Aaron Ashley: Football predictions & free betting accumulator tips

Free football tips, bets and analysis for this weekend's Premier League, EFL, FA Cup and European action.

Best bets

Leeds
1pt Evs Betfred, Coral, Hills

Nottingham Forest
2pts 5-6 Coral, Ladbrokes

Swindon draw no bet
2pts 10-11 Betfair, Paddy Power

Both teams to score & over 2.5 goals in Spezia v Sassuolo
2pts 4-5 bet365

Best Premier League bet

Leeds v Brentford Sunday, 2pm

A few extra days' rest can make all the difference over a hectic Christmas period and Leeds should be hopeful of victory at home to Brentford.

A stoppage-time penalty from Raphinha inspired Leeds to maximum points over Crystal Palace at Elland Road on Tuesday and they have had two days more to prepare than visitors Brentford, who were involved in a London derby with Tottenham on Thursday.

Marcelo Bielsa’s team have struggled in the final third without the presence of last season’s 17-goal striker Patrick Bamford, relying on Raphinha for their sprinkling of star quality.

But excellent shape and organisation ensure Leeds are always competitive and, despite their lowly position, they have lost just twice from their last eight Premier League assignments.

Their only two defeats from seven attempts at their Yorkshire base have been inflicted by title-chasing Liverpool and top-four hopefuls West Ham.

Brentford have made a respectable fist of things on their top-flight bow, but they have conceded three times on recent trips to struggling pair Burnley and Newcastle.

The Whites, who should be buoyed by their recent win and have the benefit of fresher legs, look decent value at evens.

Best EFL bet

Nottingham Forest v Peterborough3pm Saturday

The September appointment of Steve Cooper has quickly changed the fortunes at Nottingham Forest and the Tricky Trees should highlight their marked improvement by beating a relegation-threatened Peterborough.

Since replacing Chris Hughton in the Forest dugout, Cooper has overseen five wins, six draws and just one defeat - the reverse came at the hands of table-toppers Fulham - and they should now be looking onwards and upwards.

Five of Forest’s last six Championship clashes have ended all square but taking points from QPR, Sheffield United and West Brom can be deemed positive results, while there were excuses for their draws against Reading and Luton.

Even so, Cooper has already guided Forest to home triumphs over Blackpool and Preston and should see a visit from third-bottom Peterborough as another massive opportunity.

Posh have lost nine of their ten away league games, failing to score in seven of those defeats, leaving manager Darren Ferguson to seek a sports psychologist in a bid to banish his team's road woes.

Best FA Cup bet

Walsall v Swindon 3pm Saturday

Road warriors Swindon were 3-0 victors at League One Crewe in the first round of the FA Cup and they can ensure their name is in the hat for round three with another away win at fourth-tier rivals Walsall.

The Robins have strong promotion ambitions in League Two and their success has been largely down to their blistering form on the road, where they have won seven and drawn two of their nine games.

They and leaders Forest Green are the only two sides still unbeaten on their travels and they should be too good for Walsall, who are ten places and nine points inferior to them in the table.

The Saddlers were narrow 1-0 winners at National League strugglers King’s Lynn Town in the previous round and are without victory in four matches at the Banks's Stadium.

Best European bet

Spezia v Sassuolo BT Sport Extra 2, 2pm Sunday

Sassuolo are one of Serie A’s great entertainers and they can play their part in another thrilling contest when they travel to face Spezia.

Wednesday's 2-2 draw at home to Napoli was Sassuolo's ninth league game on the spin in which backers of both teams to score have been rewarded.

The net has bulged at both ends in all seven of their away league outings, and those fixtures have combined to feature 27 goals.

I Neroverdi have won on road trips to Juventus and Milan but with only two clean sheets from 15 games their defence is proving tough to trust.

And although Spezia find themselves lingering dangerously close to the drop, recent home performances have been encouraging and they have failed to score just twice from seven outings on their own patch, which includes netting in defeats to Milan and Juventus.

Both Serie A showdowns between this pair last season produced over 2.5 goals land with each team scoring and this contest can follow suit.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Nottingham Forest
The Tricky Trees have been rejuvenated since former Swansea boss Steve Cooper took over the reins and they can punish a poor-travelling Peterborough outfit who have lost nine of their ten away league games.

Blowout
Salford
The League Two Ammies claimed a slender 1-0 win at Dagenham & Redbridge in the opening round of the FA Cup but they lost the shots-on-target count nine to two, so look worth swerving at odds-on at home to National League pace-setters Chesterfield.

Accumulator
Nottingham Forest 4-5, Ipswich 4-9, Portsmouth 8-15, Atletico Madrid 1-3. £1 accumulator returns £5.27 with Hills.

Both teams to score
Games at Newcastle 4-5, Middlesbrough 17-20, Spezia 4-7. A £1 treble returns £5.23 with Hills.

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