Pools tips and best football bets for weekend of April 12-13

 Ten draws: Cardiff v Stoke, Millwall v Middlesbrough, Queens Park Rangers v Bristol City, West Bromwich v Watford, Bristol Rovers v Exeter, Barrow v Walsall, Harrogate v Grimsby, Swindon v Bradford City, Aberdeen v Rangers, Motherwell v Hearts.

Five best draws: Cardiff v Stoke, Bristol Rovers v Exeter, Barrow v Walsall, Swindon v Bradford City, Aberdeen v Rangers.

Weekend's best football bets: Six aways: Aston Villa, Charlton, Leyton Orient, Wrexham, Livingston, East Fife. Ten homes: Brighton, Chelsea, Wolves, Burnley (Friday), Luton, Sunderland, Lincoln, Wycombe, Gillingham, Peterhead.

Pick of the draws: Neither Cardiff nor Stoke, who play each other on Saturday, has pulled clear of the relegation area in the Championship and I don't believe either will improve their prospects at the weekend. Bristol Rovers sit just above the League One drop zone and they are not helped by their poor goal difference. However, they should at least gain a point from the visit of Exeter, who are having an unexceptional season. Walsall, for so long the runaway leaders of League Two, have dropped to third and are in danger of missing automatic promotion. They won't relish a trip to Barrow, who, unlike them, are in fine form. A 2-0 home victory against Crewe last Saturday enabled Bradford City to lead League Two but they won't have things all their own way at Swindon, who have responded well to veteran manager Ian Holloway. Just when you think Rangers have cracked it in the Scottish Premiership, they lose 2-0 to Hibernian at home. This inconsistency makes them vulnerable at Aberdeen, who have perked up recently.

Away days: Teams who have just sacked their manager often win their next game but it's hard to see Southampton, already relegated from the Premier League, continuing that trend against Aston Villa, who are ending the season like an express train, as evident with seven consecutive victories in all competitions, until that midweek setback against Paris Saint-Germain. Charlton's 2-2 home draw against Lincoln last Saturday was a tiny blip in their attempt to win promotion from League One and I'll be surprised if they show the seemingly doomed Cambridge any mercy. Leyton Orient will probably just miss qualifying for the League One play-offs but they should be good enough to come away from relegation-threatened Crawley with three points. Wrexham are looking very likely to gain consecutive promotions and must be fancied at lowly Wigan. Livingston, second in the Scottish Championship and bang in form, are recommended at Greenock Morton and East Fife, second in Scottish League Two, will start firm favourites against Bonnyrigg Rose, who are bottom.

Homes sweet homes: Now that Wolves' Premier League status is almost secure by virtue of their 2-1 win at Ipswich last weekend, I expect them to celebrate by beating Tottenham at Molineux on Sunday. Draws against Leeds (home) and Stoke (away) have given Luton a fighting chance of avoiding successive relegations and they are worth backing against Blackburn, who are in danger of slipping into the bottom half of the Championship. Gillingham are on course to ending a disappointing League Two season on an optimistic note and I'm tipping them to defeat the uninspired Milton Keynes Dons.

Betting info: I scored eight out of 10 homes last weekend: Tottenham, Plymouth, Birmingham, Bolton, Wrexham, Colchester, Gateshead and Hartlepool.

Pools tips and best football bets for weekend of April 5-6

 Ten draws: Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest, West Ham v Bournemouth, Coventry v Burnley, Millwall v Portsmouth, Huddersfield v Mansfield, Reading v Wycombe, Shrewsbury v Cambridge, Cheltenham v Doncaster, Tranmere v Chesterfield, Kilmarnock v Motherwell.

Five best draws: Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest, Coventry v Burnley, Millwall v Portsmouth, Cheltenham v Doncaster, Tranmere v Chesterfield.

Weekend's best football bets: Six aways: Sheffield United, Stoke, Blackpool, Aberdeen, Partick, Tamworth. Ten homes: Tottenham, Plymouth, West Bromwich, Birmingham, Bolton, Charlton, Wrexham, Colchester, Gateshead, Hartlepool. 

Pick of the draws: Nottingham Forest took a giant step towards securing Champions League football next season with a narrow midweek home victory over Manchester United. As they are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, no wonder the mood is so buoyant at the City Ground. I think that feel-good factor will remain with them after Saturday's Premier League game at Aston Villa, who are also bang on form. Burnley's defensive resilience as they push for promotion from the Championship has been one of the stories of 2024-25 but manager Frank Lampard has put an extra spring in the step of Coventry, who occupy one of the play-off positions. Two of the division's most inconsistent teams, Millwall and Portsmouth, meet at The Den on Saturday and I don't believe either will emerge triumphant. Doncaster have lost some ground in their attempt to go up automatically from League Two and there's no guarantee they will return from Cheltenham with three points. Consecutive wins over Barrow (1-0, away) and Carlisle (2-1, home) have made Chesterfield believe they can make the play-offs. However, their visit to Tranmere is fraught with danger, for the hosts are scrapping like mad to avoid dropping out of the Football League.

Away days: It's hard to ignore the prospects of Sheffield United at Oxford. United, the worthy Championship leaders, are in the kind of form that Oxford can only dream about. Stoke's 3-1 home win over Queens Park Rangers last Saturday was timely in their fight to avoid relegation and I won't be surprised if they gain another three points at Preston. Blackpool are thriving in League One after home victories against Bolton (2-1 on Saturday) and Reading (3-0 in midweek) and are worth backing at Rotherham, who have sacked their manager, Steve Evans. Aberdeen seem over their poor patch in the Scottish Premiership and are recommended at Ross County. Partick, fourth in the Scottish Championship, will be disappointed not to come away from bottom side Airdrieonians with maximum points. Tamworth, unbeaten in their past nine fixtures, have the National League play-offs in their sights and will be confident of defeating Maidenhead, who are in the drop zone.

Homes sweet homes: Although Plymouth are still bottom of the Championship, they haven't given up hope of surviving and can improve their chances by defeating mid-table Norwich. West Bromwich Albion were very unlucky to lose to an added-time goal at Norwich last weekend. Perhaps they are due for a change of luck against fellow promotion contenders Sunderland. Colchester have encountered a few setbacks in League Two lately but I tip them to return to winning ways when they host the higher-placed Notts County.

Betting info: I scored five out of six aways last weekend with Manchester City, Aston Villa, Wrexham, Notts County and Rangers. Only Bradford City (0-0 at Accrington) let me down.