Pools tips for weekend of August 18-19

Ten draws: Fulham v Norwich, West Ham v Aston Villa, Birmingham v Charlton, Burnley v Bolton, Crystal Palace v Watford, Leeds v Wolves, Crawley v Scunthorpe, Walsall v Doncaster, Bristol Rovers v Oxford, Kilmarnock v Motherwell.

Best draws: West Ham v Aston Villa, Burnley v Bolton, Crystal Palace v Watford, Leeds v Wolves, Walsall v Doncaster.

Five aways: Liverpool, Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Brentford, Bournemouth.

Nine homes: Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, Queens Park Rangers, Leicester, Nottingham Forest, Crewe, Preston, Fleetwood.


Pick of the draws: Aston Villa, under the new management of Paul Lambert, are a good bet to share the spoils at promoted West Ham, who may struggle to adjust to a higher division. I expect relegated Bolton to come away from their Lancashire derby at Burnley with a Championship point. Watford, under new owners and a new manager in Gianfranco Zola, can do the same at Crystal Palace. Relegated Wolves should not fear a visit to Leeds, who let themselves down by dropping so many points at Elland Road last season. Walsall v relegated Doncaster looks the best of the bunch in League One.

Away days: Liverpool seem to have shaped up well in pre-season and new manager Brendan Rodgers can get his campaign off to a positive start at West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea, who have been busy strengthening their squad during the summer, will surely be too strong for Wigan, who will face another battle for survival. In the Championship, Middlesbrough are worth a punt at Barnsley, who narrowly avoided relegation last season. In League One, Brentford can continue their good away form of last season with maximum points at Bury while Bournemouth are nailed on to beat crisis-club Portsmouth.

Homes sweet homes: Take a chance on Newcastle putting one over Spurs, who look weaker than last season after the departure of their manager Harry Redknapp. Queens Park Rangers appear to have made some shrewd summer signings, which should serve them well against Swansea, who may miss the influence of their former manager Brendan Rodgers. Promoted Crewe's 5-0 rout of Hartlepool in the League Cup last weekend should inspire them against Notts County in League One. I'm taking newcomers Fleetwood to make a winning debut in League Two when they play Torquay at Highbury.