Ten draws: Aston Villa v Tottenham, West Ham v Arsenal, Preston v Luton, Swansea v Cardiff, Plymouth v Bristol Rovers, Portsmouth v Ipswich, Barrow v Crawley, Cheltenham v Salford, Harrogate v Morecambe, Hamilton v St Mirren.
Best draws: Aston Villa v Tottenham, West Ham v Arsenal, Plymouth v Bristol Rovers, Portsmouth v Ipswich, Cheltenham v Salford.
Weekend's best bets: Six aways: Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Charlton, MK Dons, Hull, Hearts.
Weekend's best bets: Ten homes: Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leicester, Brighton, Barnsley, Norwich, Watford, Fleetwood, Bolton, Newport.
Pick of the draws: Tottenham let themselves down when losing at Arsenal in the north London derby last Sunday. They are capable of better and should at least gain a draw against Aston Villa, who are less effective without the injured Jack Grealish. West Ham, who lie fifth, are the surprise package in this season's Premier League but as Arsenal recently won 3-1 at third-placed Leicester they'll be disappointed to go away with nothing. Bristol Rovers, close to the League One relegation zone, shouldn't fear a journey to Plymouth, who have suffered five straight defeats. One-time promotion favourites Portsmouth have dropped to 10th and face Ipswich, who have climbed above them. Pompey's failings in front of goal led to the departure of manager Kenny Jackett last weekend and they again drew a blank in midweek, this time at Peterborough. Cheltenham's 2-0 home defeat by relegation-threatened Barrow was one of the midweek upsets. On Saturday the League Two leaders play Salford, who don't concede many goals.
Away days: The quadruple is still on for Manchester City, who are tipped to beat an out-of-sorts Everton in 90 minutes on Saturday and reach the FA Cup semi-finals. It's been a better week for Neil Warnock's Middlesbrough, who have won home matches against Stoke (3-0) and Preston (2-0). I've a hunch they'll make it three victories in a row at Millwall and improve their chances of a Championship play-off place. I don't believe the resignation of manager Lee Bowyer will hamper Charlton's League One promotion push too much and I'm backing them at Wimbledon, who are at the other end of the table. The future is looking brighter at MK Dons after consecutive home wins against Accrington and Plymouth. They are worth a punt at Burton, despite the wonderful job that Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is doing there. Leaders Hull are strongly fancied to prevail at Shrewsbury and Hearts, the clear leaders of the Scottish Championship, are expected to come away from Arbroath with maximum points.
Homes sweet homes: Bournemouth's convincing 3-0 midweek triumph over Championship rivals Swansea has put them in the right mood to face Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday. Southampton's Premier League form has dipped alarmingly and I'm taking the underdogs to go through. Leicester have never won the FA Cup but they won't have a better chance than this season. Although they entertain formidable opponents in Manchester United on Sunday, I believe they'll be equal to the task. Brighton may have only one point more than Newcastle in the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League but Graham Potter's side are in far better shape and should record a rare home win.
0 comments:
Post a Comment