League One Betting: Chance the Dale to upset the odds on the road

Posh boss Darren Ferguson will be worried about Rochdale

Alan Dudman is hoping to turn the 'form' corner on Saturday, and is siding with Keith Hill's Rochdale once again on the road...

Chesterfield 2.26/5 v Leyton Orient 4.03/1, the draw 3.55/2

Should this be fairly straightforward? Odds-against for the seventh-placed side in League One, taking on the bottom side in the division. In fact, Orient have gained only a point from their last five league matches.

You can still back the Londoners at 2.166/5 in the relegation market, surprising given how bad they have been for this season. 

According to Opta, Chesterfield have conceded exactly once in their last four clashes with Orient (and gained a clean sheet in the other), and they also won 2-1 at Brisbane Road earlier in the season. 

On Tuesday the Spirerites were beaten 2-0 against Preston, but they were down to ten-men inside the first five minutes (meaning Sam Hird is suspended for this weekend). But they were successful on Saturday - beating Notts County 1-0 at Meadow Lane. 

Chesterfield manager Paul Cook has had a solid squad to work with for over two years now, and they do play some entertaining football. Of course they'll miss the goals of the departed Eoin Doyle, so it was good to see loan signing Caolan Lavery score the winner at the weekend. 

The hosts (according to Opta) are unbeaten in three games with Orient, and are currently in a run on home soil of one defeat in five. It might be quite a close game as Doyle's goals were so crucial, but the price is too tempting to ignore.

And the fact that Orient are in such bad form (something I well know about after the last two tipping instalments), I'll take the hosts.

Recommended Bet  Back Chesterfield to win @ 2.166/5

Oldham Athletic 1.875/6 v Colchester United 5.14/1, the draw 3.711/4

Oldham have quietly promoted themselves from mid-table side to play-off contenders in the space of the last four weeks, thanks to a run of four victories from their last six matches.

The Latics also gained the notable scalp of hipster team Swindon on Tuesday night - a surprising 2-1 victory as Lee Johnson's side burst out of the blocks to score twice in the first 11 minutes. 

It seems to be a trait of Oldham's (starting swiftly). Opta report that Athletic are the top-scorers in the division in the first 45 minutes (with 24 goals). And Town boss Mark Cooper admitted his side were caught cold on Tuesday evening. 

Playing a big part in Oldham's success has been powerful defender George Elokobi. Now fully-fit, the ex-Wolves man has marshalled their back-four with a commanding presence. They have conceded just twice in their last four outings, and also kept a clean sheet against Scunthorpe - who were on a real scoring roll prior to their match. 

Colchester meanwhile are becoming a 'soft touch' according to their boss Tony Humes. He saw his team suffer their second defeat on the spin in midweek, and they have now conceded eight in three games. This will be worrying for Humes, as Oldham have Jonathan Forte's 14 goals this term, but also an Opta stat that the hosts' last eight goals have come from different players. 

Previously Lee Johnson's side have been a bit nervy on the cusp of breaking into the play-off zone, now they are there, hopefully they should be able to consolidate this on Saturday. 

Recommended Bet  Back Oldham to win @ 1.875/6

Peterborough United 2.35/4 v Rochdale 3.412/5, the draw 3.65n/a

I've been chasing a Rochdale victory on the road for a couple of weeks now, and despite the fact they have scored four times in both of those games (with Coventry and Walsall) - they still only came away with a point. 

The Dale score, which is something that Peterborough are not quite doing at the moment. From their last six matches, Keith Hill's side have hit 13 and I always fancy them to net on the road. OK they haven't been very tight recently, and this will be their third successive game away from Spotland.

But such is their recent scoring prowess, they might be able to win this at a decent price.  The Posh are still struggling, and despite their price of 2.305/4, I wouldn't be interested in backing a team that have won only once from eight at London Road - and that victory was a 1-0 win versus Yeovil. 

United were defeated 1-2 against Gillingham on Tuesday, and manager Darren Ferguson lamented the lack of natural goalscorer (something they have always had at the club). Posh have netted only 36 goals from 29 matches in League One this season - not the 'goal kings' of old. 

The hosts will be under pressure too, as Rochdale are a big side that use a front three on the diagonal, they try to hit those men early and use their height and power. in fact, Opta stats point to the fact that 15 headed goals from Rochdale this season is currently a league-high. 

And if things are close at the break, fear not, Dale are a strong second-half team and might actually trade higher In-Play. 

Recommended Bet  Back Rochdale to win @ 3.412/5

League One 2014/15 P/L (all selections one point)

- 11.18 pts