Pools forecast and best bets for weekend of Dec 13-14

Ten draws: West Bromwich Albion v Aston Villa, Birmingham v Reading, Bolton v Ipswich, Leeds v Fulham, Colchester v Rochdale, Notts County v Swindon, Scunthorpe v Crewe, Mansfield v Cheltenham, Hamilton v Dundee, Motherwell v Ross.

Best draws: Bolton v Ipswich, Leeds v Fulham, Colchester v Rochdale, Notts County v Swindon, Motherwell v Ross.

Best weekend away bets: Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Tranmere, Luton, Berwick.

Best weekend home bets: Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Charlton, Norwich, Watford, Bristol City, Leyton Orient, Oldham, Newport, Northampton.


Pick of the draws: Bolton have made great strides since Neil Lennon was appointed manager, so they shouldn't be fazed by the visit of Mick McCarthy's Ipswich, who have risen to second in the Championship. Ipswich have already clocked up five away draws and I believe they'll make it six on Saturday. Fulham's shock 5-0 home defeat by Watford last Friday was partly due to their goalkeeper being sent off after 15 minutes. However, that contradicted their recent good form and I'm tipping them to recover by holding Leeds at Elland Road. League One strugglers Colchester will have been cheered by their FA Cup second-round home victory over Peterborough and can get something from the visit of Rochdale, who are up one minute, down the next. Notts County v Swindon is a clash between two of League One's high-flyers. Notts County's indifferent home form and Swindon's fine away record suggest that the spoils will be shared. Motherwell, third from last, are having a wretched time in the Scottish Premiership and will probably struggle to overcome bottom club Ross, who are at least showing signs of improvement.

Away days: Although second-placed Manchester City will be without their injured star striker Sergio Aguero, they should still be too strong for basement club Leicester, who cannot buy a Premier League win at the moment. Nottingham Forest showed what they are capable of with a resounding 
3-0 victory at Wolves in the Championship a few weeks ago. A repeat of that performance should see them prevail at Rotherham, who have been dragged into the relegation scrap. Everything is going wrong for Wolves but they were desperately unlucky to lose to Bournemouth last weekend after having two players controversially sent off. I've a hunch that the Wolves comeback will start at Sheffield Wednesday, where home wins are the exception. In League Two, second-from-last club Tranmere are worth a punt at Dagenham & Redbridge, who have lost six on their own ground, while promotion contenders Luton look a good thing at Morecambe. In Scottish League Two I'm taking Berwick to increase Elgin's anxiety at the foot of the table.

Homes sweet homes: Crystal Palace, hovering just above the Premier League relegation zone, could consider themselves unfortunate not to gain maximum points at Tottenham last Saturday and I've a feeling they will take out their frustration on Stoke at Selhurst Park. Leyton Orient aren't pulling up any trees in League One but neither are their opponents Peterborough, who have fallen 11 points behind the automatic promotion places and were knocked out of the FA Cup last Sunday. Don't be surprised if Orient cause an upset here. Northampton may be only mid-table in League Two but I fancy them to defeat promotion hopefuls Plymouth, who are unconvincing on their travels. 

Pools info: I scored four from six with my away forecasts last weekend. The successful teams were Celtic, St Johnstone, Forfar and Dover.