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

Newcastle to beat Chelsea
Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 5.30pm Saturday
2pts 13-10 general

Under 2.5 goals in Coventry v QPR
3pm Saturday
3pts 8-11 bet365, BoyleSports

No goalscorer in Montpellier v Reims
2pm Sunday
1pt 11-1 bet365

Best Premier League bet

Newcastle to beat Chelsea
Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 5.30pm Saturday

After a 4-1 defeat at Brighton and a 1-0 home loss to Arsenal, Chelsea could complete an unwanted hat-trick of Premier League reverses when they travel to Newcastle on Saturday.

Graham Potter's side finished their Champions League group-stage campaign with a couple of unconvincing 2-1 victories over RB Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb and they arrive at St James' Park on a four-game winless streak in the league.

Recent performances and results suggest Newcastle are worthy favourites to beat the Blues, having won six of their last seven top-flight matches.

They have scored four goals or more in four of those six wins, beating Aston Villa 4-0 and Southampton 4-1 in their last two outings, and have won at Tottenham and drawn 0-0 at Manchester United.

Since the start of 2022, Eddie Howe's men average 1.97 points per game in the Premier League, compared with Chelsea's 1.71, and they are worth backing to see off a Blues side who mustered just one shot on target in last weekend's limp 1-0 loss to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

Best EFL bet

Coventry v QPR 3pm Saturday

Coventry have soared up the Championship standings after beating Blackburn 1-0, Watford 1-0 and Wigan 2-0 in their last three matches and the Sky Blues should keep things tight against weekend visitors QPR.

Cov manager Mark Robins will have been delighted with his side's recent defensive displays as they restricted their last three opponents to just four shots on target between them.

Another low-scoring encounter is likely against QPR, who have hit a flat spot after a promising start to the campaign, failing to score in three of their last four matches

The Hoops took a second-minute lead at home to struggling Huddersfield on Tuesday but slipped to a 2-1 defeat and under 2.5 goals looks the best bet on Saturday.

Best European bet

Montpellier v Reims 2pm Sunday

Reims have had three goalless draws in their last five Ligue 1 matches and another stalemate is a tempting bet when they travel to Montpellier.

After recent 0-0s against champions Paris St-Germain, Lorient and Brest, Reims needed an 82nd-minute penalty from Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun to break the deadlock in last weekend's 1-0 home win over Nantes.

There were chances at both ends in that game but Sunday's clash with Montpellier could be more cagey as the hosts are at a low ebb, picking up just one point from their last five matches.

They have scored only once from open play during that run and had only three shots on target, one of them a penalty, in last weekend's 1-1 draw at Clermont.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Stockport
The Hatters have kept six clean sheets in a row, winning five of those games, and they should be fresher than League Two hosts Newport County, who lost at Leicester in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

Blowout
West Ham
The Hammers suffered an eighth defeat in 14 Premier League games at home to Crystal Palace last weekend and they look too short a price to beat rejuvenated visitors Leicester.

Accumulator
Arsenal 4-7, Stockport 7-5, Lens 4-9, Napoli 1-2. £1 accumulator returns £8.14 with Coral.

Both teams to score
Games at Bologna 4-6, Burton 7-10, Rennes 7-10. £1 treble returns £4.80 with bet365.

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