Ten draws: Brentford v Tottenham, Leicester v Newcastle, Hull v Blackpool, Sunderland v Blackburn, Cambridge v Shrewsbury, Charlton v Peterborough, Wycombe v Bristol Rovers, Crawley v Sutton, Rochdale v Hartlepool, Tranmere v Doncaster.
Best draws: Brentford v Tottenham, Leicester v Newcastle, Sunderland v Blackburn, Wycombe v Bristol Rovers, Rochdale v Hartlepool.
Best bets: Six aways: Liverpool, West Brom, Stoke, Plymouth, Hearts, Dunfermline.
Best bets: Ten homes: Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Exeter, Ipswich, Port Vale, Gillingham, Stockport, Celtic, Edinburgh.
Pick of the draws: Tottenham will be keen to retain their Champions League spot after the month-long break for the World Cup but Brentford are no mugs, as they showed when they beat the defending Premier League champions, Manchester City, 2-1 away. The outlook is much brighter for Leicester after their early-season crisis but Newcastle, thriving under Eddie Howe's managership, are on a roll and will want to extend an unbeaten run that goes back to last August. By defeating Norwich 2-0 away, Blackburn proved they had completely recovered from their 4-1 home loss to Preston a week earlier in the Championship. They will be disappointed if they come away from Sunderland empty-handed. Bristol Rovers are on the upgrade in League One and I think they'll deny Wycombe, even though Wycombe have beaten Portsmouth and second-placed Ipswich at home recently. Hartlepool grabbed a League Two lifeline with a 2-0 victory at Crawley and can share the spoils at Rochdale, who are one place above them.
Away days: I suspect that Liverpool, in sixth position, will start to make up lost time in the Premier League by beating Aston Villa on Boxing Day. West Brom's Championship revival continued with wins at Sunderland (2-1 away) and Rotherham (3-0 home), results that should encourage them at Bristol City, who have already lost five at Ashton Gate. Like West Brom, Stoke are also climbing clear of relegation trouble and I'm tipping them for three points at Rotherham, who are floundering. Plymouth are back on top of League One and their progress is unlikely to be hindered at off-form Cambridge. Hearts, fourth in the Scottish Premiership, look a near certainty at bottom team Dundee United and it's hard to ignore the claims of Scottish League One leaders Dunfermline at Kelty Hearts.
Homes sweet homes: Crystal Palace resume their Premier League programme on Boxing Day with a London derby against Fulham. With Palace (11th) and Fulham (ninth), the sides seem well matched but I'm backing Palace to edge it. Exeter are only mid-table in League One but they will fancy their chances against Portsmouth, who appear to have lost their mojo, having suffered consecutive 2-0 defeats at Wycombe and home to MK Dons. The League Two bottom-of-the-table scrap between Gillingham and Colchester looks to have stalemate written all over it but I've a hunch that Gills will benefit from ground advantage.
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