Pools tips and best bets for weekend of February 17-18

Ten draws: Birmingham v Millwall, Fulham v Aston Villa, Leeds v Bristol City, Shrewsbury v Rotherham, Southend v Portsmouth, Cheltenham v Wycombe, Crawley v Lincoln, Morecambe v Forest Green, Halifax v Ebbsfleet, Hibernian v Aberdeen.

Best draws: Fulham v Aston Villa, Shrewsbury v Rotherham, Cheltenham v Wycombe, Morecambe v Forest Green, Hibernian v Aberdeen.

Best weekend away bets: Swansea, Bristol Rovers, Charlton, Plymouth, Hearts, Raith.

Best weekend home bets: Leicester (Friday), Cardiff, Sunderland, Blackpool, Scunthorpe, Carlisle, Swindon, Boreham Wood, Torquay, Stirling.


Pick of the draws: Aston Villa are in the automatic promotion places for the first time this season after beating fierce rivals Birmingham 2-0 last Sunday at Villa Park and are aiming to hunt down the runaway Championship leaders Wolves. They are capable of sharing the spoils at Fulham, whose own recent impressive form has enabled them to climb into the play-off positions. Shrewsbury are top of League One after beating Fleetwood away 2-1 in midweek but Saturday's visitors, Rotherham, will be much tougher, for they are on a roll themselves and scoring freely. Although Wycombe have an excellent chance of promotion from League Two and their away record is formidable, Cheltenham often give as good as they get at home and I can see this one ending all square. Forest Green moved towards League Two safety by defeating Stevenage 3-1 at home in midweek and I believe they'll end a losing away sequence by nicking a point at Morecambe, who are hovering just above the relegation zone. Aberdeen, second in the Scottish Premiership and making progress in the Scottish FA Cup, look good for at least a point at Hibernian.

Away days: Swansea's Premier League transformation under new manager Carlos Carvalhal has been remarkable and I expect the feel-good factor to continue when the Welsh club play in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday. Carvalhal returns to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, the club that sacked him in December, and I'm confident his team will reach the quarter-finals. Victories last Saturday and in midweek have made Bristol Rovers surprise contenders for a play-off place in League One. They won't fear a journey to Wimbledon, who are in the relegation slots after four consecutive defeats. Charlton's recent results haven't been great but they must still fancy themselves to prevail at Milton Keynes Dons, who seem destined for League Two football next season. Plymouth go from strength to strength after a dreadful start to the campaign and I'm taking them to beat manager-less Oxford. Hearts should defeat bottom club Ross in the Scottish Premiership with something to spare and Raith, Scottish League One leaders, will be disappointed not to gain maximum points at Albion.

Homes sweet homes: Leicester, four times FA Cup runners-up, are my dark horses to win the competition this season and I don't believe Friday night's opponents, Sheffield United, of the Championship, will upset my prediction. Sunderland, second from bottom in the Championship, fought back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Bristol City last weekend. That point has given their  survival hopes a huge boost and they are well worth a punt against erratic Brentford. Blackpool stunned League One promotion favourites Wigan in midweek and can follow up that 2-0 away triumph by seeing off Peterborough. Torquay's hopes of avoiding relegation from the National League rose when they won 2-1 at Maidenhead last weekend. I'm taking them to upset the form book again when they host the ailing Dagenham & Redbridge.