Starting in League One, there’s some tasty encounters with our own home match against Leyton Orient probably the pick of the bunch. It will be the first time we’ve met in a league fixture, and both sides will be going all out for local bragging rights. However, we won’t be betting on our own team’s matches!

Instead, have a look at Peterborough’s trip to Tranmere. Without wishing to be overly harsh, the Trannies showed themselves to be a pretty limited side last weekend and only a lack of concentration from ourselves gifted them a point. Posh on the other hand are flying high at the top of the table, and whilst their odds of evens are prohibitive, there’s always the goalscorer markets. Former Dagger Craig Mackail-Smith is on fire at the moment with 4 in his last 3 matches, and he’s 2/1 to score at any time. Looks good to me!

The only team better off than Posh at the moment are Sheffield Wednesday and they travel to Brentford on Sunday, who find themselves at the wrong end of the league. Whilst I wouldn’t bet against Brentford kick-starting their season, I do think that the match will yield goals regardless of the result. Wednesday hit 5 on the road last week whilst The Bees were busy leaking 3. So take over 2.5 goals at 11/10.

Whilst we’re at it, Neil Mellor seems to have become Wednesday’s first-choice in league matches and was rested for the Paint Pot in midweek. He has far too much for this level and he can score at any time at odds of 9/5.

Dropping down to League Two, there are a lot of seemingly close matches this weekend. Aldershot/Northampton is a decent bet for a draw, whilst Barnet will desperate to keep it tight against Cheltenham who have seen goals flying in at both ends. Shrewsbury host Rotherham in the division’s standout fixture and whilst we would perhaps favour the Shrews at 13/10, it is probably wise to steer clear.

However, one match that looks good for the draw at 12/5 is Bury‘s match against Gillingham. The Gills have had 2 draws on the road so far, whilst Bury have stuttered at home. Neither side are seeing many goals so under 2.5 at 8/11 is also a bet worth looking at for the adventurous amongst you!

Last time out we picked 2 teams in League 2, and both of them agonisingly denied us a return. Firstly Rotherham’s patchy home form meant they couldn’t sustain a challenge, and Bury’s complete capitulation from 2nd in February to nowhere in May snatched away our each-way chances.

Looking at the transfer market, I can’t see Aldershot being as strong after the loss of Hudson and Donnelly, and it is probably too much to ask for Morecambe to improve again this season. Bradford have been installed as favourites with Peter Taylor’s revolution in full swing, and 3rd favourites Wycombe look good to mount a promotion push after making several shrewd signings. We were very close to backing Shrewsbury Town at 16/1 due to their impressive list of signings and installation of fans’ favourite Graham Turner as manager, however their lack of a top goalscorer is a worry.

Therefore we’re having half a point each-way on Port Vale at 14/1. They had a big bonus in holding onto striker Marc Richards, and have added namesake Justin Richards to help share the goals. Their defence last season was miserly and will form the basis of their push. Although there are slightly better odds elsewhere, we’ve gone with PaddyPower’s 4 places on the each-way market rather than the usual 3. For those who like to spread their interest, Northampton at 12/1 are also worth a look.

In our very own League 1 (still sounds great, doesn’t it?), Southampton have rightly been installed as favourites but are much too short to back. Sheffield Wednesday’s array of talent makes them worthy 2nd favourites, and if everything goes as expected you would imagine everybody else is fighting for 3rd downwards. However the rest of the division looks quite open and even teams like Brentford at 40/1 or Leyton Orient at 80/1 could spring a surprise and push towards the playoffs.

However they are unlikely to trouble the automatic places and so we’re going for half a point on Huddersfield Town each-way at 8/1. Only 3 places paid on this one with Coral but they definitely have the quality with good signings added to an already impressive squad.

In the Championship, Gordon Strachan’s mini-Scotland outfit are favourites followed by last season’s surprise package Nottingham Forest. However there are lots of contenders for the promotion spaces, with QPR adding quality to a squad which Neil Warnock had already invigorated, and Reading coming off the back of a brilliant end to last season.

