Betting.Betfair

It's not often Voltaire's Candide can be found as a starting point to a League One column, but the boy of sweet disposition often said of love, "All it brought me was a kiss and scores of kicks up the backside."

And Candide was right. Sheffield Wednesday sacked manager Gary Megson in midweek to cement the division's reputation as one of the barmiest in Europe.

Megson had guided the Owls to third, five points off automatic promotion and achieved a recent derby clash victory over bitter rivals Sheffield United. He played for the club, clearly loved the club and had greatly improved his beloved team since he landed the position from Alan Irvine. I am aware that his style wasn't to the taste of everyone, but the rumours that were floating around pre-derby last weekend have proved accurate.

Hillsborough chairman Milan Mandaric outlined his reasons, which follows on from equally puzzling departures of Lee Clark (Huddersfield) and Martin Allen (Notts County). Incidentally, the Owls are 2.74 for promotion, and face Rochdale this weekend.

Scunthorpe v Wycombe

Scunthorpe are the draw specialists in the league, netting a whole 14 of them this season. The Iron played fairly well in midweek at Sheffield United, only to lose 2-1 to a late winner. Last weekend their defensive showing was much better in the 0-0 against Brentford in what was an ugly, scrappy game.

The pitch at Glandford Park is poor, which makes for grim viewing on occasions. Scunny are showing signs of edginess too recently, with their last three home matches reading 0-0, 0-1, 0-0.

Wycombe remain a place below Saturday's rivals in the drop zone but were resounding 5-0 winners against Hartlepool on Saturday, with loan signing Paul Hayes bagging a couple of goals. Wanderers boss Gary Waddock has freshened up the squad with some new faces but their problem has always been conceding goals. The Buckinghamshire side have the worst defence in the league, and eight of their last nine games have resulted in over 2.5 goals being scored.

Both will be more fearful of a loss considering their league positions, and it might be worth a dabble on the division's draw specialists to land number 15.

Back The Draw @ 3.7


Sheffield United v Oldham

Sheffield United bounced back from their derby defeat to Wednesday on Sunday with a hard fought 2-1 win over Scunthorpe in midweek. The Blades have a rock solid home record (losing only twice) and have the best squad in the league. Defensively they are very strong, but surprisingly have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last three. On the plus side, they dealt with a huge amount of aerial balls against the Owls but will need the creative talents of Kevin McDonald, who has missed the last two games.

The simple angle into this game is how away teams have approached matches at Bramall Lane this season. The opponents often line up 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 and try to keep it tight in the first 30 to 40 minutes, and Saturday's opponents Oldham are unlikely to believe they can go and win the game.

The Latics will look for set-plays and for a spark from 14-goal forward Shefqi Kuqi, but they have managed just 16 goals on their travels all season and will find it tough to breach an excellent back line.

Back Yes to Sheff Utd Clean Sheet @ 2.28
Back No to Both teams to Score @ 2.0


Leyton Orient v Walsall

Former Orient legend Dean Smith returns to the Matchroom on Saturday with his hardworking outfit who are proving to be a difficult team to beat. Walsall are unbeaten in their last three and have lost just two away games in their last nine. Although they draw plenty and lack a Jordan Rhodes up front (who doesn't?), they will try and stay in this game for as long as possible.

Smith played over 300 games for the Os, captaining them in the 2001 play-off final and will hopefully get a great reception this weekend. I was lucky enough to play in a game at Brisbane Road with Smith and former manager Martin Ling, with my flamboyant wing efforts impressing neither.

Orient look a side with nothing to play for and are fizzling out rather tamely this term, resulting in some fairly erratic displays and results. Manager Russell Slade would have been pleased with the chances created at Bury last weekend, but they drew 1-1. Slade wanted to be more positive the week before and lined up 4-4-2 against Scunthorpe only to lose 3-1.

The Os have been awful at home this season, winning just four games and might be vulnerable to a limited, but ultra hard-working team who still have plenty to play for.

Lay Leyton Orient @ 2.16
Back Under 2.5 Goals @ 1.86

For more football betting articles, go to http://betting.betfair.com/football/