Over 2.5 Goals Tips: Arsenal & Chelsea to serve up the strikes in heavyweight WSL clash

The international break significantly trims the fixture list this weekend but there are still enough games to build an Over 2.5 Goals Accumulator.

My Over 2.5 Goals Tips for Saturday, October 12 include a couple of contests from the English Football League, one from the FA Women's Super League, and one from the Uefa Nations League.

Peterborough United vs Rotherham United @ 4/6

Peterborough have long enjoyed a reputation of being one of the EFL's great entertainers, scoring a bucketload of goals but also shipping a fair few in at their end, too.

It's been much of the same this season as only four clubs - Birmingham City, Mansfield Town, Wycombe Wanderers and Blackpool (all 17) - have scored more than the Posh (16) in League 1, yet Burton Albion (19) are the only side to have conceded more times than Darren Ferguson's team (18).

Seven of Peterborough's 10 league games have seen over 2.5 goals, with only Barnsley (8/10) finishing more matches with three or more goals struck.

Rotherham, meanwhile, are at the opposite end of the spectrum, with over 2.5 goals landing in just three of their 10 contests. However, one of those was their last weekend as they beat Reading 2-1 in South Yorkshire, while they made it back-to-back games on Tuesday as they beat Newcastle United U21s in the EFL Cup.

There have been 14 goals scored across five league outings at London Road in 2024/25 - narrowly short of three per game - and I think we could be in for another entertaining contest on Saturday between two in-form teams.

MK Dons vs Port Vale @ 10/11

MK Dons were battered 3-0 by rivals AFC Wimbledon in the middle of last month and are trailing behind pre-season expectations as they sit 14th heading into their weekend clash with Port Vale.

However, MK Dons are unbeaten in their last four league games and things look to be on the up. Remarkably, despite both teams scoring in all four of those matches, only one of them has ended with over 2.5 goals - their 5-1 demolition of Harrogate Town at the start of October - with the other three finishing 1-1.

I can see both teams finding the net again at the Stadium MK on Saturday, but I think the hosts will avoid another 1-1 scoreline.

Port Vale are the visitors and Darren Moore's side have enjoyed a promising start to the season, currently sitting sixth on 18 points. The Valiants are unbeaten in their last six games in League 2 and have scored 11 in that period.

However, they've kept just two clean sheets in their last eight league games, and five of those contests have seen over 2.5 goals.

I'm backing a few goals between these two teams on Saturday.

Arsenal Women vs Chelsea Women @ 4/5

This is a fixture that has tended to provide goals in recent years, with three of the last five seeing over 2.5 strikes., including two of the previous three in the Women's Super League.

The most recent competitive meeting between the pair took place at Wolves' Molineux Stadium in March as Arsenal triumphed 1-0 after extra-time in the Women's League Cup. I'm not taking too much from that match as it was a cup final, meaning things were always likely to be pretty tight.

Instead, I'm viewing this game as one where both teams will be looking to lay down a marker for the 2024/25 season, which is in its early infancy. Chelsea have won seven of the last eight league titles, with only Arsenal breaking their stranglehold on the competition in 2018/19, and the Blues are already a point ahead of their London rivals having played a game fewer.

Arsenal opened up their Women's Super League campaign with a 2-2 draw at home to last season's runners-up Manchester City, which offers some encouragement for goals ahead of the visit of a side who finished level on points with the Citizens in 2023/24.

The Gunners come into this game at the Emirates Stadium bruising after a 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, so I expect there to be some sort of reaction in north London.

Chelsea, meanwhile, beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Tuesday and won their last Super League match 7-0 at Crystal Palace.

I think both teams will get on the scoresheet this weekend, and there could well be a winner.

Croatia vs Scotland @ 5/6

Croatia failed to win a game at Euro 2024 and started their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Portugal in Lisbon, so there was a fair amount of pressure on them heading into their clash with Poland.

The Croats put in a spirited performance to down the Poles 1-0 in Osijek and will now look to build on that result with the visit of Scotland to Zagreb on Saturday.

Like their hosts, the Tartan Army went winless at the summer tournament in Germany and suffered a defeat to Portugal by the same scoreline, in the same city.

However, unlike Croatia, Steve Clarke's side lost 3-2 to Poland on home soil, and now have it all to do in their group.

Scotland's desperation for a win should lend itself to an entertaining encounter in the Croatian capital, and the number of goals on show in the visitors' games last month is also promising; in fact, four of Scotland's last six matches have ended with over 2.5 goals, and it's six in eight for Croatia.

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