Pools tips and best bets for weekend of Sept 24-25

Ten draws: West Ham v Southampton, Aston Villa v Newcastle, Brighton v Barnsley, Reading v Huddersfield, Wolves v Brentford, Bristol Rovers v Port Vale, Oxford v Charlton, Scunthorpe v Sheffield United, Colchester v Accrington, Dover v Lincoln.

Best draws: West Ham v Southampton, Aston Villa v Newcastle, Brighton v Barnsley, Oxford v Charlton, Colchester v Accrington.

Best weekend away bets: Everton, Birmingham, Doncaster, Forest Green, Dagenham & Redbridge, Macclesfield.

Best weekend home bets: Arsenal, Liverpool, Leeds, Norwich, Northampton, Carlisle, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Barrow, Clyde.


Pick of the draws: West Ham have made such a bad start to the Premier League season that they can't be guaranteed to beat Southampton on Sunday, even though Southampton have also been unimpressive so far. Aston Villa are the draw specialists of the Championship with five stalemates from eight fixtures. Don't be surprised if they add to that tally against Newcastle, who surprisingly went down at home to Wolves on Saturday. Brighton seem to have recovered from their sticky patch with two consecutive wins but on-form Barnsley, their opponents, won't make it easy for them and boast a 4-0 away victory at Wolves this season. Promoted Oxford are settling well in League One and can hold Charlton, who are faring better away than at home. League Two Accrington have recent wins over Notts County (away) and Portsmouth (home) to their credit, so they should not fear a visit to Colchester, despite the Essex side being in the play-off positions.

Away days: Everton are shaping up to be genuine top-four contenders in the Premier League and must be fancied to prevail at Bournemouth, who are struggling to get going. Birmingham are handily placed in the Championship and playing well. The same cannot be said of their hosts Queens Park Rangers, who crashed 6-0 at home to Newcastle and lost again on Saturday. League Two promotion candidates Doncaster are finally showing their true potential and are well worth a punt at Luton, whose form has dipped. Forest Green, second in the National League, are strong favourites to come away from Braintree with three points and table-topping Dagenham & Redbridge should also be backed at Bromley. Although Macclesfield lost at home to Eastleigh on Saturday they should still be too good for bottom club Guiseley.

Homes sweet homes: Arsenal have a terrible record against Chelsea but I've a hunch they will overcome their jinx on Saturday. The Gunners made it three Premier League wins in a row at Hull at the weekend, having previously defeated Southampton and Watford. Chelsea, on the other hand, have come unstuck against Swansea and Liverpool in their last two matches and may be more vulnerable than usual at the Emirates. Leeds have won their last two games and I expect them to continue climbing the Championship table. I also expect them to beat Ipswich, who have difficulty stringing results together. League Two Forfar are the only team in Scotland to have won all six league matches. It's put them five points ahead of their nearest challengers Clyde, who host them on Saturday. However, Clyde have not dropped a point at home and I believe they will end Forfar's run.


Pools info: Three of my five best draw selections were correct at the weekend. Ipswich v Aston Villa, Barnet v Colchester and Blackpool v Carlisle all obliged.