Expert EFL Predictions and football betting tips from Dan Childs

Free football tips, best bets, predictions and expert accumulator advice for the weekend's EFL matches.

Best bets

Scunthorpe
3pts 17-10 Coral

Burton draw no bet
2pts Evs Betfred

Cambridge
2pts 7-5 Coral

Port Vale draw no bet
2pts 5-4 general

Scunthorpe v Crawley

1pm

The League Two relegation battle is getting interesting as improving Grimsby and Southend threaten to drag other clubs into the mix, but 16th-placed Scunthorpe have got themselves away from danger and can extend their unbeaten sequence to five with a win over mid-table Crawley.

Scunny reached the halfway point of their season with 23 points from 23 games, leaving them just two points outside the drop zone.

But they have collected 22 points from their last 13 fixtures and approach the run-in with a ten-point cushion to the bottom two.

Scunthorpe manager Neil Cox has come through some tough periods but his young side have grown in confidence and maturity, and they delivered an assured performance in last Saturday's 2-0 success at home to Bradford.

This weekend's opponents, Crawley, are another team with slim hopes of gatecrashing the top seven but head to Scunthorpe on a low after losing three league games in a row for the first time this season.

Crawley boss John Yems operates with a small squad and injuries to defenders Jordan Tunnicliffe and Tom Dallison have left him short in a key area of the pitch.

Yems's team have conceded eight goals in their last three matches and their recent struggles could be seized upon by a Scunthorpe side eyeing a top-half finish.

Accrington v Burton

3pm

Another playoff-chasing side going through a sticky patch at a crucial stage of the season are Accrington, who look worth opposing in their League One fixture at home to Burton.

Injuries have piled up for John Coleman's Stanley, who slipped to 13th – as low as they have been since November – after last Saturday's 7-0 loss at Peterborough.

The loss at London Road was Accrington's fourth in five games and was accompanied by four fresh injuries including a muscle strain for key defender Mark Hughes, who misses the rest of the season.

Top scorer Dion Charles is back in contention after returning from international duty with Northern Ireland but Coleman's squad remains severely depleted for the visit of Burton, who have been one of the division's strongest teams in recent months.

The Brewers have won nine of 15 games under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – including six away successes – and look great value to triumph at the Wham Stadium.

Cambridge v Morecambe

3pm

Morecambe are attempting to topple the League Two leaders for a second successive weekend, having won 1-0 at home to Cheltenham last Saturday, but they may struggle to cope with Cambridge at the Abbey Stadium.

The sixth-placed Shrimps are only six points off the summit but rode their luck last weekend, losing the shot count 21 to eight.

They may not be as fortunate against Cambridge, who look decent value to chalk up a fourth victory in a row.

Port Vale v Exeter

3pm

Port Vale have eased their fourth-tier relegation worries with three successive victories and can maintain their surge towards mid-table security by defeating Exeter.

Eighth-placed Exeter may need to win the majority of their final ten games to the finish in the top seven but they have lost their last two on the road and look vulnerable against Vale, who were 2-1 winners against Newport in their last home fixture.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Bolton (3-4)
Bolton have the League Two title in their sights after taking 35 points from their last 13 games and should be far too strong for relegation-threatened Colchester, who have won once in 22 matches.

Blowout
Millwall(6-5)
Millwall have won five of 19 home league fixtures this season and are hard to trust against Rotherham, who boosted their survival hopes with a 2-0 success at Bristol City last time out.

Accumulator
Watford 11-20, Norwich 4-6, Sunderland Evs, Plymouth 6-5.

£1 accumulator returns £11.37 with Hills.

Click here to add Dan Childs's accumulator to your William Hill betslip

Both teams to score
Games at QPR 4-5, Wycombe 8-11, Doncaster 4-5.

£1 treble returns £5.61 with Hills

Thought for the week

Denmark were shock winners at Euro 1992 and are emerging as dark horses this summer after responding impressively to a switch to a more offensive playing style under head coach Kasper Hjulmand, who began his tenure last summer.

They took four points off of England in last autumn's Nations League – keeping clean sheets in both games – and are off to a flyer in World Cup qualifying Group F, taking nine points from nine and racking up a plus-14 goal difference.

They showed a ruthless streak with their 8-0 demolition of Moldova last Sunday and were 4-0 winners away to Austria - the section's second seeds - on Wednesday.

Hjulmand's side are looking a lot more fluid in attack with pacy Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite demonstrating why he has made 24 La Liga appearances this season, and playmaker Christian Eriksen is showing far more interest for his country than he does for club paymasters Inter.

They look solid at the back with Andreas Christensen and Simon Kjaer forming a solid partnership in front of reliable goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, and are not without hope of contending this summer.

The Danes have the advantage of playing at home in their Euro 2020 group matches against Finland, Belgium and Russia and could have a positive tournament.

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