Pools tips for weekend of October 19-20

Ten draws: Aston Villa v Tottenham, Ipswich v Burnley, Leeds v Birmingham, Crewe v Bristol City, Gillingham v Preston, MK Dons v Rotherham, Accrington v Oxford, Bristol Rovers v Wycombe, Kilmarnock v Ross, Cowdenbeath v Morton.

Best draws: Aston Villa v Tottenham, Leeds v Birmingham, Gillingham v Preston, Accrington v Oxford, Cowdenbeath v Morton.

Best away bets: West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City, Bradford City, Leyton Orient, Mansfield, St Johnstone.

Best home bets: Arsenal, Chelsea, Swansea, Barnsley, Blackburn, Yeovil, Peterborough, Sheffield United, Portsmouth, Dundee.


Pick of the draws: Spurs must have been jolted by their heavy home defeat to West Ham and although they won 4-0 at Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup, Villa are in better shape now, having beaten Manchester City recently. Leeds have slumped to the bottom half of the Championship and may have their work cut out to beat Birmingham, who have shown they can score goals. Just as Gillingham have started climbing the League One table they sack manager Martin Allen. Despite this odd decision I fancy them to hold Preston, who have lost their past three games. Accrington, who are propping up League Two, drew at AFC Wimbledon last weekend despite playing most of the match with 10 men. That should inspire them to at least a point against promotion contenders Oxford. The bottom-of-the-table clash in the Scottish Championship between Cowdenbeath and Morton is likely to end all square.

Away days: Improving West Bromwich Albion should edge out Stoke in their Premier League clash. Manchester City are the pools forecasters' nightmare at the moment but I believe they will have one of their good days against West Ham. League One high-flyers Bradford City surprisingly slipped up against lowly Tranmere last Sunday but I'm tipping them to recover at Crawley. Leyton Orient, one of only two unbeaten sides in the four English divisions, are one of the success stories of the season and should be backed at Tranmere. Promoted Mansfield have climbed into the League Two play-off positions and will probably be too strong for troubled Torquay. Fresh from a morale-boosting 4-0 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle, St Johnstone should have too much firepower for St Mirren.

Homes sweet homes: Barnsley, the bottom Championship club, played well despite recent defeats by Leicester and Queens Park Rangers and have a fighting chance to move up the table against inconsistent Middlesbrough. Yeovil are a little unlucky to find themselves in the relegation zone and I've a hunch they will beat Brighton, who have gone backwards this season. Sheffield United are without a manager and bottom of League One. However, they almost retrieved a three-goal deficit against Coventry at Sixfields last Sunday, so there is not much wrong with their spirit. Don't be surprised if they defeat middle-of-the-table Port Vale.