Pools tips and best bets for weekend of Sept 21-22

Ten draws: Burnley v Norwich, West Ham v Manchester United, Birmingham v Preston, Bristol City v Swansea, Sheffield Wednesday v Fulham, Wigan v Charlton, Accrington v Blackpool, Newport v Exeter, Northampton v Crawley, St Mirren v Hamilton.

Best draws: Burnley v Norwich, West Ham v Manchester United, Bristol City v Swansea, Sheffield Wednesday v Fulham, Newport v Exeter.

Weekend's best bets: Six aways: Blackburn, Bristol Rovers, Sunderland, Ayr, Raith, Yeovil.

Weekend's best bets: Ten homes: Leicester, Brentford, Cardiff, Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Fleetwood, MK Dons, Crewe, Grimsby, Hibernian.

Pick of the draws: Norwich sprung one of the surprises of the season so far by beating Premier League champions Manchester City 3-2 at home last Saturday. The victory was as deserved as it was unexpected and I believe they'll gain their first away point at Burnley on Saturday. Although Manchester United lie fourth, they haven't been convincing and will be hard-pushed to prevail at West Ham, who must be pleased with their progress. Beaten 1-0 at home by Nottingham Forest last weekend, Swansea have lost top spot in the Championship and their powers of recovery should be tested at Bristol City, who are among the early front-runners. Garry Monk's first match as Sheffield Wednesday manager ended in a 2-0 victory at struggling Huddersfield last Sunday but Fulham, their visitors, are surely made of sterner stuff. Unbeaten Exeter are the clear leaders in League Two and well capable of holding fellow promotion contenders Newport to a draw.

Away days: Blackburn seem back on course after a dodgy start to their Championship campaign and will be hopeful of coming away from Reading with three points. Bristol Rovers, who beat Lincoln
1-0 away last Saturday, face seemingly weaker opposition in Wimbledon, who are in League One's bottom three and without a win this campaign. Sunderland, in the race for promotion, look an away banker at Bolton, who, with a 12-point deduction, appear destined for the drop. I expect Ayr, second in the Scottish Championship, to strengthen their position after travelling to lowly Alloa while
free-scoring Raith, 4-0 home winners over Peterhead last weekend, are recommended at Airdrieonians. Yeovil, climbing rapidly in the National League, are the form tip at Fylde.

Homes sweet homes: Ambitious Leicester have their sights on a place in the Premier League's top four and Tottenham's visit in the early Saturday fixture will be a good test of their credentials. Leicester, who lost narrowly at Old Trafford last Saturday, won't want two disappointments in a row and I've a hunch they'll take maximum points against Spurs. Cardiff (14th) sit just below Middlesbrough (13th) in the Championship table but I'm tipping Neil Warnock's players to come out on top when the sides meet in Wales on Saturday. Neither of the Edinburgh teams in the Scottish Premiership is doing well so far but Hibernian's plight (4pts) isn't as serious as that of Hearts (2) who find themselves bottom after five games. Expect Hibs to increase their misery.


Betting info: Five of my six aways were correct last weekend. They were: Leeds (2-0), Bristol City
(2-1), Sunderland (3-1), Bradford City (1-0) and Cove Rangers (4-2).