Swansea have picked up victories in their last couple of games and look handily priced to do so again when they travel to face Portsmouth on New Year’s Day.

The Swans have negotiated the festive period well so far. They eased to a 3-0 win over QPR before overcoming Luton rather more dramatically on Sunday, scoring a late goal to claim a 2-1 win. They dominated that game against 10 men, and the manner in which their 2 most recent matches have gone suggests they should still have something in the tank for this trip.

Pompey, meanwhile, come into this game after being humbled 3-0 at Bristol City at the weekend. It was a game in which they saw more than their share of the ball in yet still struggled to compete, conceding 20 shots against a team that is on the same number of points as their weekend opponents.

Portsmouth have lost 3 of their last four, and while they drew 2-2 with Swansea on the final day of November, they rode their luck that day as the Swans generated a sizeable 2.8xG. With the Welsh side having scored 2 or more goals in 7 of their last 9, the hosts will struggle to contain them.

Wycombe saw their incredible undefeated run of 20 matches ended by Charlton at the weekend, but back the Chairboys to recover when they host Exeter City.

Since losing 3-2 to Birmingham at home in mid-August, Wanderers have gone on an exceptional run of home form that has seen them win 6 of 8 in the league, conceding just 3 goals in the process. They are the runaway leading scorers in League One, having netted 47 times in 22 games – 10 more than any other team – and should be optimistic over their chances of worrying an Exeter side that conceded 4 to Crawley Town at the weekend.

While Exeter’s form is decent on paper – they are undefeated in 3 – their 2 wins in this run have come against clubs 20th or lower in the table. Worryingly given their opponents’ prolific scoring, they have conceded 2 or more in 4 of their last 6, not keeping a single clean sheet during this run.

When the sides met on December 3, the match finished 2-2, but Wycombe should hold the psychological edge ahead of this one after recovering from a couple of goals down to get a point.

Charlton have been one of the form teams in League One over the holiday period, with the Addicks picking up successive victories against Northampton, Cambridge United and, most impressively Wycombe Wanderers. Having gained this momentum, they are a strong price to overcome struggling Crawley.

Charlton’s victory over Wycombe on Sunday was particularly impressive. Against an opponent that had not lost since the middle of August in the league, they picked up a deserved success which should provide a dose of confidence and energy in this busy period.

Crawley, meanwhile, could surely use both after a remarkable game against Exeter at the weekend. They got themselves into a winning position by scoring 3 times shortly before half-time to lead 4-1 at the break only to concede twice in the closing 8 minutes in a 4-4 draw.

It was a result that will have stung as much as their previous 3 defeats against Peterborough, Birmingham and Leyton Orient.

Crawley did win 2-1 at Charlton at the beginning of December, but they generated only 0.46xG that day, and given they have conceded 3 or more in 4 of their last 6, cannot be confident of avoiding another defensive collapse here.

This League Two clash pits a reliable home side in Crewe against a Carlisle outfit that typically struggles when playing on the road.

Crewe are undefeated in their last 8 league matches at Gresty Road, albeit their last couple have been drawn against Bradford and Colchester. The caveat is that the latter of these teams has lost only twice on their travels this season, while Carlisle have suffered defeats in 5 of their 10 away games.

The Cumbrians edged fellow strugglers Accrington Stanley 2-1 at home in an important victory at the weekend, yet prior to that encounter they had lost 2 of their previous 3 league outings. These defeats came against Chesterfield and Bromley – a couple of teams that sit just below Crewe in the league standings.

The home side have been bogged down by draws a little of late – including a 1-1 with Carlisle on November 30 – but this is the ideal opportunity for them to kickstart a renewed push for the automatic promotion spots.

There were few fireworks on Sunday as Boro were held to a scoreless home draw with Burnley, but more should be expected when Michael Carrick takes his side to face Hull City on New Year’s Day.

Middlesbrough, after all, have scored 41 goals in the Championship this season, which is the second-highest figure in the league behind Leeds. Prior to their deadlock with the Clarets, they had drawn successive games 3-3 against Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday. As such, the trip to Hull is a fixture they will feel they need to get 3 points from.

And it should be possible. Although the Tigers have won 2 of their last 3, notably edging Blackburn at the weekend, they have scored more than 1 goal only once in their last 16. Steve Bruce’s side, meanwhile, have not kept a clean sheet since a scoreless draw against Millwall way back in August.

These teams met at the end of November, with Boro running out 3-1 winners at the Riverside Stadium, and a similar outcome is likely here. Expect Carrick’s men to emerge with maximum points in a game that produces at least 3 goals.