Pools tips and best bets for weekend of August 13-14

Ten draws: Burnley v Swansea, Brentford v Ipswich, Burton v Bristol City, Wolves v Reading, Bristol Rovers v Oxford, Chesterfield v Swindon, MK Dons v Millwall, Barnet v Accrington, Notts County v Stevenage, Dundee v Rangers.

Best draws: Burnley v Swansea, Burton v Bristol City, Wolves v Reading, MK Dons v Millwall, Dundee v Rangers.

Best weekend away bets: Manchester United, Leicester, Derby, Queens Park Rangers, Blackpool, Dundee United.

Best weekend home bets: Arsenal, Manchester City, Southampton, Aston Villa, Norwich, Leeds, Gillingham, Doncaster, Luton, Forfar.


Pick of the draws: Burnley, promoted to the Premier League as champions last season, have had a more settled summer than Swansea, who have lost key players in Ayew and Ashley Williams and may take a while to gel. Bristol City have won their opening two matches in the Championship and League Cup but promoted Burton, under Nigel Clough, will be no pushover and were unlucky to lose a seven-goal thriller at Nottingham Forest last Saturday. A change of manager at Molineux may not bring immediate benefit to Wolves. They host Reading, who have started well under their new manager Jaap Stam. One suspects that MK Dons and Millwall will be among the front-runners in League One and I think this fixture on Saturday is as near a banker draw as you can get. Dundee's fine 3-1 win at Ross in the Scottish Premiership last weekend has increased the chances of them holding promoted Rangers.

Away days: FA Cup winners Manchester United have spent big during the summer and it's impossible to ignore their claims at Bournemouth on Sunday. Leicester, the Premier League champions, are strongly fancied to prevail at Hull, who have been weakened by the loss of manager Steve Bruce and numerous close-season injuries. Derby are worth following at Barnsley, who have begun this season with two defeats (Ipswich in the Championship, Northampton in the League Cup). Queens Park Rangers looked impressive when defeating Leeds 3-0 in the Championship last weekend and I believe they'll carry on the good work at Cardiff on Sunday. Relegated Blackpool are determined to go straight back to League One and a visit to nearby Morecambe gives them another chance to gain maximum points. Dundee United, another relegated team, are tipped to beat Dumbarton in the Scottish Championship.

Homes sweet homes: The lack of big-name signings is hindering Arsenal but Liverpool have had problems of their own in the summer and will also have key players missing through injury at the Emirates on Sunday. Take a punt on a home win. Leeds manager Garry Monk criticised his team after they crashed at QPR and I'm expecting a response when they host Birmingham on Saturday, especially as the Midlanders have started none too convincingly (no goals in games against Cardiff in the Championship and Oxford in the League Cup). Although Doncaster have lost their first two matches, I still rate their chances of promotion in League Two and think they will break their duck against Crawley.


Pools info: Chelsea v West Ham (No 4 on coupon) is being played on Monday and will be judged by the pools panel. Brighton v Nottingham Forest (14) is void as it will take place on Friday.