Wednesday, 7 October 2020

Pools tips and best bets for weekend of October 10-11

 Ten draws: Crewe v Wigan, Barrow v Leyton Orient, Mansfield v Stevenage, Walsall v Colchester, England v Belgium, France v Portugal, Iceland v Denmark, Israel v Czech Republic, Northern Ireland v Austria, Lithuania v Belarus.

Best draws: Crewe v Wigan, Mansfield v Stevenage, Walsall v Colchester, England v Belgium, France v Portugal.

Weekend's best bets: Six aways: Peterborough, Forest Green, Exeter, Sutton, North Macedonia, Slovenia.

Weekend's best bets: Ten homes: Doncaster, Lincoln, Plymouth, Cheltenham, Oldham, Port Vale, Croatia, Scotland, Serbia, Greece.

Pick of the draws: Wigan seem on the upgrade, having beaten Portsmouth (away) and Doncaster (home) in their past two League One fixtures. They should come away with something from Crewe, who sit just above the relegation zone. Stevenage have been on the wrong end of some close scorelines in League Two but they are doing better than Mansfield and will be disappointed to leave empty-handed. By all accounts Walsall were lucky to avoid defeat at Forest Green last Saturday and will probably find visitors  Colchester equally tough opponents. England beat Iceland and drew with Denmark in their two previous Euro Nations encounters but Belgium are on a different level and are favourites to top England's group. France, the World Cup holders, host Portugal, the European champions. This promises to be the best match of the weekend and I think it will end all-square.

Away days: Improving Peterborough have more momentum than Northampton, who have lost consecutive League One matches to Hull (home) and Bristol Rovers (away). I expect Forest Green to go higher than their present 10th position in League Two and three points at Scunthorpe will help them do that. Exeter look back in the groove after defeating Cambridge United 2-0 at home last weekend and must be backed at Southend, who appear destined for a season of struggle. Sutton, who have six points from their opening two National League fixtures, ought to have nine once they've played Weymouth on Saturday. In the Euro Nations programme North Macedonia and Slovenia are expected to confirm their superiority over Estonia and Kosovo respectively.

Homes sweet homes: Morecambe are one of the surprising front-runners in League Two and they could come unstuck at lowly Oldham, whose brave fightback at Colchester last weekend earned them a 3-3 draw. Oldham will be determined to build on that result and they are worth a punt. It's about time Croatia, who are bottom of their four-team Euro Nations group, showed their teeth and I'm taking the 2018 World Cup finalists to gain their first points of the campaign at Sweden's expense. Scotland, who lead their group, host Slovakia, who occupy last place, and should not be inconvenienced. 

Pools info: Sunderland v Blackpool (No 8 on coupon) has been postponed and will be assessed by the pools panel.

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