We’re going to side with Bristol City though for our each-way chance. They finished close behind the Royals last season in 10th and have added David James, Nicky Hunt, Albert Adomah and Sam Vokes. Although they can be found at 20/1, we’ll take Blue Square’s 16/1 with the offer of 4 places.

Down to the Conference, and Luton are again favourites to win the division. They should manage to get out this time around, but big-spending Crawley will be gunning for them. Newly relegated Grimsby and Darlington are also short odds for an immediate return to the Football League but as we know, the ex-League sides often find it tough going.

However one ex-League side who can finally climb back out of non-league are York City. They finished 5th last time after being outsiders for the title at one stage, but find themselves 12/1 for the title this season. Rumours surround the future of star striker Brodie but if they can hang onto him until at least January, you can definitely see them hitting the top of the table. Again Blue Square will pay 4 places each-way.

Finally, if anybody is optimistic enough to back all of our selections, the best accumulator odds are with Coral who will pay a whopping 36854/1 on the win! You can also back that each-way, which would return 323/1 if they all come in the top 3 in their respective leagues.

We’re not going to be deterred though and our confidence (stupidity) leads us to committing further money to the bookies this weekend. We’ll avoid the Prem this week after last week’s woes, with the temptation to again back a Tottenham draw with Everton being ignored.

In the Championship, Watford take on Newcastle at Vicarage Road. The Hornets have been pretty decent at home this season despite their mid-table position, and coupled with the Magpies’ recent fondness for away draws, we’ll take the 12/5 about the draw.

In League One, there’s a Friday night match between Southend and Charlton which should be a close game. Southend find themselves bottom of the form table but Charlton have stuttered recently with only 1 win in 6 which explains the 13/10 on offer for the Addicks. To give ourselves a bit of insurance, take 4/6 on Charlton draw no bet.

We’ll dip into the Conference for the next two offerings, with Luton travelling to Crawley on Saturday. Crawley have been good at home with their away form explaining their mid-table position, and despite Luton’s good away record they’ve draw most of their matches when visiting the better sides. That makes 12/5 on the draw worth taking. Elsewhere, Ebbsfleet are top of the form tables and take on lowly Barrow. Take Fleet to win at 11/10.

Our last bet this week is a cheeky accumulator attempt. Our four home teams are Notts County, Sheffield United, Coventry and York which gives odds of 21/4 when combined.

You can tell it has been a long time since we offered our tips, because the Manchester City/Liverpool return match is this weekend! City have 6 wins from their last 6 at home, and Liverpool have struggled for goals away from home without Torres. Therefore City look too good at 6/4 to win.

Staying in the Prem, and Tottenham visit Wigan on Sunday. Wigan drew at home to Bolton in midweek on a frankly awful pitch which hindered both sides. Spurs should find the same problems, and coupled with their patchy form and Wigan’s fondness for a home draw, 5/2 for the draw is a decent punt.

Down into the Championship, and Newcastle host Preston. The Magpies have made a habit of some crushing home wins whilst Preston’s away form isn’t up to much. Over 2.5 goals is the bet here at 21/20.

In League One, Tranmere have quietly improved their form after being the early-season whipping boys for just about everybody. Whilst they remain in trouble, they’re now only a couple of wins from mid-table and they host Leyton Orient who have been steady if unspectacular on their travels. The draw at 12/5 is worth taking.

A slightly more risky bet in League Two is on offer in the Rotherham/Torquay game on Friday night. Despite their excellent side, Rotherham have tended to lose concentration at various times this season and have displayed vulnerability at home. Torquay tend to lose by the odd goal at the moment, and with Rotherham’s front two of Le Fondre and Pope not lacking in the goals department, a 2-1 home victory at 8/1 is a nice little tempter.

First stop is the Prem and this week plenty of managers are going to be nursing players injured on international duty. Steven Gerrard should be fit after missing an England friendly (what a massive shock), but Torres is still out. Liverpool have been pretty rubbish lately and Man City could get back to winning ways at Anfield – they look big at 7/2 considering the array of talent they have at their disposal. Man for man they’re just as good, if not better, than ‘Pool, so we’ll take that price.

