Football League Tips: 14/1 Acca for the opening Saturday of the season

The Football League resumes this weekend with Bournemouth v West Brom getting proceedings underway in the Championship on Friday evening. League’s One and Two will start on Saturday and we’re back with our best Football League tips for the 3pm kick-offs.

At the time of writing the four selections pay best with Betfair when combined into a multiple, at just over 14/1. Have a read below to find out why we fancy this quartet to start the campaign with wins.

Huddersfield to beat Derby - 3/4

Due to ongoing issues off-field, Derby have not made a single signing this summer and after narrowly escaping relegation last term, they look prime candidates to drop down to the third tier this time round. With certain players still not having signed contracts there’s a lot of uncertainty around who will start for the Rams on Saturday but one thing for sure is that the club is in decline and the last few weeks have been far from ideal preparation for the opening game of the season.

Last season Huddersfield found themselves in the top half of the table heading into the New Year. However, numerous injuries and some poor performances in the second half of the campaign resulted in a 20th place finish. Levi Colwill has represented England at youth level and has been brought in from Chelsea on loan with a much more settled summer than their opponents, Huddersfield can start with a win.

Ipswich to beat Morecambe - 3/5 

Ipswich are once again one of the favourites to be crowned League One Champions with around 7/1 being offered from most firms. Paul Cook is now the manager in charge and after claiming three EFL titles so far in his career, it’s easy to see why he looks the perfect man for the job. 

Derek Adams pulled off the unthinkable with Morecambe last season, achieving promotion after being the biggest priced team to do so before a ball was kicked. After Adams’ departure to Bradford there’s a fair amount of uncertainty with new man Stephen Robnson, especially after his disappointing spell at Oldham. There’s a significant gap in quality between the two squads here and I fancy Ipswich to start their season with a comfortable victory.

Burton to beat Shrewsbury - 2/1

Burton travel across the Midlands to start their league campaign at Shrewsbury on Saturday and I’m touting a win for the visitors at around 2/1. When Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink took the reins for his second spell at the Brewers at the start of January they were eight points from safety. Since then, Hasselbaink took 44 points from 24 games which would have ranked them fourth in that period.

Impressively, Burton were only beaten once on the road in 2021 and went on a run of six straight away wins from the start of January through until March. Only four sides in League One scored fewer goals than Shrewsbury last season and a shortage of talent in the final-third could well be a serious issue for Steve Cotterill’s side. With Burton only tasting defeat in one of their last 12 victories, they can carry on last season’s impressive form on the road.

Forest Green to beat Sutton - 4/5

Forest Green Rovers have reached the play-offs in two of the last three seasons. In April Mark Cooper parted ways with the club after five years which included a memorable promotion to the Football League, with Rob Edwards now the man in charge.

Edwards was fast-tracked into management after being a successful and highly rated coach and after a sixth place-finish last season Rovers can potentially improve this time round. The club have some young talented players such as Regan Hendry and Kane Wilson and with the attacking options of Matty Stevens, Jake Young and Jamille Matt they look to have enough in 

the final third to beat newly promoted Sutton United.