James Milton's football predictions & free betting accumulator tips

Best bets

Crystal Palace to beat Everton
3pm Saturday
2pts 21-20 Betfair, Hills, Ladbrokes

Danny Welbeck first goalscorer v Manchester United
BBC One, 4.30pm Sunday
1pt 8-1 BoyleSports

Swansea to beat Norwich
3pm Saturday
1pt 11-4 bet365, Coral

Schalke draw no bet v Freiburg
Sky Sports Mix, 2.30pm Sunday
1pt 13-5 Betfair, Paddy Power

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Best Premier League bet

Crystal Palace v Everton
3pm Saturday

Of all the many Premier League managerial changes this season, none has had quite such a spectacular impact as Roy Hodgson's return to Crystal Palace and the veteran boss has a great chance to extend his winning run to four matches on Saturday.

Palace host Everton, having beaten Leicester 2-1, Leeds 5-1 and Southampton 2-0 in the first three games of Hodgson's second spell at the club.

The Eagles needed a 94th-minute winner from Jean-Philippe Mateta against Leicester in their last game at Selhurst Park but they won the shot count 31-3 and should be playing with even more freedom after the victories at Elland Road and St Mary's.

Everton, in contrast, flopped as favourites at home to out-of-form Fulham last weekend, losing 3-1, and their only win in 15 away matches this season came at struggling Southampton.

Best FA Cup bet

Brighton v Manchester United
BBC One, 4.30pm Sunday

Brighton are favourites to beat Manchester United in Sunday's second FA Cup semi-final, although exciting young striker Evan Ferguson suffered an ankle injury during last weekend's 2-1 Premier League win at Chelsea.

Danny Welbeck may lead the line against his former club at Wembley, having made a strong case for a semi-final start last weekend, scoring Brighton's equalising goal against Chelsea and racking up six shots in just 51 minutes.

He has scored four goals in 479 minutes of league football in 2023, notched against Arsenal, another of his old clubs, in the EFL Cup in November, and had five attempts in Brighton's win over United at Old Trafford in August.

Best EFL bet

Norwich v Swansea
3pm Saturday

Norwich have failed to score in their last three home Championship matches, losing 1-0 to Sunderland and Sheffield United before a goalless draw with Rotherham, and they were also thumped 5-1 at Middlesbrough last week.

The Canaries drew 1-1 at struggling QPR on Wednesday and they are worth opposing when they host resurgent Swansea, who beat playoff-chasing Preston 4-2 in midweek.

The Swans have taken 16 points from the last 18 available, including away wins at Wigan and Cardiff, and they look a big price to continue their strong finish to the campaign with a victory at Carrow Road.

Best European bet

Freiburg v Schalke
Sky Sports Mix, 2.30pm Sunday

Schalke are finally off the bottom of the Bundesliga thanks to a 5-2 win over fellow strugglers Hertha Berlin and they are a tempting draw-no-bet selection to upset Freiburg this weekend.

A run of ten defeats in 11 either side of the World Cup had left Schalke tailed off at the foot of the table but they have lost only two of their last 11 and should be full of confidence following their five goals last time out.

Freiburg have won only five of their 13 games since the winter break, drawing 1-1 at home to lowly Hertha earlier this month, so they look vulnerable favourites against visitors with little to lose.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Lens
Ten-man Lens lost 3-1 at PSG last weekend but they had won four in a row in Ligue 1 before then and can see off leaky Monaco, who lost August's reverse fixture 4-1.

Blowout
Newcastle
The Magpies must pick themselves up after last weekend's 3-0 loss at Aston Villa and they look too short to beat a flawed but still dangerous Tottenham side.

Accumulator
Crystal Palace 21-20, Barnsley 7-10, Borussia Dortmund 8-13, Lens 11-10. £1 accumulator returns £11.86 with Betfair.

Both teams to score
Games at Brentford 4-5, Port Vale 7-10, Almeria 4-5. £1 accumulator returns £5.51 with Hills.

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