Thursday 27th October 2022

In Across the Leagues today:

• Info from north of the border…
• Introducing – Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes…
• 12-game streak for Under 2.5 Goals…

Weekend Preview – 33/1 info from north of the border…

I’m kicking-off today’s email with a pointer sent in by Across the Leagues member, Paul S…

Info from north of the border…

Paul emailed me last weekend, drawing attention to the goalscoring form of Aberdeen forward, Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes:

Since Paul flagged up Luis Lopes, the 22-year-old has scored again for Aberdeen.

‘Duk’ – as he is known on our website, on most live-score websites, and on the back of his shirt – has now got five league goals. Which puts him just two strikes off the three Each Way places in the Scottish Premiership Top Goalscorer chart…

Introducing – Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes…

The Portuguese-born Cape Verde representative has scored in six of his last eight games in all competitions for the Dons, including three in a row. Picking up his first Man of the Match award along the way, and also recently named in the Sky Sports ‘Team of the Week.’ Comparisons have been made with Celtic’s 23-year-old Portuguese star Jota, who came through the same Benfica B-team system as Duk.

In the Top Goalscorer betting, Luise ‘Duk’ Lopes is available as I write at a best price of 33/1 Each Way with Skybet, Bet365, and William Hill. Place terms are 1/4 odds 1-3, the same as we took for our 20/1 – 14/1 pick Lawrence Shankland in this market at the start of the season . Shankland scored a hat-trick for Hearts last weekend, and is currently joint-3rd with seven goals.

With Aberdeen going well so far this season, sitting third in the Scottish Premiership table behind Celtic and Rangers – and winning three of their last four league games. Now seems like a good time to get behind the Aberdeen youngster, considering the impressive start that he’s made.

That 33/1 price certainly looks to have some Each Way potential.

And with Aberdeen away at Rangers this Saturday afternoon, odds in the region of 7/2 (4.5) for Duk to score again hold some decent matchday underdog appeal, too. Rangers lost 3-0 at Napoli in Europe midweek, and have failed to keep a clean sheet in two out of three league games following a Champions League assignment.

You might have to keep your eyes peeled on bookie websites for this guy. I’ve seen him variously listed as Duk, Luis Lopes, L.Lopes, Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes, Luis Lopes Duk, and even Barros Lopes Luis Henrique ‘Duk’ (that last one with Unibet).

And as we’ve come to expect, Oddschecker is little use here. I’ve manually gathered up the top bookies and prices that I could find, and listed them in the bet box at the end of this email.

• Thanks again to Paul for the heads-up on that one. Got a nugget of info to share? Email me direct at: oliver@acrosstheleagues.co.uk

Standout stats for Under 2.5 Goals…

An Under 2.5 Goals trend has caught my eye in League Two recently…

With 14 payouts from 15 games, Gillingham are not only the best team in the division for this bet. That 93% strike-rate also marks them out as the top-rated Under 2.5 Goals team across all 17 leagues covered on our website.

This weekend the Gills go to Doncaster Rovers, who also look a decent match-up on current form. Three of Rovers’ last four league games have gone Under 2.5 Goals, as have three of their last four at home. Under 2.5 is the bet at 4/6 (1.67).

Streak:

• Under 2.5 Goals has paid out in 12 Gillingham games in a row

And in the Championship, our old friends Preston continue to sit top of the pile when it comes to low-scoring encounters. Ryan Lowe’s side rock an overall 82% record for Under 2.5 Goals this season. And that percentage goes right to the max at Deepdale…

Streak:

• Under 2.5 Goals bets have paid out in all 8 Preston home games

That 100% home record comes up against Middlesbrough this weekend, with Michael Carrick taking charge of his first game for the visitors. ‘Boro had a 0-0 last time out, and five of their last seven matches have gone Under 2.5.

No team has managed to break the spell yet at Deepdale. It’s 8/13 (1.62) for another Under 2.5 Goals result.

Gillingham’s 12-game streak for Under 2.5 Goals:

TODAY’S PICKS

Scottish Premiership 2022/23

• Top Goalscorer – Each Way: Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes @ 33/1 Skybet, Bet365, William Hill

Each Way terms: 1/4 odds 1-3 places.

Rangers v Aberdeen – Sat 3pm

• Anytime Scorer: Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes @ 19/5 (4.8) William Hill, 7/2 (4.5) Skybet, Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook, Betway, McBookie, 10/3 (4.33) Bet365, BetVictor, Ladbrokes, Coral, 10Bet

Doncaster v Gillingham – Sat 3pm

• Under 2.5 Goals @ 4/6 (1.67) Bet365, Boylesports, 8/13 (1.62) general

Preston v Middlesbrough – Sat 3pm

• Under 2.5 Goals @ 8/13 (1.62) Bet365, Skybet, 3/5 (1.6) BetVictor, Boylesports, Unibet, Sporting Index Fixed Odds, 10Bet 

I’ll be back next week with more standout stats, analysis & bet advice for you.

P.S
Remember you can log-in to view all our League, Team, and home v away Head-2-Head stats, at your members-only website:

www.acrosstheleagues.co.uk

Enjoy the football…

Best wishes,

Oliver Upstone

Across the Leagues