Football Accumulator Tips: Dons to make winning return to patched-up pitch

Another international break means most of the top leagues around the world are on ice for another week or so, but there are still games taking place in the English Football League and further down the pyramid, while the Uefa Nations League (UNL) takes centre stage in Europe.

Below you can find my Football Accumulator Tips for Saturday, October 12 as I pick out four teams to win - one from League 2, one from the National League South, and two from the UNL - for a 9.84/1 acca.

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AFC Wimbledon (H) to beat Carlisle United (15:00, Sky Sports+) @ 4/5

The first of two 15:00 kick-offs in my fourfold, AFC Wimbledon host Carlisle United at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, with both sides experiencing very different starts to the 2024/25 League 2 season.

Wimbledon won four of their first seven league games and only sit 13th on account of playing fewer games than the rest of the division. The Dons' home was hit by flooding last month and that led to disruption to their fixture list, but Saturday's match has been given the green light after successful post-flood pitch repairs.

Johnnie Jackson's side returned to action after a 10-day break at the start of October, suffering a valiant 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup, but they followed that up with a loss by the same scoreline at Salford City, meaning they are now winless in League 2 since September 14.

The Dons did return to winning ways on Tuesday night, albeit in the EFL Trophy as they beat Crawley Town 4-3 in a thrilling cup tie at the Broadfield Stadium. Things will be very different this weekend, with the side sure to be much changed, but a win was a nice confidence boost nonetheless.

Confidence is a word lacking at Carlisle, who are winless in their last four games across all competitions; in fact, the Cumbrians have only been victorious twice this season, 1-0 at home to Barrow on August 17, and 2-0 away to Swindon Town on September 21.

Following on from last season's relegation, manager Paul Simpson paid the price for a run of four defeats in the first five matches this term, leaving his post on August 31. Simpson was replaced by MK Dons head coach Mike Williamson - something which should add further spice to this fixture - but the former Newcastle United defender has been unable to instantly transform the club's fortunes, failing to win any of his first four matches in charge.

Carlisle (22nd) head into the weekend hovering just above the relegation zone and only Newport County (20) have conceded more goals than them in League 2, a worrying statistic as they prepare to visit a ground where Wimbledon have struck eight times in just three league outings so far.

Wimbledon have won all three League 2 games at the Cherry Red Records Stadium this season, beating Colchester United 4-2, Fleetwood Town 1-0 and arch-rivals MK Dons 3-0, and they have also put Wycombe Wanderers (1-0) and Premier League side Ipswich Town (2-2, 4-2 on penalties) to the sword there in the EFL Trophy and Carabao Cup respectively.

Saturday's hosts should have too much for a beleaguered Carlisle in south-west London.

Salisbury FC (H) to beat Hornchurch FC (15:00) @ 13/10

I'm returning to my roots for my second selection as I tip Salisbury FC to beat fellow newly promoted outfit Hornchurch FC at the Ray Mac Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Salisbury gained promotion to the National League South in May after beating Gosport and AFC Totton in the Southern League Premier South play-offs, and the Whites have made a solid start to the current season, collecting 14 points from their first 10 games. The Wiltshire club's home form has been crucial, with 10 of their points won at the Ray Mac - only Chesham (1-2) have beaten them there in the league so far.

Hornchurch romped to the Isthmian League Premier Division title last season, finishing 21 points clear of runners-up Chatham to secure their spot in the National League South, and they too haven't disgraced themselves so far, picking up 11 points to sit two clear of the relegation zone.

However, the Mighty Urchins are on a four-game winless run across all competitions and have lost their last two in the league, going down 2-0 at home to Chelmsford last month and 3-1 at Dorking last Saturday.

Hornchurch won their first away game of the season, beating Hampton & Richmond 3-1 on the opening weekend, but haven't tasted success on the road since, taking just one point from their next four away outings.

At 13/10, I'm happy to side with Salisbury's strong home record here.

Croatia (H) to beat Scotland (17:00, ITV1/STV) @ 4/7

Croatia were arguably one of the biggest let-downs at Euro 2024, being thrashed 3-0 by Spain in their first game before drawing with Albania (2-2) and Italy (1-1), finishing third in Group B on two points and failing to qualify for the knockouts.

National team stalwart Luka Modric, a standout performer for Real Madrid for so many years, looked a shadow of himself in Germany and was substituted in the second half of Croatia's 2-1 defeat to Portugal last month.

However, the 39-year-old was the hero in his side's second UNL match as he struck the only goal of the game in the 52nd minute to secure a 1-0 victory over Poland, and he is sure to be pulling the strings against Scotland in Zagreb on Saturday.

The Tartan Army have lost their first two games in the group and head coach Steve Clarke is under serious pressure from supporters who were already irked by their country's performance at the Euros, where they picked up just a point from their three group matches.

In fairness to Scotland, they put up a valiant effort in Lisbon last month as Scott McTominay fired them into the lead inside seven minutes. Clarke's side held on until the 54th minute when Bruno Fernandes struck an equaliser for Portugal, and the Euro 2016 champions found a winner through Cristiano Ronaldo 34 minutes later to break Scotland's hearts.

It's the 3-2 defeat to Poland at Hampden Park which has really stuck in supporters' throats, though, and Clarke now needs to pull out a shock result to redress the balance.

Unfortunately for the former West Brom boss, I can't see it happening here as he has several key players sidelined through injury, notably Aston Villa captain John McGinn, whose energy will be sorely missed in the Croatian capital.

I'm not sure whether it will be a big win, but I do expect Croatia's class to shine through on Saturday.

Portugal (A) to beat Poland (19:45) @ 4/6

My fourth and final pick for Saturday's football accumulator is for Portugal to make it a hat-trick of UNL victories when they take on Poland in Warsaw.

Portugal were another country to disappoint at Euro 2024, losing to Georgia in the group stage and failing to score past either Slovenia or France in the knockouts, and they weren't particularly impressive last month as they beat both Croatia and Scotland 2-1 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.

Nevertheless, Roberto Martinez's side got the job done, and they should be confident of reaching nine points by beating Poland at the PGE Narodowy on Saturday.

Poland beat Scotland 3-2 in their opening UNL game but were edged out 1-0 by Croatia in Zagreb and their victory over the Tartan Army is their only success in their last five matches. They stumbled to third in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign last year, finishing just a point ahead of Moldova, and only advanced to the summer tournament after beating Wales on penalties in a play-off.

Robert Lewandowski is still leading the line for Barcelona with conviction but there is a real lack of quality around him, while they don't possess the defensive nous of a Poland side 10 or 20 years ago.

An away win for me here, to cap off this accumulator.

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