Pools tips and best bets for weekend of January 21-22

Ten draws: Manchester City v Tottenham, Norwich v Wolves, Wigan v Brentford, Shrewsbury v Oldham, Swindon v Peterborough, Cheltenham v Plymouth, Exeter v Colchester, Leyton Orient v Morecambe, Wycombe v Luton, Chester v Wrexham.

Best draws: Manchester City v Tottenham, Wigan v Brentford, Swindon v Peterborough, Cheltenham v Plymouth, Wycombe v Luton.

Best weekend away bets: Everton, Manchester United, Leeds, Carlisle, Portsmouth, Aldershot.

Best weekend home bets: West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn, Huddersfield, Newcastle, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Walsall, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, Forest Green.


Pick of the draws: Manchester City will have been shaken by their heavy defeat at Everton last Sunday and will be anxious to make amends. It won't be easy against a Tottenham side who are flying but if City play as they did when beating West Ham 5-0 away in the FA Cup two weeks ago they can at least halt Tottenham's Premier League charge. Wigan's 2-0 win at Burton last weekend has given them more of a chance of escaping relegation from the Championship and I'm taking them to hold mid-table Brentford. If Swindon v Peterborough had been played a few weeks ago most of the money would have gone on Peterborough. Since then, however, Swindon have defeated League One promotion candidates Bolton 2-1 away and Peterborough have crashed 5-1 at struggling Bury. Suddenly a draw looks an enticing prospect. Plymouth's FA Cup heroics against Liverpool may have taken something out of them and I won't be surprised if the League Two high-flyers are denied victory at lowly Cheltenham. Luton excelled themselves last Saturday, winning 2-1 at Crewe, despite being down to 10 men. A repeat of that performance should be good enough to earn them a point at Wycombe, who are one place above them in the League Two play-off positions.

Away days: Everton caused the upset of last weekend when they beat Manchester City 4-0 at home in the Premier League. After that display they will expect nothing less than three points at Crystal Palace, who struggled to knock League One Bolton out of the FA Cup. Manchester United and their manager Jose Mourinho seem to have regained their appetite and will fancy their chances of further progress at Stoke. Leeds are one of the most improved sides in the Football League, let alone the Championship, and are a confident selection at Barnsley, who will probably have a hangover from their midweek FA Cup defeat by League Two Blackpool. Carlisle, third in League Two, have stumbled recently but can return to winning ways at Accrington, who are battling to avoid relegation. Portsmouth's hopes of automatic promotion are rising and I expect them to have too much for mid-table Crawley. Aldershot have promotion from the National League in their sights and are worth a punt at Gateshead.

Homes sweet homes: Relegation-haunted Blackburn have at least kept in touch with the teams immediately above them in the Championship and they have a good chance of climbing the table when Birmingham visit on Saturday. The Midlanders have yet to win under new manager Gianfranco Zola. Queens Park Rangers have eased their fears of going down with three consecutive victories and are capable of making it four in a row in their London derby against Fulham. As mid-table Walsall defeated League One leaders Sheffield United 4-1 at home last Saturday, I'm backing them to overcome the challenge of Bristol Rovers.