Pools tips and best bets for weekend of April 29-30

Ten draws: Bournemouth v Leeds, Brentford v Nottingham Forest, Bristol City v Burnley, Cardiff v Huddersfield, Hull v Swansea, Shrewsbury v Sheffield Wednesday, Carlisle v Salford, Gillingham v Newport, Rangers v Celtic, Montrose v Alloa.

Best draws: Bournemouth v Leeds, Bristol City v Burnley, Hull v Swansea, Shrewsbury v Sheffield Wednesday, Rangers v Celtic.

Weekend's best football bets: Six aways: Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers, Oxford, Colchester, Barrow, Queen's Park.

Weekend's best football bets: Ten homes: Brighton, Liverpool, Newcastle, Reading, Sunderland, Ipswich, Plymouth, Crawley, Dundee (Friday), Halifax.

Pick of the draws: Bournemouth's 3-2 win at Tottenham may prove to be a false dawn as they crashed 4-0 at home to West Ham in their next match. Bournemouth host Leeds, who are in even more danger of dropping out of the Premier League, and I reckon the teams will cancel each other out. Now that Burnley have been confirmed as Championship champions, perhaps they'll be tempted to take their foot off the pedal at Bristol City, who can relax as they sit in mid-table. Swansea's seven-game unbeaten run has probably come too late for them to make the play-offs and they'll be hard-pushed to take more than a point from Hull. Sheffield Wednesday are likely to miss out on automatic promotion from League One and, as a result, will struggle to overcome Shrewsbury. Unusually, neither Rangers nor Celtic won their Scottish Premiership fixtures last weekend. They face each other in a Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday and I predict they won't be separated after 90 minutes. 

Away days: It's hard to see Manchester City dropping any points between now and the end of the season, especially after dismantling Arsenal in midweek. It will certainly be an upset if they fail to defeat Fulham on Sunday. Just when QPR's fans were giving up on them, they went to Burnley, the runaway champions, and won 2-1 last Saturday. That shock victory eased their relegation worries and will make them more confident of prevailing at Stoke, who have lost 11 Championship matches at home. Oxford's 4-0 midweek home win over Cheltenham has given them breathing space near the foot of League One and they can follow that up by beating Forest Green, who are relegated. Colchester, unbeaten in their last eight League Two fixtures, are the form tip at Doncaster, who are sliding down the table. Ninth-placed Barrow will fancy their chances at Hartlepool, who are as good as down. Queen's Park, second in the Scottish Championship, will probably have to win at Morton to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive and I think they'll do it.

Homes sweet homes: In the Championship relegation dogfight I'm tipping manager-less Reading, deducted six points for breach of financial regulations, to edge out bottom side Wigan, who have had three points deducted for similar reasons. Crawley need a point against Walsall to make sure of staying in League Two but I believe they'll go one better than that. Halifax, mid-table in the National League, have defeated champions Wrexham (home) and high-flying Woking (away) recently. There's no good reason why they can't do the same to Eastleigh, who have tailed off.

Pools tips and best bets for weekend of April 22-23

Ten draws: Brighton v Manchester United, Bournemouth v West Ham, Bristol City v Rotherham, Norwich v Swansea, Port Vale v Bristol Rovers, Wimbledon v Swindon, Barrow v Carlisle, Doncaster v Newport, Tranmere v Grimsby, St Johnstone v Hibernian.

Best draws: Brighton v Manchester United, Bournemouth v West Ham, Bristol City v Rotherham, Port Vale v Bristol Rovers, Doncaster v Newport.

Weekend's best bets: Six aways: Aston Villa, Wolves, Watford, Salford, Partick, Notts County.

Weekend's best bets: Ten homes: Arsenal (Friday), Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Newcastle, Burnley, West Bromwich, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Stockport, Dundee United.

Pick of the draws: Although I think Manchester United will eventually win this FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, I feel a highly talented and well coached Brighton side will at least take them to extra time. Consecutive away victories at Leicester (1-0) and Tottenham (3-2) have made Bournemouth believe that they can avoid relegation from the Premier League but they may meet stiffer resistance from West Ham, who came from 2-0 down at home to Arsenal last Sunday to draw 2-2 and have also reached the Europa Conference semi-finals. Rotherham, fighting to preserve their Championship status, deserved their point when they denied promotion-bound Burnley at home in midweek. I'm taking them to gain another at Bristol City. In League One, Port Vale, having sacked manager Darrell Clarke, made high-flying Ipswich work very hard for their 2-1 midweek home win and that should encourage them against Bristol Rovers. Doncaster v Newport in League Two features two teams with little to play for except pride, so don't expect many fireworks.

