Northampton Town are well priced to take something from Blackpool on Saturday given the struggles of the home side in recent times.

Blackpool sit below Northampton on goal difference and are in considerably poorer form than the side they will host. Steve Bruce’s side have picked up only four league victories this season, with all of these coming immediately after the new manager was appointed. Since then, they have endured a run of six matches in which they have picked up only a couple of points but have conceded a massive 15 goals.

By contrast, Northampton have lost only one of their last five league matches and are coming off the back of a 1-1 draw away against second-placed Birmingham City.

On paper, the away record of Jon Brady’s side looks dreadful as they have picked up only one league victory on their travels, yet five of their seven away matches have been against clubs in the top six of the table, while the one victory they did achieve was against eighth-placed Huddersfield.

Northampton are also comfortable not having much of the ball for long periods, bossing possession only once all season in the league. This is a valuable trait against a Blackpool side that will want to control the game in this manner.

Chesterfield suffered just a third defeat of the season last weekend as they crashed to a 3-0 reverse against Accrington Stanley, yet it was a game they dominated and, on another day, would have won. After all, they had 13 shots to their opponents’ seven and bossed 78% of the ball. Look for them to bounce back in Harrogate.

The home side have lost three on the bounce, notably going down 2-1 to bottom side Morecambe in front of their own fans last weekend in a result that seemed to confirm their difficult moment. Indeed, the last point they claimed was against Carlisle, who sit second from bottom. Furthermore, nine of the 15 points they have won overall this season have been against clubs in the bottom ten spots of the league.

Chesterfield, on the other hand, have been performing rather better, particularly on the road. They have won three of their last four away from home, with their one slip a midweek draw at Bromley.

Goals have been coming readily, too. Doncaster were beaten 3-0 on the road, Newport were seen off by a similar scoreline and they also smashed Morecambe 5-2 on their last away trip three weeks ago.

Although Spartans have typically been a side whose games have produced few goals this season, all that has started to change in recent weeks, with each of the last four matches Douglas Samuel’s side have played in all competitions yielding at least three goals. With Stirling in similarly entertaining form, the odds on goals in this game are well worth consideration.

Spartans ended an eight-match winless sequence last time out as they beat bottom side Forfar 3-0 on the road, yet in recent matches they have typically toiled defensively. At least two goals were conceded against Elgin, Peterhead and Lowland League side Cowdenbeath in successive weeks.

Stirling, meanwhile, come into this match on the back of a highly entertaining match against Peterhead, in which they suffered a 3-2 loss. The Binos face defensive problems as they make the trip to Edinburgh, however. They are sweating over both starting full-backs and have another right-back suspended for this encounter so could face being significantly weakened in their back four.

Four of the visitors’ last five matches have produced over 2.5 goals, which has come about thanks to an offensive improvement that has seen them score at least two goals in four of their last five league matches, plus another six in the Scottish Cup. They may need to maintain this form to get a positive result because a first clean sheet in four matches looks a distant prospect with their selection issues.

Peterhead look League Two’s class side in Scotland, and while Edinburgh City are outperforming expectations, the capital club are likely to find this match too great a challenge to be significantly competitive in.

The home side come into this game off the back of arguably their best performance of the season as they fought back from two down to win at Stirling last weekend. It was a match in which they showcased much of their best football, and if they do not come into this game flying with confidence, it is hard to imagine when they ever might.

Peterhead, after all, have won their last three matches.

Edinburgh have won two straight games but these have been against the league’s bottom two clubs. Similarly, their away record may look promising (W1 D2 L2), but four of the five points they have taken have also been against the bottom two.

The last meeting between these clubs was a 4-0 Peterhead victory at the end of August and it would almost be surprising if the one-sided nature of that success was not repeated at Balmoor this weekend.

Georgia host Ukraine on Saturday knowing that victory could virtually secure them at least a play-off spot to League A. They might be coming off the back of a couple of defeats, but their overall performances have been strong even as they have failed to pick up a point.

Against Ukraine in Poznan, Poland, they peppered the goal of the ‘home’ side and generated a greater xG than their opponents in this clash (0.57-0.68) but were unable to strike. Against Albania a few days later, they had similar issues, with a huge early chance missed from Budu Zivzivadze proving costly in a 1-0 loss. Get these situations right and the picture would be very different.

By contrast, Ukraine have not particularly impressed. They have suffered defeats in two of their four previous matches, including the only true away match they have played, which was a 3-2 defeat in the Czech Republic.

Georgia have never previously beaten Ukraine in a competitive encounter, but the odds of them getting the better of their near neighbours look very healthy indeed.

Goals are on the cards when Sweden host Slovakia if the recent matches of these two nations are anything to go by, with the pair sharing a 2-2 draw little over a month ago.

The Swedes, in particular, have looked strong in this competition. The only match they have failed to score three goals in was that Bratislava clash – and that’s despite playing only one of their matches at home thus far. They had the better of that game, moving into a two-goal lead and generating an xG of 2.1 – superior to their opponents’ 1.84.

Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side have the in-form pair of Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres to lead their line in this match. While the former has scored in three successive Newcastle games, the latter has an astonishing 25 goals in 19 matches for club and country this season. If this pair find their straps, Sweden should score at least a couple, which would surely be enough to ensure they avoid defeat.

Slovakia are also a capable offensive team, though. They have netted at least twice in each of their last three games and will travel to Sweden eager to take a win that would go a long way to securing them first place. It should be a competitive and entertaining game, with the firepower of the hosts likely to be sufficient to ensure they avoid defeat.