Wednesday 10 April 2024

Pools tips and best bets for weekend of April 13-14

Ten draws: Burnley v Brighton, Preston v Norwich, Sheffield Wednesday v Stoke, Bolton v Portsmouth, Oxford v Peterborough, Shrewsbury v Wycombe, MK Dons v Mansfield, Newport v Tranmere, Walsall v Notts County, Aberdeen v Dundee.

Best draws: Burnley v Brighton, Bolton v Portsmouth, Oxford v Peterborough, MK Dons v Mansfield, Walsall v Notts County.

Weekend's best football bets: Six aways: Leicester (Friday), Blackpool, Northampton, Dundee United (Friday), Rangers, Oldham.

Weekend's best football bets: Ten homes: Arsenal, Bournemouth, Hull, Millwall, Swansea, Stevenage, Crewe, Doncaster, Stockport, Wrexham.

Pick of the draws: A long injury list has made 10th-placed Brighton less effective this season, which gives Burnley, seemingly doomed to relegation from the Premier League, a chance to avoid defeat. Bolton, aiming for automatic promotion from League One, need maximum points but prospective champions Portsmouth have lost only four league fixtures all season and I don't see them losing this one. Peterborough, the EFL Trophy winners at Wembley last Sunday and fourth in the table, visit Oxford United, another side in form and fellow promotion contenders. Mansfield, strongly fancied to go up from League Two, crashed 4-1 at home to Crawley in a major upset last weekend but I believe they'll recover sufficiently to hold MK Dons, who are also challenging for promotion. Notts County, after an alarming slide down the table, are showing signs of turning things around and can take a point at Walsall.

Away days: Championship leaders Leicester fell to a shock 1-0 midweek loss at struggling Millwall. I'll be surprised if they make the same mistake at Plymouth, who, like Millwall, are battling relegation. Consecutive 1-0 home victories have given Blackpool a chance of reaching the League One play-offs, so they should prevail at Carlisle, who are going down. Mid-table Northampton visit Fleetwood, where hope of escaping relegation is fast fading. Dundee United, who lead the Scottish Championship, had a resounding 5-0 success at Queen's Park last Saturday. I don't think they'll win as handsomely at Morton but I still fancy them to collect three points. Rangers, one point behind table-topping Celtic in the Scottish Premiership with a game in hand, know they cannot afford to switch off and I'm tipping them to make lowly Ross County suffer on Sunday. Oldham, of the National League, will have only themselves to blame if they cannot return from rock bottom Oxford City with three points.

Homes sweet homes: Despite holding Premier League title contenders Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford last Sunday, Manchester United looked terribly vulnerable and it would be just like them to lose  on Saturday against Bournemouth, who, incidentally, are no mugs. This is well worth a punt. If Millwall can beat promotion favourites Leicester at home, then they are perfectly capable of defeating Cardiff, who have nothing left to play for in the Championship. Crewe ended a run of five League Two games without a win with a 1-0 midweek victory at Morecambe. They will improve their play-off chances further by beating Grimsby, who are too near the drop zone for comfort. 



 




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