Interested in some football pools betting tips ahead of the weekend’s games? You’ve come to the right spot! But first, we feel it’s important to quickly clarify how this unique form of betting works, as we’ve done for other types such as first goalscorer betting.
To get right to it – football pools betting is a form of betting involving a pool of players (hence the name). Each prediction you enter into the pool comes with fixed costs, which vary based on your chosen platform. However, ‘score draws’ relate to games that end in a draw in which both teams find the back of the net.
Each successful pick earns points that lead to prizes in your chosen pool. Points are typically awarded as follows:
- Score draw: 3 points
- No-score draw (0-0): 2 points
- Home or away win: 1 point
With this system now explained, let’s shift the focus and get into our pools betting tips ahead of the weekend.
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Our expert football pools betting tips
After analysing plenty of options which to include in our weekend football pools tips, we’ve landed on the following games:
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool (Premier League)
Liverpool might be clear favourites in this match, but Crystal Palace have shown resilience at home and could potentially frustrate the Reds. Palace have drawn three of their six Premier League matches so far this season, two of which have been at Selhurst Park.
Liverpool in action – Photo by Imago
Such draws have come against Man United and Leicester. But that’s not the main reason we’ve added this game to our football pools betting tips. For some reason, the Eagles seem to get under Liverpool’s skin and pick up points when least expected. Prime examples include the last two seasons, where Palace have drawn with Liverpool twice and beaten them once.
Everton vs Newcastle United (Premier League)
This match at Goodison Park also has real potential to end in a score draw also. In 16th place, Everton have been struggling for consistency this season, but they've shown flashes of quality, especially at home. The most recent example was the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in their last fixture.
Newcastle United in action – Photo by Imago
Newcastle, on the other hand, have scored in all of their away games so far in the 24/25 Premier League season. Additionally, the most recent encounter between these teams finished in a 1-1 draw at St. James’ Park last season.
Derby County vs Queens Park Rangers (Championship)
This Championship clash at Pride Park has all the ingredients for both teams to find the back of the net without a clear winner. Subsequently, we’ve listed it among our top weekend football pools tips! Derby County made a solid start to the season, but they’ve since slumped into 14th place. As for QPR, they’ve been decent on the road, scoring in all but one of their away fixtures so far.
Derby County in action – Photo by Imago
Couple this with the fact that Derby has scored at least one goal in all of their home games this season, and we’ve got all the makings of a score draw.
Rotherham United vs Reading (League One)
Believe it or not, three of Rotherham United’s last five league games have ended in score draws. These are the kinds of statistics we cannot ignore when establishing our pools betting tips for the weekend. As for Reading, they are scoring at an average rate of 1.50 goals per game – based on their last 8 league matches.
Rotherham United in action – Photo by Imago
Once again, these factors point to a possible score draw when these two clash at the New York Stadium this weekend. Furthermore, 2 of the last 6 meetings between these sides have finished as score draws.
Mansfield Town vs Blackpool (League One)
Finally, we have Mansfield Town vs Blackpool, scheduled to take place at Field Mill this weekend. Mansfield Town have lost just once in their opening 8 League One matches, yet they’ve found the back of the net in every single fixture. Blackpool is right up there in terms of scoring ability, too, netting 17 goals in 9 matches.
Blackpool in action – Photo by Imago
This is the joint highest-scoring tally in the league, matched only by Birmingham City!
In December 2020 we sadly 
