Hartlepool’s timely FA Cup victory last weekend, albeit against non-league opponents, ended a run of four matches without a win and will have boosted confidence prior to the visit of Cheltenham on Saturday, a side they last faced in the FA Cup 12 months ago. As the home team, Pools start as Coral’s 8/5 favourites to collect maximum points.

However, the match stats team at bettingexpert.com point out that of the 30 league matches played by Hartlepool and Cheltenham this season, half have finished as draws, a record which adds considerable appeal to the 12/5 chalked against the stalemate by internet bookie Marathonbet.

Skybet offer an attractive even money about the opening period ending with honours even, while bookmakers report the most popular outcome in the correct score markets as a 1-1 draw, priced at 11/2 by Matchbook.com.

Paddy Power’s 17/2 for it to finish goalless has also found favour with a sizeable number of punters.

Punters convinced it’ll be close may fancy 888sport’s 8/11 about the match yielding fewer than three goals, though backers expecting a conclusive outcome might prefer bet365’s /1 for Hartlepool to enjoy a one goal margin of success.

If we’re going to see a winner, it probably won’t be by a significant margin and punters who concur might be persuaded to run the rule over Ladbrokes’ 6/1 for Pools to win 1-0 as they did when beating Cheltenham in the Cup last term.

Odds supplied by www.smartbets.com, the customisable odds comparison site.

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