Hartlepool vs Derby County Betting Tips

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Hartlepool

Derby County

Hartlepool narrowly avoided dropping out of the Football League last season when they finished in 22^nd position, but they don’t seem to have improved much over summer and find themselves in a similar situation halfway through this season.

They currently lie in 21^st position in League Two with 20 points from their opening 21 games. They do have multiple games in hand over teams around them but their average return of under one point per game is similar to last season’s tally.

Four of Hartlepool’s last six games have ended in defeat, and their only victory came in their FA Cup 2^nd Round replay against Salford City. Even this win over the non-league side was taken to extra time.

Derby County, like their opponents, suffered a defeat at the weekend when Championship leaders Middlesbrough extended their lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 win over Derby.

However, unlike Hartlepool, Derby County are actually in really good form. The loss against Middlesbrough was a bit of a disappointment, but it was their first defeat since the start of November.

They have won five of their nine games since then and overall they have only lost two of their last 20 matches in all competitions. 13 of these 20 games have ended in a Derby County win.

This has put them in a great position in the Championship. Their 48 point total puts them in 2^nd position, one point ahead of 3^rd placed Hull and four points adrift of Middlesbrough thanks to last weekend’s defeat.

However, Derby aren’t the greatest away from home. They have won just two of the last five whilst Hartlepool have won three of their last five home matches.

I’m expecting Hartlepool to try and shut the visitors out, and considering only one of Derby’s last five away games has ended with three or more goals and two of Hartlepool’s last five at home have seen over 2.5 goals this could be quite a dull affair.