Ten draws: Norwich v West Bromwich, Queens Park Rangers v Millwall, Stoke v Birmingham, Exeter v Cambridge, Port Vale v Wycombe, Barrow v Crewe, Notts County v Stockport, Swindon v Tranmere, Kilmarnock v Dundee, Livingston v Raith.
Best draws: Queens Park Rangers v Millwall, Barrow v Crewe, Notts County v Stockport, Swindon v Tranmere, Livingston v Raith.
Weekend's best bets: Six aways: Liverpool, Coventry, Derby, Wrexham, Queen's Park, Hamilton.
Weekend's best bets: Ten homes: Leeds, Middlesbrough, Sunderland (Friday), Burton, Cheltenham, Oxford, Peterborough, Gillingham, Mansfield, Solihull Moors.
Pick of the draws: Queens Park Rangers seem to be fighting a losing battle to stay in the Championship and they probably won't relish a London derby against Millwall, whose away record contrasts favourably with their form at home. Barrow (4th), host Crewe (5th) in League Two's match of the weekend. Although Barrow, unbeaten at home, appear to have the edge, Crewe are the form team, having won their past three games, including victory at high-flying Mansfield. I rate Notts County v Stockport the best draw on the coupon. Sixth-placed Notts are stronger in attack but weaker in defence, as was evident in their 5-5 draw at Grimsby last Saturday. I'm tipping Stockport, the League Two leaders, to become the first side to share the spoils at Notts this season. Tranmere's revival has been halted by consecutive defeats against Barrow (1-0) and Milton Keynes Dons (2-1) but they should be good enough to avoid defeat at Swindon, who are even more off-colour. I've a feeling that Livingston, bottom of the Scottish Premiership, will have to settle for a draw against Championship contenders Raith in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
Away days: Premier League leaders Liverpool usually find a way to win when below their best, which is why I fancy them for three points at mid-table Bournemouth on Sunday. Coventry's 3-1 home victory over table-toppers Leicester last Saturday enabled them to climb into the Championship play-off positions. I think they'll have too much for relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday. Derby, League One promotion challengers, have gained nine away victories, the best in the division, and that should benefit them at Lincoln. Wrexham, second in League Two, can do little wrong at the moment and will travel to Newport with confidence. Queen's Park, having hauled themselves off the foot of the Scottish Championship with two unexpected wins, have a hat-trick in their sights at Dunfermline. Hamilton, runners-up in Scottish League One, will be disappointed at anything less than maximum points at Stirling.
Homes sweet homes: In the only Championship fixture on Friday, I expect Sunderland to take advantage of Hull's recent uncertainty. In League One, Burton only lost to a late goal at Derby on Monday and will be optimistic about beating Charlton, who have not won a league match since late November. At the bottom of the table, Cheltenham, who defeated leaders Portsmouth 2-1 at home the Saturday before last, are in much better shape than their visitors Carlisle, who are one place below them.
Pools info: I scored six out of ten with my draw selections last week: Everton v Aston Villa (0-0), Manchester United v Tottenham (2-2), Huddersfield v Plymouth (1-1), Colchester v Bradford City (1-1), Arbroath v Ayr (0-0) and Morton v Partick (1-1).
0 comments:
Post a Comment