Bury vs Macclesfield Predictions

It is the stage of the season in which matches which seemingly only have one winner can throw up upsets as the team with the lower placing is fighting for its life to retain their spot in the division. This weekend sees exactly that occur as title chasing Bury look to maintain their charge for the top spot as they welcome relegation threatened Macclesfield Town to Gigg Lane.

Bury kept up the pressure on league leaders Lincoln City last weekend as they beat Oldham 3-1 and are just three points behind the Imps. A key factor in their charge for the title is their ability to find the back of the net and the hosts 66 goals this season represents the best return in the division. Bury have also been excellent on home soil this term and, given that they were denied a trip to Wembley due to their loss in the Checkatrade Trophy in midweek, they will certainly be motivated to bounce back as soon as possible.

If Bury are to emerge victorious then one man who is sure to play a key role is striker Nicky Maynard. The 32-years-old has spent the majority of his playing at a higher level and his performances this season have shown why. Maynard has scored 16 times this term, including four in his last five outings, and he looks like an excellent bet to score anytime against Macclesfield this weekend.

Macclesfield Town have drawn their last three league matches in a run of five without success following a 1-1 draw with Crawley last week. The relegation threatened side have improved vastly under the leadership of Sol Campbell but they remain three points from safety and have one of the worst defensive records in the division.

With the hosts coming into this match as the most in form side in League Two and their visitors having the an awful record away from home, we cannot see anything other than a home win in this contest. When you also consider a head to head record which is weighted heavily in Bury’s favour, then our confidence in this tip only increases.

However, the hosts may be strong going forward but the fact that they have conceded in 71% of their home matches shows that they often leave them exposed. This, combined with the fact that Macclesfield have found the back of the net in each of their last six away matches leads us to believe that backing a home win and mixing it with a both teams to score bet represents an excellent opportunity to boost the potential return on offer.