to seven points behind league leaders Hull.
With both teams struggling for form then, it is probably best to avoid the win-draw-win market in this fixture, and concentrate on the goals markets.
Oxford have been no better than average at home this season, picking up 28 points in their 17 fixtures at the Kassam Stadium, but defensively they have been solid, conceding just 14 goals, a total bettered only by Hull and Fleetwood.
Goals have been somewhat at a premium in games involving Oxford this season, with Over 2.5 goals landing in just 39% of their fixtures, while Karl Robinson’s men have failed to score 15 occasions this term.
The U’s may be looking to keep this one tight, and Lincoln’s defensive record away from home speaks for itself, with Sunderland the only side in League One to have conceded fewer goals on the road than Michael Appleton’s men.
Lincoln do have the best away record in the division, winning 10 of their 17 fixtures on the road this season, but even those matches haven’t exactly been laden with goals, the Imps averaging 1.4 goals per game on their travels, conceding a miserly 0.7 per match.
Both teams to score ‘no’ has landed in 58% of Oxford’s fixtures this season, and in 53% of Lincoln’s, while the same outcome has proved profitable in 71% of Oxfords home matches, and in 59% of Lincoln’s away matches – not to mention six of Oxford’s last eight matches.
With all this information then, it is surprising to see BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE ‘NO’ priced up as the outsider of the two possible outcomes, meaning a price of even money for at least one team not to find the net in this fixture is an appealing proposition.
Oxford v Lincoln best bets and score prediction
- Both Teams To Score No at Evens (Betvictor)
Score prediction: Oxford 0-0 Lincoln (Sky Bet odds: 8/1)
Odds correct 1630 GMT (24/03/21)
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