James Milton's weekend football predictions

Best bets

Stevenage or draw double chance v Stoke
2pm Sunday
2pts 7-5 Betfair, Coral, Paddy Power

Draw in Hull v QPR
3pm Saturday
1pt 23-10 bet365, BoyleSports

Lazio to beat Fiorentina
BT Sport 2, 5pm Sunday
3pts 11-10 Betfair, Hills

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Best FA Cup bet

Stoke v Stevenage
2pm Sunday

Stoke claimed their biggest win of the season in the Championship last weekend, thumping Reading 4-0, although that result may say more about the Royals than the Potters.

"If I could have taken 11 players off at half-time I would have done," was Reading boss Paul Ince's post-match verdict and Stoke's FA Cup fourth-round visitors Stevenage are unlikely to put in such a meek performance.

The League Two side pulled off a spectacular comeback in round three, winning 2-1 at Premier League Aston Villa thanks to goals in the 88th and 90th minutes, and they are also enjoying a terrific League Two campaign.

Stevenage thumped Leyton Orient, the only team above them in the table, 3-0 last Saturday and Tuesday's fixture at Swindon was postponed, allowing manager Steve Evans to focus on the cup trip to Stoke.

The Potters had lost their previous three league matches before the rout of Reading and they look uneasy odds-on shots against Sunday's fearless, in-form visitors.

Best EFL bet

Hull v QPR
3pm Saturday

The FA Cup fourth round means there is a depleted set of EFL fixtures, particularly in the Championship, and it may be worth having a small play on the draw when Hull host QPR.

The Hoops raced into a 3-0 half-time lead in August's reverse fixture but they are on the slide, not helped by manager Michael Beale's departure to Rangers at the end of November, while Hull are slowly moving in the opposite direction.

Wins have been scarce for both teams recently, however, with QPR racking up four draws and a defeat in their last five league fixtures and Hull's last three home games all ending 1-1.

The Tigers have also had a 1-0 win at Birmingham and a 1-0 defeat at automatic-promotion hopefuls Sheffield United since Christmas and that trend of tight, low-scoring matches may well continue this weekend.

Best European bet

Lazio v Fiorentina
BT Sport 2, 5pm Sunday

Italian champions Milan have made a grim start to 2023 but, even so, few would have predicted the ease of Lazio's 4-0 Serie A victory against the Rossoneri on Tuesday night.

Maurizio Sarri's Lazio side were slowly away after the season restarted, losing 2-1 at Lecce after taking an early lead and blowing a 2-0 advantage to draw 2-2 at home to Empoli.

However, the Romans' romp against Milan made it three wins to nil on the spin, having seen off Sassuolo in the league and Bologna in the Coppa Italia, and they should be backed to beat Fiorentina on Sunday.

All six of La Viola's Serie A wins this season came against teams in the bottom six and they face a far tougher assignment against Lazio, whose defence has little to fear from visitors who have scored just seven times in nine away league fixtures.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Napoli
Visitors Roma are on a decent run but they face a huge step up in class away to Serie A title favourites Napoli, who thumped Juventus 5-1 in their last home league fixture.

Blowout
Sheffield United
While the Blades are flying high in the Championship, their FA Cup hosts Wrexham should give them a good game having beaten Coventry 4-3 in round three and won their last 16 home matches.

Accumulator
Lincoln 21-20, Leeds 4-9, Atalanta 1-3, Wolfsburg 6-5. £1 accumulator returns £8.64 with Hills.

Both teams to score
Games at Bristol City 10-11, Cremonese 4-5, Cheltenham 10-11. £1 accumulator returns £6.57 with bet365.

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