Away days: Unai Emery's Aston Villa are irresistible at the moment and are worth backing at Brentford, who have gone off the boil. Wolves' position in the Premier League is much healthier after home successes against Chelsea (1-0) and Brentford (2-0) and I'm tipping them to increase Leicester's misery. Watford, who are underperforming in the Championship, finally woke up by beating Bristol City 2-0 at home last Saturday. Maybe that gives them a fighting chance at mid-table Hull. Promotion-seeking Salford, from League Two, returned to winning ways when they defeated Hartlepool 2-0 at home in midweek. I fancy them to gain another three points at Walsall, who are having a terrible time. Partick, improving in the Scottish Championship, are a confident selection at struggling Hamilton and Notts County, second in the National League, look an away banker at Maidstone, who have already been relegated. 

Homes sweet homes: Newcastle were well beaten at Aston Villa last Saturday but they'll be determined to  bounce straight back on Sunday against Tottenham, who appear to lack confidence and belief. Two Championship away wins in a row at Stoke (2-1) and Blackpool (2-0) have moved West Bromwich Albion  into promotion contention and they will be favourites to edge out Sunderland, who frequently fall short. After beating Hibernian (home) and Motherwell (away), both by 2-1, Dundee United, bottom for so long, now seem likely to stay in the Scottish Premiership. I expect them to take maximum points off Livingston. 

Pools info: I scored six out of ten draws last weekend and four of my five best draws were correct, namely Blackburn v Hull (0-0), MK Dons v Cheltenham (2-2), Shrewsbury v Portsmouth (1-1) and Carlisle v Northampton (0-0). 

Pools tips and best bets for weekend of April 15-16

Ten draws: Wolves v Brentford, Blackburn v Hull, Millwall v Preston, Stoke v West Brom, Bristol Rovers v Derby, MK Dons v Cheltenham, Shrewsbury v Portsmouth, Carlisle v Northampton, Sutton v Leyton Orient, Swindon v Barrow.

Best draws: Blackburn v Hull, Millwall v Preston, MK Dons v Cheltenham, Shrewsbury v Portsmouth, Carlisle v Northampton.

Weekend's best football bets: Six aways: Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley,  Inverness.

Weekend's best football bets: Ten homes: Everton, Manchester City, Blackpool, Sheffield United, Ipswich, Lincoln, Harrogate, Salford, Stevenage, Rangers.

Pick of the draws: Blackburn may be higher in the Championship (sixth) than Hull (16th) but the visitors are in better form and can come away from Ewood Park with a point. Preston's two wins over the Easter holiday against Queens Park Rangers (2-0 away) and Reading (2-1 home) have put them on the verge of the play-offs and they are in the mood to frustrate fifth-placed Millwall, who failed to score over the Easter weekend. Cheltenham ended Ipswich's remarkable eight-game winning run in League One on Monday and I'm taking them to share the spoils at MK Dons, who are still not safe from the drop. Portsmouth's 15 league draws this season have been a curse rather than a blessing and I'm tipping them to take part in another stalemate at Shrewsbury, who are stumbling. The goals have dried up for Carlisle, who have slipped out of the League Two automatic promotion positions. I suspect they will need to find the net against Northampton, who are two places above them.

Away days: Crystal Palace's 5-1 victory at Leeds was the best Premier League result of last weekend. That made it two wins out of two for the returning veteran manager Roy Hodgson and a third consecutive triumph is on the cards at Southampton, who are in danger of being cast adrift. Leaders Arsenal were disappointed to have relinquished a 2-0 lead at Liverpool last Sunday but they'll be determined to resume winning ways on Sunday at struggling West Ham, where they have such a fine record. Burnley have clinched promotion to the top flight with six matches to spare and I can't see them showing any mercy to Reading, who are third from bottom in the Championship. After a dodgy spell, Sheffield Wednesday went top of League One when beating Accrington 3-0 at home on Monday and they'll fancy themselves at Burton. Barnsley, strong favourites to claim a play-off place, look an away banker at doomed Forest Green. In the Scottish Championship, the improving Inverness seem certain to prevail at bottom side Cove Rangers. 

