Steve Davies: Weekend football predictions & free betting accumulator tips

Best bets

Wolves to beat Nottingham Forest 
3pm Saturday
2pts 17-20 general

Rotherham to beat Swansea
3pm Saturday
1pt 5-2 Betfair, Paddy Power

Mainz draw or double chance v Cologne 4.30pm Sunday
1pt 8-13 Betfair, Paddy Power

Best Premier League bet

Wolves to beat Nottingham Forest
3pm Saturday

Steve Cooper’s world is caving in and Wolves can leave him on the brink by beating his Nottingham Forest side at Molineux on Saturday.

Forest have slid down the Premier League table following four straight losses.

It wasn’t even their trickiest run of fixtures, on paper at least, and conceding five at Fulham, one of the least potent teams in the division, was pretty much unforgivable.

They have to dust themselves down for a trip to Wolves, who have found some form, especially at Molineux.

Wanderer’s 1-0 win over Burnley on Tuesday made it five matches without defeat at their own ground, a run which includes 2-1 wins over Manchester City and Tottenham. They have lost just twice at Molineux in the league since March and haven’t failed to score there since February.

For a side who couldn’t score goals before Gary O’Neil’s arrival that’s a major plus. Another plus is they have had 24 hours extra to prepare for this than their visitors, with Forest having played at Craven Cottage on Wednesday.

Best EFL bet

Rotherham to beat Swansea
3pm Saturday

No double takes please, because Rotherham look a superb price to topple the sorry Swans at the New York Stadium.

The Millers are second from bottom but all of their good work has been done at home this season, where they have picked up their two wins – against Norwich and Coventry – and drawn with Ipswich and Leeds.

Wayne Carlisle’s men also ought to feel bullish after Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Birmingham, a rare success on the road where they were far the better side and unlucky to only draw.

Rotherham will always be competitive at home and Swansea might not fancy this.

Michael Duff’s loveless reign at Swansea was ended this week with a tepid 1-1 draw at home to Huddersfield the final straw.

That is five without a win for the Welsh club, who never looked right playing Duff’s way. A new regime needs to revert to the old ways but that could take time.

For now, confidence is low and Rotherham are more than capable of outrunning and outpunching the Swans.

Best European bet

Mainz or draw double chance
4.30pm Sunday

It isn’t going to take much for Mainz to avoid defeat at the RheinEnergieStadium against the Bundesliga’s lowest scorers.

Cologne have scored only ten goals all season and just three in their last five league games.

Last week’s 1-0 win at Darmstadt did at least take them above Mainz in the table, but both teams are struggling.

Mainz have picked themselves up after a terrible start to the season in which they took just one point from their first six matches. They’ve managed seven from the subsequent seven with four draws plus a fantastic 2-0 win against Leipzig.

They are yet to register a win on their travels but boast a decent recent head-to-head record against Cologne – two wins and two draws in the last five meetings – and have no obvious grounds for concern.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Derby
The Rams have won six matches in a row and should have no issues against Leyton Orient, who have failed to win any of their last six games.

Blowout
Hull
QPR have sprung to life under Marti Cifuentes and highflying Hull might struggle in London. The hosts are looking to land a third win in as many games.

Accumulator
Charlton 8-13, Barrow Evs, Bradford 17-20, Notts County 3-5. £1 accumulator returns £9.56 with bet365.

Both teams to score
Games at Aston Villa 8-13, Wimbledon 8-13, Grimsby 8-13. £1 treble returns £4.22 with bet365.

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