Pools tips and best bets for weekend of March 16-17

Ten draws: Burnley v Leicester, Wigan v Bolton, Fleetwood v Plymouth, Oxford v Bradford City, Peterborough v Coventry, Exeter v Colchester, Oldham v Tranmere, Dover v Halifax, Boston v Chorley, Chippenham v St Albans.

Best draws: Burnley v Leicester, Wigan v Bolton, Fleetwood v Plymouth, Peterborough v Coventry, Dover v Halifax.

Best weekend away bets: Brighton, Chelsea, Norwich, Northampton, Hearts, Salford.

Best weekend home bets: Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke, Accrington, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Bury, Notts County, Aberdeen.


Pick of the draws: Leicester, given a new lease of life with the appointment of Brendan Rodgers as manager, can come away from Burnley with a draw, which would leave the hosts looking nervously over their shoulders at the wrong end of the table. The feel-good factor at Bolton, second bottom of the Championship, was short-lived after their win over Millwall last weekend. They lost at home to Sheffield Wednesday in midweek but they ought to get something at Wigan, who are in even worse form and only three points off the drop zone. Plymouth, rapidly climbing the League One table, will fancy their chances of at least a point at erratic Fleetwood and Coventry will feel the same about their trip to Peterborough, who have just lost to the bottom two clubs, Wimbledon and Bradford City. I'm taking Dover, who are finding it hard going in the National League, to share the spoils with Halifax, who are the draw specialists of the division.

Away days: The prospect of four away wins in this weekend's FA Cup sixth round is a very real one and I recommend Premier League side Brighton over Championship team Millwall on Sunday. Millwall are in danger of going down and I can't help thinking their minds may be elsewhere. Meanwhile, Brighton have just registered back-to-back victories and will be upbeat. Chelsea, in their quest for Champions League qualification, cannot really afford to drop any more points and I believe they'll return from Goodison Park with three, mainly because Everton don't inspire confidence. Promotion favourites Norwich cannot be ignored at lowly Rotherham and Northampton should continue their climb up League Two by beating Grimsby. Scottish Cup semi-finalists Hearts are worth backing at Hamilton in the Scottish Premiership and high-flying Salford should increase Aldershot's fear of relegation from the National League.

Homes sweet homes: Bournemouth's 2-0 victory at Huddersfield last Saturday ended their barren spell and they can dish out similar treatment to Newcastle, who are one place below them in the Premier League. By suddenly turning draws into wins, Aston Villa have given themselves a fighting chance of the Championship play-offs and they are worth a punt against Middlesbrough, who seem to slip up when you least expect it. Notts County moved off the foot of League Two with a shock 3-1 win at Carlisle in midweek and will further improve their survival prospects by defeating Morecambe.


Pools info: Mansfield v Lincoln (No 25 on coupon) has been put back to Monday and will be assessed by the pools panel.

Betting info: Eight of my ten home selections were correct last weekend: Leicester, Reading, Sheffield United, Barnsley, Cheltenham, Northampton, Gateshead and Ross.