Homes sweet homes: Since manager Sean Dyche arrived at Goodison Park, there hasn't been much wrong with lowly Everton's home form in the Premier League and they are well worth backing against mid-table Fulham, who have lost their spark. Although Blackpool seem certain to be relegated from the Championship, they should at least enjoy maximum points against Wigan, who are in an even worse predicament. Harrogate, in the battle to avoid relegation from League Two, came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at leaders Leyton Orient on Monday. That should boost them when they host out-of-sorts Doncaster, who have little to play for. 

Pools tips and best bets for Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday

 Ten draws: Brentford v Newcastle (Sat), Leicester v Bournemouth (Sat), Burnley v Sheffield United (Mon), Coventry v Watford (Mon), Derby v MK Dons (Mon), Port Vale v Oxford (Mon), Colchester v Crewe (Mon), Doncaster v Grimsby (Mon), Tranmere v Swindon (Mon), Hearts v St Mirren (Sat).

Best draws: Brentford v Newcastle, Burnley v Sheffield United, Coventry v Watford, Colchester v Crewe, Hearts v St Mirren.

Weekend's best bets: Six aways: Manchester City (Sat), Stoke (Mon), Swansea (Mon), Ipswich (Mon), Salford (Mon), Dundee (Sat).

Weekend's best bets: Ten homes: Aston Villa (Sat), Leeds (Sun), Huddersfield (Mon), Luton (Mon), Barnsley (Mon), Plymouth (Mon), Portsmouth (Mon), Bradford City (Mon), Leyton Orient (Mon), Stirling (Sat).

Pick of the draws: Newcastle raised their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League by  beating Manchester United 2-0 at home last Sunday and West Ham 5-1 away in midweek but there's no guarantee they will do the same to Brentford, who have only lost six times in the Premier League this season. Championship leaders Burnley dropped two home points when held to a goalless draw by Sunderland last Friday and they could falter again when they host second-placed Sheffield United, who relish playing away. Coventry, beaten 4-0 at home by Stoke, and Watford, 2-0 losers at Luton, suffered setbacks last weekend in their quest for a play-off place and they'll be determined not to experience a repeat. Colchester v Crewe next Monday features two goal-shy teams from League Two who are in transition. Don't be surprised if this draw ends goalless. Third-placed Hearts, surprisingly defeated 2-1 at lowly Kilmarnock in last Saturday's Scottish Premiership, may struggle to recover against St Mirren, who beat Livingston 3-0 at home.

Away days: Manchester City, with 17 goals in their past three matches, are on fire and impossible to ignore when they visit Southampton, the Premier League's bottom club. Stoke's 4-0 victory at Coventry was one of the best results of last weekend and I'm taking the fast-improving Championship side to gain another three points at Birmingham. Successive wins over Bristol City (2-0 home) and Cardiff (3-2 away) have lifted the mood at Swansea, who should make it three in a row at seemingly doomed Wigan. Ipswich's pursuit of the top two in League One looks set to continue at Cheltenham. I fancy high-flying Salford to edge out off-form Wimbledon in League Two and Dundee, 7-0 home winners over Hamilton in the Scottish Championship last Saturday, will feel confident at Arbroath.

Homes sweet homes: Leeds received a midweek bounce by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 at home in the scrap to avoid relegation from the Premier League. I believe that feel-good factor will carry over into Sunday when they entertain Crystal Palace. Struggling Huddersfield, managed by veteran Neil Warnock, played superbly last Saturday to upset Middlesbrough, one of the best teams in the Championship. I think that shock victory will spur them on to another one against sixth-placed Blackburn. Bradford City, back in the League Two promotion reckoning, don't do as well at home as they should but I'm tipping them to get the better of the equally highly regarded Sutton on Easter Monday. 

Betting info: I scored eight out of ten homes last weekend with the following: Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Newcastle, Barnsley, Charlton, Portsmouth, Dundee and Queen of the South.