Roker Riches: What footy bets are the RR lads sticking on this weekend?

Welcome back to another February edition of Roker Riches to all our readers, followers and friends around the world.

Our only winners last weekend were Malc and Matty. Matty made a total profit of £2.50 after a £12.50 win, and Malc picked up a tasty £70 when his accumulator came in for all but his last match, which was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch (Forest Green at Mansfield).

But what are the Riches punters backing for this weekend’s key game against Doncaster Rovers, a team above us, and comparatively flying?

Let’s take a look.

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The Rolling Table: Season 2020-2021

Yellow card update...

The lads got their bets in just in time this week, mainly due to a stay of execution as the Riches Editor Malc was stuck in a click and collect queue. No penalties this week, but the latecomers who just made it have been noted by the Riches Ref. Any further “late tackles” in the betting field will be punished accordingly.

Here is the table as it stands before the Lads return home to face Donnie.

Phil, Malc and Gary now have a bit of a lead, with less than 50 sheets between last place and 4th place Fletch.

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Banker’s Bonus...clean (or slightly dirty) sheet?

Doncaster have been scoring quite freely of late (eight goals in the last five league games, though they have conceded five) and the Lads have been making mistakes we need to avoid.

If the Mackem backline and goalie keep Donnie to either a clean sheet or a single transgression, a £10 bonus from the banker will be allocated to all punters next week.

We have shipped too many of late and often through avoidable errors, so if the gaffer and the back 5 can correct that, we will all welcome a bonus in more ways than one.

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This Week’s Bets:

Matty Crichton says...

Score Draw: I saw a tweet the other week which displayed how much money you could have made if you betted on Sunderland to play out a score draw since our relegation to League One, so I am having a go! £5 returns £23.75.

EFL Fourfold: Mick McCarthy’s Cardiff to beat Coventry at home, Huddersfield to end their poor run against struggling Wycombe, league leaders Brentford to defeat Barnsley, and on fire Oxford to win at home against Wigan. £5 returns £44.42.

Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

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Gary Morris says...

I cannot back the lads to win this one, so I am going for a Sunderland draw this time out. This attracts odds of 12/5 on Bet365, giving me a return of £17 for my fiver including stake if we do (as expected) draw yet again.

League one five way - Charlton, Portsmouth, Hull, Lincoln and Oxford all to win. While this would be a pain for the Mackem progress up the table, it looks likely given the opponents. With odds of almost 19/1 on Bet365, this will return £111.72 if it comes in.

Photo by Chris Vaughan - CameraSport via Getty Images

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Phil Butler says...

Sunderland to win and Jordan Jones to score. After conceding four goals in the last two games I think Lee Johnson will see this game against better opposition as a chance to return to a counter-attacking 4-3-3 formation like the one we saw against Lincoln earlier in his tenure. This formation means Jordan Jones is likely to operate as more of a goal threat than when Sunderland play two strikers, and hopefully he can score a goal like the one fellow winger Jack Diamond scored at Sincil Bank. £5 returns £30

EFL Treble. After flipping between the EFL and Europe for my weekly treble throughout the season, I’m sticking true to form with three good value picks between the Championship and League Two. In the second tier, Swansea are the surprise package of the season but regardless of the extent to which they are overachieving a club with play off expectations must be beating the likes of (checks notes) Neil Thompson’s (WHO?) Sheffield Wednesday. After being under pressure a couple of weeks ago, Neil Harris has guided his Cardiff team to back to back wins to make it four games unbeaten. They defeated Rotherham last time out and should also have enough momentum to defeat fellow strugglers Coventry. Down in League Two, my thinking is as complex as follows: Grimsby are a hopeless, Ian Holloway-less basketcase and Tranmere are less so even if their top scorer is James Vaughan. If he can bring this accumulator home, he can cap his ears as much as he wants. £5 returns £45.10

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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Paul Fletcher says...

Sunderland to win 4-0: same scoreline as the last time we played a team near the top of the form table. Clinical finishing, no stupid errors and let’s get amongst them. £5 returns £205 (Malc’s note - LOVE IT FLETCH!!)

If this loses, how about an “I give up” treble: Barcelona, Seville and AC Milan to win their games this weekend. £5 returns £15.18

Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images

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Malc Dugdale says...

Sunderland to do a “Ross Spesh” and to draw 1-1... this would not be the end of the world for the lads given the last couple of results but it could well be the start of the end of our auto promotion hopes. We need to beat those around us to make ground, but this is really my best case expectation for the tenner I will waste watching this Saturday afternoon. Fiver returns £32.50 with decent 11/2 odds on Skybet.

Photo by Callum Landells/Getty Images

Multi league four way - Man City, Huddersfield, Norwich and Cambridge to all win. City for me are emerging as the premier league champions elect. Huddersfield have Wycombe Wanderers so all should be good there. Norwich are at home to Stoke, and Cambridge have Southend at home which should be doable. Short odds, but hopefully high chances of success. Fiver returns £31.50.

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Danny Roberts says...

Sunderland to draw: I’m really not having a good time this year. As a previous two-time winner of the series, I really need to up my game before it gets embarrassing. My Sunderland bets haven’t worked often, so I’m going for a change in tack, and going for a draw - as, after all, we are the draw specialists! £5 returns £17.

Four Fold: Just like above, my accas aren’t coming off - and it’s being pipped by the odd result and even 90th minute equalisers. Frustrating! However, we go again, and this week I’ll back wins for Huddersfield, Lincoln, Everton and Brentford. £5 returns £54.78.

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Riches Readers’ Random Pick...

Much like the Riches editor Malc, the lucky pick for the Readers this week is a 1-1 draw. To improve the odds, we are adding in the prediction that Wyke will get our goal. This is attracting odds of 22/1 on Skybet with returns a nice £230 for a tenner wager.

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Good luck to Sunderland and to all our betting buddies.

Let us know what you will be betting on this weekend, on social media or by email.

Cheers and Ha’way the Lads!