Pools tips and best bets for weekend of March 14-15

Ten draws: Watford v Leicester, Hull v Charlton, Middlesbrough v Swansea, Reading v Stoke, Sheffield Wednesday v Nottingham Forest, Blackpool v Sunderland, Gillingham v Fleetwood, Cambridge v Cheltenham, Forest Green v Northampton, Hibernian v St Johnstone.

Best draws: Watford v Leicester, Hull v Charlton, Reading v Stoke, Gillingham v Fleetwood, Forest Green v Northampton.

Weekend's best bets: Six aways: Chelsea, Manchester United, Peterborough, Walsall, Plymouth, Hamilton.

Weekend's best bets: Ten homes: Manchester City, Norwich, West Ham, Queens Park Rangers, West Brom, Portsmouth, Tranmere, Exeter, Grimsby, Kilmarnock.

Pick of the draws: If Watford, fourth from bottom of the Premier League, can beat runaway leaders Liverpool so convincingly then they are capable of doing the same to third-placed Leicester. The only snag is that Leicester returned to form with a bang when defeating Aston Villa 4-0 at home on Monday and will surely show more resistance than Liverpool did. Hull and Charlton, who are both sinking like a stone in the Championship, play each other on Saturday and I can't make a positive case for either of them. Reading's fine 3-1 away win at Birmingham last weekend was matched by Stoke's 5-1 home thrashing of Hull. Stoke's away record leaves much to be desired but I believe they'll pinch a point here. Fleetwood are League One promotion hopefuls and showed their mettle by drawing 2-2 at fellow contenders Portsmouth in midweek. But Gillingham, their hosts, are no slouches either, as shown by their merited point at Sunderland last Saturday. Forest Green's terrible home form has held them back in League Two but their shock 2-0 win at Swindon last weekend will have given them the belief to hold the better-placed Northampton.

Away days: Chelsea, impressive 4-0 home winners over Everton last Sunday, look an away banker at Aston Villa, where hope of avoiding relegation from the Premier League seems to be fading fast. Manchester United, who have improved in leaps and bounds, are also a confident selection at Tottenham, whose last hope of a trophy this season disappeared when they crashed out of the Champions League in midweek. Peterborough are right back in the hunt for automatic promotion from League One and will be disappointed not to take three points at bottom club Bolton. Walsall, mid-table in League Two and fresh from defeating promotion-seeking Exeter 3-1 at home, will travel to Macclesfield with confidence. High-riding Plymouth will also be counting on a maximum haul at third-from-last Morecambe. Hamilton, with two consecutive victories, are making a spirited effort to avoid the drop in the Scottish Premiership and I'm taking them to make it a hat-trick at Ross.

Homes sweet homes: This is a must win for Norwich, the Premier League's bottom club, and I think they'll achieve it against Southampton, who have lost four out of the last five. West Ham were unlucky not to get something from their away defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal and are playing better than their lowly league position suggests. They are well worth a punt in their Sunday fixture against Wolves. Two away wins in a row against Accrington and Blackpool have revived Tranmere's chances of staying in League One and I'm backing them to make ground advantage count against Lincoln.

Pools info: Fulham v Brentford (No 13 on coupon) has been brought forward to Friday and is therefore void.

Pools tips and best bets for weekend of March 7-8

Ten draws: Chelsea v Everton, Crystal Palace v Watford, Charlton v Middlesbrough, Preston v Queens Park Rangers, Ipswich v Coventry, MK Dons v Doncaster, Peterborough v Portsmouth, Cheltenham v Port Vale, Salford v Bradford City, St Johnstone v Livingston.

Best draws: Crystal Palace v Watford, Charlton v Middlesbrough, MK Dons v Doncaster, Peterborough v Portsmouth, Salford v Bradford City.

Weekend's best bets: Six aways: Manchester City, Burton, Rotherham, Oxford, Rangers, Inverness.

Weekend's best bets: Ten homes: Arsenal, Wolves, Derby, Leeds, Stoke, Crewe, Northampton, Plymouth, Swindon, Hearts.

Pick of the draws: Watford must still be on cloud nine after that magnificent 3-0 home win over Liverpool last Saturday. It moved them out of the Premier League relegation zone but they may have to settle for a point at Crystal Palace, who have defeated Newcastle (home) and Brighton (away) in the past two weeks and are nearly safe. Charlton v Middlesbrough is a clash between two out-of-form sides in the Championship. Both are fighting to avoid relegation and it's hard to make a positive case for either of them. Doncaster's 3-1 home victory over League One high-flyers Wycombe last weekend was probably their best display of the season but their hosts, MK Dons, have also perked up and held second-placed Rotherham to a 1-1 draw last Saturday. It's getting very tight at the top of this division and Peterborough v Portsmouth is the stand-out match. Pompey gave Arsenal some anxious moments in the first half of the FA Cup fifth-round tie at Fratton Park last Monday and I believe they'll come away with a point here. Bradford City have the quality to climb back into the League Two play-off places but Salford have acquitted themselves well in their first season in the Football League and can deny them maximum points.

Away days: I think beating Real Madrid away in the Champions League and winning the League Cup for the third year in a row will lift Manchester City for the rest of the season and I tip them to come out on top against their bitter foes Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Burton, who have six away wins in League One, will fancy their chances of making it seven at Lincoln, who appear on a downward spiral. Promotion-seeking Rotherham let two points slip at home to MK Dons and will be anxious not to repeat this mistake when they visit Rochdale, who are just above the drop zone. Oxford are also in the promotion reckoning and will strengthen their case by beating Shrewsbury. Although Steven Gerrard's Rangers have faltered badly lately, I believe they'll gain their 10th away success of the season at Ross County. Inverness, second in the Scottish Championship, are a confident selection at struggling Alloa.

Homes sweet homes: Derby, who won impressively at Sheffield Wednesday last Saturday, could get another three Championship points on Sunday against Blackburn, who have been hindered by too many draws. Relegation-threatened Stoke are worth backing against Hull, who have completely gone off the boil and are leaking goals galore. Hearts, having already knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup, moved off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership with a great 3-1 midweek win at Edinburgh rivals Hibernian and can send Motherwell home pointless.

Pools info: Nottingham Forest v Millwall (No 17 on coupon) has been brought forward to Friday and is therefore void.