Pools tips and best bets for weekend of Feb 28-Mar 1

Ten draws: Burnley v Swansea, Newcastle v Aston Villa, West Ham v Crystal Palace, Reading v Nottingham Forest, Notts County v Port Vale, Oldham v Preston, Walsall v Leyton Orient, Hartlepool v AFC Wimbledon, Mansfield v Dagenham & Redbridge, Ross v Dundee.

Best draws: Burnley v Swansea, West Ham v Crystal Palace, Oldham v Preston, Hartlepool v AFC Wimbledon, Ross v Dundee.

Best weekend away bets: Brentford, Wolves, Derby, Sheffield United, Tranmere, Hibernian.

Best weekend home bets: Arsenal, Manchester United, Stoke, West Bromwich, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Doncaster, Luton, Portsmouth, York.


Pick of the draws: Talk of Swansea being on the slide in the Premier League was halted by last Saturday's 2-1 home win over Manchester United. With relegation-threatened Burnley coming away from Chelsea with a coupon-busting 1-1 draw, both sides come into this fixture on the back of good results. Stalemate is the most likely outcome. West Ham spoilt all their fine work last Sunday by conceding a last-gasp penalty to Tottenham, who scrambled a 2-2 draw. Crystal Palace have revived under Alan Pardew and gave Arsenal an almighty scare last weekend. They are good enough to hold the Hammers. Preston are pushing hard for automatic promotion from League One and are capable of sharing the spoils at Oldham, who tend to be erratic. Hartlepool, the League Two's bottom club, are more resilient on their own ground and I believe they will deprive mid-table Wimbledon of maximum points. The improved form of Ross in the Scottish Premiership has seen them climb from last to 10th. Dundee, their visitors, have also perked up lately. Ross have not drawn a league game at home all season but I think that will change on Saturday.

Away days: Just when it seemed as if the wheels were about to come off, Brentford are back in the winning groove after home victories over Bournemouth and Blackpool. They are one point off the Championship play-offs and can strengthen their position by beating Birmingham, who appear to have hit the wall. Wolves, with eight goals and none conceded in their last two matches, are strongly fancied to make it three wins in a row when they travel to Cardiff. Leaders Derby will surely make their superiority count at Fulham, who are dropping down the table at an alarming rate. Sheffield United, League One promotion contenders, have already won eight away games. They will probably make it nine at lowly Crawley. Tranmere, fighting relegation from League Two, fought spiritedly before losing 3-2 at Portsmouth in midweek. That spirit should serve them well at Cheltenham, who have sunk into the relegation zone. There's no stopping Hibernian after early season wobbles in the Scottish Championship and they are a confident selection at Alloa.

Homes sweet homes: West Bromwich Albion, a different proposition under Tony Pulis, are well worth a punt against Southampton, who have slipped out of the Champions League qualifying places and seem to be a fading force in the Premier League. Blackpool, bottom of the Championship, may be doomed to go down but they can gain a rare success by defeating fellow strugglers Wigan, whose recent form can only encourage the Seasiders. York, 22nd out of 24 in League Two, have only two home wins to their credit but they may just have enough to see off Exeter, who have 11 more points but are in free-fall.


Pools info: Leicester v Chelsea (No 3 on coupon) and QPR v Tottenham (7) will be decided by the pools panel as Chelsea and Spurs are playing each other in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday.