Ten draws: Newcastle v Leicester, Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa, Norwich v Burnley, Swansea v Sunderland, Watford v West Bromwich, Bromley v Port Vale, Grimsby v Crewe, Kilmarnock v Hearts.
Best draws: Newcastle v Leicester, Swansea v Sunderland, Watford v West Bromwich, Bromley v Port Vale, Grimsby v Crewe.
Weekend's best football bets: Six aways: Leeds, Wycombe, Stockport, Chesterfield, Clyde, York.
Ten homes: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Wolves, Sheffield United, Birmingham, Leyton Orient, Colchester, Walsall, Hibernian.
Pick of the draws: Leicester have perked up since Ruud van Nistelrooy's appointment as manager and are now five points clear of the Premier League relegation zone. They can frustrate Newcastle, who seem to take one step forward and two back. Sunderland have slipped out of the automatic promotion places and face a tricky assignment at Swansea, who won 2-1 at Plymouth in midweek and have climbed into the top half of the Championship table. West Bromwich are the Championship's draw specialists, ending level on 11 occasions. They have a good chance of adding to their tally at Watford, who are at a similar level. Port Vale were knocked off the top of League Two when they lost 1-0 at home to fellow promotion challengers Walsall last Saturday. Port Vale visit Bromley, who are adapting well to a higher division and have also reached the FA Cup third round. Grimsby, who are stronger in attack, meet Crewe, who are defensively more secure.
Away days: Leeds, flying high in the Championship, look an away banker at Preston, whose 2-0 victory at Cardiff in midweek was their first win in 11 matches. Table-topping Wycombe have been the surprise package in League One and are also highly recommended at Shrewsbury, who are bottom. Stockport, aiming for consecutive promotions, will be hungry for three more points at mid-table Stevenage. Chesterfield, promoted last season and just outside the League Two play-off places, will fancy themselves at Carlisle, who are last. In Scottish League Two, I've a hunch that Clyde, who are eighth and beat Peterhead 3-2 at home last weekend, will defeat seventh-placed Spartans, who lost 3-1 at home to Stranraer in midweek. I'm tipping York, the National League leaders, to triumph at Tamworth, despite the latter's giant-killing feats in the FA Cup.
Homes sweet homes: At home to fellow Premier League strugglers Ipswich on Saturday, is a must-win game for Wolves and their beleaguered manager Gary O'Neil. Wolves have been on the wrong end of too many controversial refereeing decisions this season and are due a change of fortune. Colchester are climbing League Two after a difficult start to the season and are worth backing against Newport, who are going in the opposite direction. Hibernian have an opportunity to move off the foot of the Scottish Premiership by defeating Ross County and will be disappointed if they waste it.
0 comments:
Post a Comment