Pools tips and best bets for weekend of May 5-6

Ten draws: Everton v Southampton, Leicester v West Ham, West Bromwich v Tottenham, Bolton v Nottingham Forest, Ipswich v Middlesbrough, Leeds v Queens Park Rangers, Preston v Burton, Carlisle v Newport, Forest Green v Grimsby, Swindon v Accrington.

Best draws: Everton v Tottenham, Leicester v West Ham, Leeds v Queens Park Rangers, Preston v Burton, Forest Green v Grimsby.

Best weekend away bets: Crystal Palace, Fulham, Wolves, Wigan, Walsall, Luton.

Best weekend home bets: Arsenal, Cardiff, Derby, Wimbledon, Blackburn, Portsmouth, Shrewsbury, Barnet, Coventry, Lincoln.


Pick of the draws: Southampton's 2-1 home win over Bournemouth, coupled with the weekend's defeats of Swansea and Huddersfield, has given the Saints a fighting chance of avoiding relegation from the Premier League. They won't find it easy at Everton, given that Sam Allardyce's men are staging something of a revival themselves, but a repeat of the spirit shown last Saturday should see them come away from Goodison Park with a point. Leicester host West Ham and it's hard to know which team is playing worse at the moment. Both suffered heavy defeats last weekend and a stalemate seems the most likely outcome. Leeds have finished well off the pace in the Championship and I wouldn't rule out yet another change of manager during the close season. They play Queens Park Rangers, who are one place and one point below them, and cannot be confident of coming out on top. Nigel Clough's Burton, after three consecutive victories, are on the verge of a remarkable escape from relegation. A point at seventh-placed Preston may well be enough to keep them up and I've a feeling they will achieve it. Forest Green, who have just about preserved their League Two status, entertain Grimsby, who were once in free-fall but have recently revived, including beating high-flying Notts County last Saturday.

Away days: Crystal Palace, buoyed by last weekend's 5-0 thrashing of Leicester, are strongly fancied to end Stoke's stay in the Premier League. Stoke have managed only six wins all season and are desperately short of goals. Fulham probably need maximum points to have any chance of automatic promotion from the Championship, so in their final fixture they are a good bet for all three at Birmingham, who could still go down. Wolves, the Championship champions, need only a draw at relegated Sunderland on Sunday to total 100 points but I think they'll do better than that as they are determined to end their great season in style. Promotion-bound Wigan have been a credit to League One and victory at mid-table Doncaster will ensure they go up as champions. A midweek draw at Bradford City ensured Walsall's safety and they are worth backing at Fleetwood, who are ending the season with a whimper. Luton, runners-up to Accrington in League Two, are recommended at Notts County, who have let automatic promotion slip from their grasp.

Homes sweet homes: Whatever happens on Thursday against Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-final, second leg, I expect Arsenal to give Arsene Wenger a winning send-off in his final home match as manager on Sunday. It's been a very disappointing season for the Gunners but they are efficient at home and I believe they'll continue in that vein against Burnley. In League One, Portsmouth have flopped just when they needed to raise their game. They owe their fans a good performance in the final match of their campaign and I tip them to beat Peterborough. The great escape is on for Barnet, who have four wins and a draw from their past six matches. Victory over relegated Chesterfield, combined with defeat for Morecambe at Coventry, will keep Barnet in League Two. Their position looked hopeless this time last month but Martin Allen, their recently appointed manager, looks like being their saviour.


Pools info: Brighton v Manchester United (match No 3 on coupon) has been brought forward to Friday and is therefore void.