Pools tips and best bets for weekend of November 5-6

Ten draws: Hull v Southampton, Burton v Barnsley, Norwich v Leeds, Nottingham Forest v Queens Park Rangers, Wolves v Derby, Bury v Wimbledon, Colchester v Chesterfield, Mansfield v Plymouth, Shrewsbury v Barnet, Stockport v Woking.

Best draws: Hull v Southampton, Nottingham Forest v Queens Park Rangers, Wolves v Derby, Bury v Wimbledon, Colchester v Chesterfield.

Best weekend away bets: Manchester United, Stoke, Reading, Bristol Rovers, Coventry, Doncaster.

Best weekend home bets: Bournemouth, Leicester, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Bolton, Boreham Wood, Charlton, Exeter, Blackpool, Hartlepool.


Pick of the draws: Struggling Hull showed signs of improvement last Saturday when they were unlucky to lose at Watford. They can get something from their game against Southampton, whose Premier League progress was halted when they lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea. Nottingham Forest are only one point off the Championship relegation zone and don't inspire confidence. Fortunately for them, neither do their visitors Queens Park Rangers and deadlock seems the likeliest result. Derby had a morale-boosting 2-0 home success over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend and won't make life easy for manager-less Wolves, who have only four league wins to their credit. Although Bury are rapidly sliding down League One, they may find some relief in the FA Cup first round when they host Wimbledon, who are only three points better off. League Two Colchester are another side out of sorts and they will be glad they are facing another ailing team - Chesterfield, second from bottom of League One.

Away days: Manchester United dropped a couple of points at home to Burnley in a goalless draw last Saturday but on another day they would have won by four or five. They are capable of going on a long unbeaten run and should be too strong for Swansea, who are five points off Premier League safety. Stoke are looking better by the week and I believe they will gain maximum points against West Ham, who are having big problems adjusting to their new surroundings at the Olympic Stadium. Championship play-off contenders Reading are responding well to manager Jaap Stam's methods and will be confident of victory at lowly Wigan. Bristol Rovers, making light of life in a higher division (League One), are expected to prevail at League Two Crawley in the FA Cup. Coventry are in a much happier frame of mind these days and will be seeking to eliminate Morecambe at the first time of asking. League Two promotion hopefuls Doncaster are clearly capable of knocking out Oldham, third from bottom in League One.

Homes sweet homes: Boreham Wood continue to confound expectations in the National League and are worth a wager against League Two promotion contenders Notts County in the first round of the FA Cup. I sense another upset when mid-table Charlton, who are improving under manager Russell Slade, host the League One leaders Scunthorpe. Exeter's record in League Two this season is extraordinary. They are without a home win yet have prevailed five times away. I've a hunch they will buck the trend on Saturday when they host high-riding Luton.

Pools info: Eastleigh v Swindon (No 33 on coupon) and Millwall v Southend (38) are being played on Friday and are therefore void. Southport v Fleetwood (45) has been moved to Monday and will be judged by the pools panel.

Four of my five best draw selections were correct last weekend - Barnsley v Bristol City, Birmingham v Aston Villa, Ipswich v Rotherham and Cheltenham v Blackpool.

Betting info: Five of my six aways last weekend were correct. Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle and Portsmouth obliged.