James Milton: Football predictions & free betting accumulator tips

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

Best bets

Dejan Kulusevski to score first in Manchester United v Tottenham
1pt each-way 11-1 bet365

Sheffield United
2pts 13-8 bet365, Betfred

Milan-Milan double result
2pts 11-10 Coral

Best Premier League bet

Manchester United v Tottenham
Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 5.30pm Saturday

Manchester United's Premier League clash with Tottenham is a tricky puzzle for punters as both of the top-four hopefuls are woefully inconsistent but one bet that stands out is Spurs new boy Dejan Kulusevski to score first.

The Swedish youngster has settled in nicely after arriving from Juventus on the final day of the January transfer window and he should be encouraged by United's defensive woes in recent weeks.

Kulusevski is always willing to get into goalscoring positions, as he showed in Tottenham's shock 3-2 win at Manchester City last month, finishing off a swift counter-attack to break the deadlock in the fifth minute.

He also scored with one of his four shots on goal in the 4-0 win at Leeds, had three attempts in the defeat at Burnley, and claimed two assists in Monday's 5-0 rout of Everton.

City's strawberry-blond star Kevin De Bruyne scored two early goals in last weekend's 4-1 derby win over United and another red-haired opponent could leave the Red Devils' defence red-faced on Saturday.

Best EFL bet

Coventry v Sheffield United 3pm Saturday

Following the goalless draw between Coventry and Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in November, surprise packages Cov were fifth in the Championship table with the Blades, one of the pre-season promotion favourites, down in 17th.

At the start of the latest round of fixtures, however, resurgent United are in the playoff places and they can enhance their position with a win over a Coventry side slipping towards the bottom half.

The Blades have won 11 of their 17 league games since that stalemate with the Sky Blues and the latest of those victories was an impressive 4-1 defeat of Middlesbrough on Tuesday.

Paul Heckingbottom has coped well despite some significant injury absentees and he will be hoping that midfielder John Fleck is passed fit for Saturday's game.

The Blades, who won 1-0 at free-scoring leaders Fulham just before Christmas, have conceded only four goals in their last 11 league outings while Cov needed a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Preston before losing 3-1 at Swansea and 1-0 at home to Luton.

Best European bet

Milan v Empoli BT Sport 1, 7.45pm Saturday

Milan are back on top of the Serie A table after a couple of crucial victories over title rivals Inter and Napoli and they should boost their Scudetto chances with a straightforward home win over Empoli.

The Rossoneri rose to the occasion in the derby with Inter, coming from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a brace from Olivier Giroud, and the veteran France striker scored the only goal of the game at Napoli last weekend.

Before the trip to Naples, Milan had dropped points in draws with bottom club Salernitana and Udinese, despite taking the lead in both games.

Fast starts have been a feature of Milan's success this season and in their last ten clashes with teams outside the top four the time of their first goal has made up at ten, five, 90, 12, eight, two, 45, eight, five and 29.

Empoli, beaten 4-2 in December's reverse fixture and winless in 11 league games, have been trailing at half-time in 11 of their 12 defeats this term and the leaders can take charge early on at San Siro.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Bristol Rovers
The Gas have won five of their last seven League Two matches and they should see off mid-table Harrogate, who have won only one of their 19 games against teams above them this season.

Blowout
Atalanta
The Bergamo boys have won only two of their last ten Serie A games and visitors Genoa, who drew 0-0 in December's reverse fixture, have conceded only twice in their last six outings.

Accumulator
Oxford 6-5, Forest Green 4-5, Bristol Rovers Evs, Milan 4-11.
A £1 accumulator returns £10.77 with Betfred.

Both teams to score
Games at Blackpool 5-6, MK Dons 4-5, Verona 3-4.
A £1 treble returns £5.76 with bet365.

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