A scramble for play-offs

AS teams prepare to play their final match prior to embarking on a traditionally packed Christmas schedule, we’ve reached a stage in the season where jockeying for position often gives way to what becomes a serious challenge for silverware or promotion.

With games in hand on most of the teams above them, Macclesfield continue to harbour realistic hopes of securing a play-off berth, though they face a tricky encounter with Bromley on Saturday.

The match stats team at bettingexpert. com remind us that while the pair have met on just three occasions, only one side has scored on each; the Silkmen are 8/11 at Betway to open the scoring on Saturday.

Town are 188bet’s 4/5 favourites to secure victory in front of their own supporters, whereas Bromley arrive in town priced as bet365’s 7/2 underdogs to register three points, though they too are mindful that a win would consolidate a mid-table berth which could conceivably act as a springboard for a play-off challenge in 2017.

Punters might be tempted to take advantage of BetVictor’s 2/1 for Town to win both halves, although more circumspect folks, interested in adding an element of insurance to that wager, could also fancy Skybet’s 4/6 posted in favour of both teams scoring. With this in mind, note that William Hill offer 2/1 against the game’s opening goal arriving inside the first fifteen minutes.

In other markets, Paddy Power consider Macclesfield an 11/4 shot to win without conceding and Ladbrokes offer 10/3 against the home side enjoying a one-goal margin of victory.

Bookies rate a 1-1 result higher than any other score (bet365 price the outcome at 6/1) and an indicator of how close most firms expect this duel to be can be gauged by the odds posted about similar outcomes.

Unibet price a 1-0 Macclesfield win at 13/2, only marginally longer than the 1-1 draw.

Odds courtesy of www.smartbets.com