Pools tips and best bets for weekend of May 23-24

Ten draws: Crystal Palace v Swansea, Manchester City v Southampton, Malaga v Sevilla, Cesena v Cagliari, Genoa v Inter Milan, Udinese v Sassuolo, Eintracht Frankfurt v Bayer Leverkusen, Paderborn v VfB Stuttgart, Rennes v Lyon, Toulouse v Nice.

Best draws: Crystal Palace v Swansea, Manchester City v Southampton, Genoa v Inter Milan, Paderborn v VfB Stuttgart, Toulouse v Nice.

Best weekend away bets: Manchester United, Dundee, Valencia, Sampdoria, Verona, Monaco.

Best weekend home bets: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Leicester, Stoke, Hamilton, Preston, Aberdeen, Marseille, St Etienne.


Pick of the draws: Crystal Palace have lost their last three home games and will be anxious to avoid four consecutive Premier League defeats at Selhurst Park. Winning 3-1 at Anfield last Saturday gave them a huge boost and I believe they will at least share the spoils with an impressive Swansea team. Manchester City have woken up too late to stop Chelsea running away with the title. Southampton, fresh from thrashing Aston Villa 6-1 last weekend, are still in contention for a Europa League place and a draw at the Etihad is not beyond them. Inter Milan have had a mediocre season and will probably be denied victory at Genoa, who won well at Atalanta last weekend. Paderborn are bottom of the German League and I expect their relegation to be confirmed with a draw against third-from-bottom VfB Stuttgart, who could also go down. Toulouse should celebrate avoiding relegation in the French League with a point against mid-table Nice.

Away days: A win for Manchester United on Sunday will see Hull drop out of the Premier League. United are far from perfect but they should be good enough to end the season with three points. I fear Hull sealed their own fate when they lost at home to relegated Burnley two weeks ago. Dundee are better away than at home in the Scottish Premiership and are well worth a punt against their fierce rivals Dundee United on Sunday. United have gone right off the boil and last Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Inverness Caledonian Thistle reflected that. Valencia are fancied to finish their Spanish League season in style against relegation-threatened Almeria and Sampdoria, seventh in the Italian League, should be too strong for lowly Empoli. Mid-table Verona look a banker at relegated Parma while Monaco, Arsenal's conquerors in the Champions League, are a confident selection at Lorient.

Homes sweet homes: Everton, deserved 2-1 winners at West Ham last Saturday, are aiming for a top-half finish in the Premier League and I believe they will achieve it by defeating sixth-placed Tottenham, who seem to have switched off recently. Stoke have improved under manager Mark Hughes and maximum points against disappointing Liverpool will round off their season nicely. Preston have a terrible record in play-offs but I'm taking them to end their jinx at Wembley on Sunday when they face Swindon in the League One final. 

Pools info: Lazio v Roma (match No 27 on coupon) is being played on Monday and will be judged by the pools panel.

That's it for now: I'll be back with my pools tips and best bets when the new football season starts in early August. Until then, have a happy and prosperous summer.