Pools tips and best bets for weekend of April 16-17

Ten draws: Everton v Southampton, Leicester v West Ham, Birmingham v Burnley, Blackburn v Huddersfield, Brentford v Bristol City, Burton v Barnsley, Colchester v Peterborough, Fleetwood v Oldham, Swindon v Bury, Bromley v Torquay.

Best draws: Birmingham v Burnley, Brentford v Bristol City, Burton v Barnsley, Colchester v Peterborough, Swindon v Bury.

Best weekend away bets: Liverpool, Derby, Scunthorpe, Wigan, Bradford City, Barrow.

Best weekend home bets: Arsenal, Norwich, West Bromwich, Preston, Rotherham, Accrington, Bristol Rovers, Exeter, Hartlepool, Portsmouth.


Pick of the draws: Promotion-seeking Burnley, of the Championship, would have hoped for an easier match on Saturday than a trip to St Andrew's. Birmingham slipped up at home to Leeds in midweek, having won at Reading last weekend, but I feel they will make life difficult for the division's second-placed team. Brentford are bound to miss Alan Judge, who was seriously injured in their 3-1 win at Ipswich last Saturday and fast-improving Bristol City, fresh from beating Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 at home, are in the mood to take advantage. League One promotion contenders Burton have lost their zip recently and may find Barnsley tricky opponents. Barnsley, winners of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley two weeks ago, have a fighting chance of making the play-offs as well as a good away record. Colchester's revival has probably come too late to save them from relegation and they will be hard-pushed to defeat mid-table Peterborough. Two sides who have disappointed this season, Swindon and Bury, play each other on Saturday and stalemate looks the likeliest result.

Away days: When Liverpool are on song, as they were in beating Stoke 4-1 last Sunday and Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League in midweek, they are a formidable proposition and I believe they will come out on top at Bournemouth, who seem more vulnerable at home than away. Derby, flying high in the Championship, are rejuvenated after victories over Nottingham Forest and Bolton and shouldn't be inconvenienced by a trip to Charlton, who will almost certainly go down. Scunthorpe, of League One, are thriving under the management of Graham Alexander. They deserved their win over Burton last weekend and will surely chalk up another victory at bottom-of-the-table Crewe, whose relegation was confirmed after losing 3-0 at Port Vale last Saturday. There seems no stopping leaders Wigan, who are 10 points clear of League One's third-placed club Bradford City. I'm backing them to gain maximum points at Doncaster, whose survival hopes are fading. Bradford City are in great form and look too strong for relegation-threatened Shrewsbury. It's been hard to ignore Barrow's climb up the National League and they are a confident selection to prevail at Kidderminster, who are surely doomed to relegation.

Homes sweet homes: I fancy Norwich to triumph in their crucial Premier League relegation battle against Sunderland at Carrow Road on Saturday. Both teams are finding goals hard to come by but I think Norwich will make the most of ground advantage. Now that Northampton's promotion to League One has been confirmed, they may take their foot off the gas. If that happens, it will suit Exeter, who are making a late charge for the League Two play-offs on the back of some fine results. Portsmouth have their eye on automatic promotion from League Two. The momentum is more with them than Plymouth, their fading opponents on Saturday, and I'm going for a home win at what should be a packed Fratton Park.


Pools info: Stoke v Tottenham (No 9 on the coupon) has been switched to Monday and will be judged by the pools panel. Hull v Wolves (17) is being played on Friday and is therefore void.

Betting info: I scored four out of six with my away selections last week. Bournemouth, Oxford, Accrington and Portsmouth all obliged.