Pools tips and best bets for weekend of February 9-10

Ten draws: Brighton v Burnley, Blackburn v Bristol City, Nottingham Forest v Brentford, Stoke v West Brom, Doncaster v Peterborough, Plymouth v Portsmouth, Rochdale v Coventry, Crawley v Oldham, Barrow v Bromley, Ebbsfleet v Solihull Moors.

Best draws: Blackburn v Bristol City, Stoke v West Brom, Doncaster v Peterborough, Rochdale v Coventry, Ebbsfleet v Solihull Moors.

Best weekend away bets: Arsenal, Wigan, Sunderland, Bury, Grimsby, Salford.

Best weekend home bets: Crystal Palace, Watford, Bolton, Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford City, Colchester, Forest Green, Lincoln, MK Dons, Gateshead.

Pick of the draws: Bristol City, who have climbed into the Championship play-off positions, are slightly better away than at home and can come away from Blackburn with a point. West Brom lost ground in the promotion race when Middlesbrough beat them 3-2 at The Hawthorns last weekend but they have a chance to recover at Stoke, who have not done as well as expected in a lower division. Peterborough, in the League One play-offs, will probably get a second wind after reappointing Darren Ferguson as manager and I'm taking them to avoid defeat at Doncaster, who are just below them. At the other end of the table, Rochdale's wretched home form should encourage Coventry while Solihull Moors, contesting automatic promotion from the National League, face a tricky trip to Ebbsfleet.

Away days: Arsenal have not won away in the Premier League since November but they will never have a better chance than at Huddersfield, who are cut adrift at the foot of the table. Wigan have been playing better than their recent Championship results indicate and I believe they'll gain only their second away victory of the season at Rotherham, who hover just above the drop zone. Sunderland have slipped to fourth in League One but have games in hand over the teams above them. They'll be clear favourites to win at relegation-threatened Oxford. Free-scoring Bury, third in League Two, will surely be too strong for lowly Morecambe and on-form Grimsby have my backing at struggling Yeovil. Salford, second only to Leyton Orient in the National League, look an away banker at bottom club Braintree.

Homes sweet homes: Crystal Palace seem capable of staying clear of the Premier League relegation zone and are worth a wager against West Ham, who, their midweek draw with Liverpool excepted, have lapsed back into mediocrity. Bolton, second from bottom of the Championship, have been right out of luck recently. They are overdue a break and I think they'll get it when they host Preston on Saturday. Bradford City, fighting hard to avoid the drop into League Two, gained a merited draw at Wycombe last Saturday and can go one better against Joey Barton's Fleetwood.

Pools info: Five of my 10 draws were correct last weekend, including two of the matches assessed by the pools panel. The successful five were: Brighton v Watford, Burnley v Southampton, Coventry v Gillingham, Crewe v Carlisle and Port Vale v Tranmere.