BetNose sniffs out the latest League 1 Colchester v Brighton odds.

Blue Square’s Stephen Irvine previews Monday night’s League One action

Colchester United aim to cash in on Leeds’ latest slip-up in the League One promotion race when they face Gus Poyet’s Brighton at the Community Stadium on Monday night. The 4th-placed Us saw a fantastic set of results play out this weekend as Millwall, Swindon and Huddersfield also dropped points in the push for promotion, and now they know they must cash in against the struggling Seagulls who are 17th, just 5 points clear of the relegation zone.

With Aidy Boothroyd - the man who got Watford into the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals - now in charge, Colchester go for pragmatism over panache and it certainly seems to work if 13 wins from 16 home games are anything to go by. They have in fact won their last 4 on home turf and come into this one in solid form. This isn’t a side who blow teams away though, and with top scorer Kevin Lisbie only on 11 goals for the term, they don’t have a striker in the mould of Lambert or Holt who can frighten teams in this division. As such, the 4/5 available on under 2.5 goals looks like a good bet with Brighton unlikely to come here and be too reckless, and a tight affair could well be on the cards. We’ve certainly come to expect that with the Us, and there have been fewer than 2.5 goals in 3 of the last 4 games at this ground.  

To beef up his underwhelming attacking options, Boothroyd made Kayode Odejayi his first permanent signing in January and the lanky Nigerian has done a decent job, scoring twice in the last 3 games. However, for those looking to back him at 5/1 to open the scoring here, be warned that this is a man who managed a pathetic 4 league goals in 72 outings for Barnsley, and a far better bet is dead-ball specialist and 9/1 shot Anthony Wordsworth, the midfielder with 7 league goals to his name already this campaign.  

On to Brighton then, and it’s actually been at home where most of the Seagulls’ problems have come this term, and their away record of 6 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats is the best in League One after the top 3 of Norwich, Leeds and Charlton, which is remarkable for a side so far down the table. Their recent form has been excellent, with a point at Leeds followed up by a great win at Charlton and a comfortable home win over Exeter, and Gus Poyet’s men have certainly caught the eye as they have eased away from the relegation zone.  

Nicky Forster leads the scoring charts for them with 15 – 12 of which have come in the league – and the veteran is available at 7/1 to bag the first goal here, though he has been absent from the side after a row with the manager, and there’s better value elsewhere. One such player who could be worth a few quid is Gary Dicker, the man whose 25 yard rocket sealed the points in Brighton’s last match, the former Irish Under 21 midfielder available at a very tempting 25/1.  

So can the visitors claw their way further out of trouble or will Colchester’s fine home form see them push on for an automatic promotion charge? There’ll certainly be plenty of interest in the home side at the unusual price of 3/4, and with the chance to go third you’d expect them to be right at Brighton from the start. Brighton’s performances in those trips to Leeds and Charlton just can’t be ignored though, and they will come here with renewed confidence from those results, so the draw looks to be the way to go at a very inviting 5/2. Interestingly, 3 of Brighton’s last 4 away games have ended 1-1, and at 13/2, that’s the way I’d go on the Correct Score market.   Odds from Blue Square.

Take a look at all the live and match odds at the BetNose Odds Comparison section or see League 1 Promotion Odds.

	Best Odds	Where	Live Odds	Free Bet
Brighton	10/3		Bet Now	£25 Free Bet
Draw	5/2		Bet Now	£30 Free Bet
Colchester	10/11		Bet Now	£200 Free Bet

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