Also on offer in the Prem is Fulham to draw at Birmingham. Brum are short of goals but also keep it tight at home, whilst Fulham have already eeked out 3 draws on their travels. 23/10 looks great value.

Another draw bet worth having a look at is Middlesbrough against Nottingham Forest. Forest have the distinction of being the only team unbeaten away in the Championship, whilst Boro continue to stutter. The signing of Dave Kitson should lift them, but both sides will surely be happy with a point here so 12/5 looks good.

Tonight sees Swansea take on Derby in Wales. The Swans are back on form after early-season wobbles, whereas Derby have been utterly awful on their travels, losing 6 of 8 games. Swansea beat Cardiff last time out in a hard-fought game and should follow this up with another three points at a very fair 8/11.

Our other interest in this division is Arsenal’s trip to Wolves, but it isn’t on the win market. The Gunners are short at 2/5 to win, and with good reason, but don’t forget Wolves have drawn 3 on the bounce. Instead take goal-happy RVP to burst the net at 11/10, assuming he plays of course! He should have too much in his locker for the gold-clad fellas.

Down to the Championship, and Scunthorpe travel to Blackpool. Whilst the two sides aren’t miles apart in terms of ability, it is very relevant that the Tangerines are formidable on their own patch, whilst Scunny don’t travel well. The Tangerines are 3/4 which is a decent price.

Of course being Cup weekend, there is no League One or Two action, but the Cup has thrown up a rather uninspiring set of fixtures. York may have fancied their chances at home to Crewe, until they won 4-0 away from home last weekend! Oxford have a chance at home to Yeovil but the Glovers have picked up lately so again we can’t really risk our cash here. Stevenage go to Port Vale and normally we’d back the Boro, but Vale looked very solid against ourselves last weekend which has altered the view of that one. Instead take Mansfield at 6/5 to win at Forest Green.

So we refuse to learn our lesson and instead will make some new selections this week.

The Prem isn’t looking too clever this week – we’d consider Spurs at evens to win at Bolton a good price, but there’s always that nagging feeling the boys from White Hart Lane lack the necessary conviction to win against sides who will bully them.

In the Championship you would imagine Sheffield United will beat Doncaster at 4/6 but they’ve had some recent wobbles which burnt us last week. Instead look at the Plymouth/Scunthorpe game – over 2.5 goals at evens is worth taking with both sides having been involved in goal-fests already this season.

The standout game in League One this week is obviously Leeds against Charlton but that’s too close for us to call. Instead take Millwall at 3/4 to win at home to Tranmere. Millwall haven’t had their best start but they are a good side whereas Tranmere are deep in the relegation mire. Also in this division, two playoff-hunting sides Colchester and Huddersfield meet. They are both bound to be going for the win here and both have also managed plenty of goals. Over 2.5 goals at 19/20 is worth taking.

We’ve got one selection in League Two this week and it’s Bury to win at Torquay. Bury started horrendously, probably because we tipped them for promotion, but they’ve picked up very well and have excellent away form. On the other hand Torquay have struggled throughout and so the 11/8 on the Shakers looks big and we’ll have that.

Our final bet this week is a little treble. Taking Oxford United, Mansfield and Queen of the South all to win will pay just over 3/1. Fingers crossed!

Our only let-down was Rotherham who conceded an 85th minute equaliser at Cheltenham. Sod’s Law dictates that this was our longest selection, with the Millers spurning a host of chances to seal the game. So just under twenty quid profit to ten pound stakes, rather than the 45 we hoped for.

So onto this week and first stop, the Prem. Everton won us some beer tokens last week and are a tasty looking evens to win at woeful Portsmouth. Everton started badly but have been on mesmerising form in the last 2 weeks. Surely Pompey cannot stay on zero points for much longer? We hope they still are come Sunday!

Our other bet here will be Birmingham to win by 1 goal against Bolton at 3/1. All of Birmingham’s matches so far have either been decided by a margin of one, or ended in a draw. They should just shade it against the Trotters.

Championship time, and Sheffield United go to Swansea this week. The Swans haven’t won at home so far and the Blades are in the upper reaches and look good. The home team have kept their matches quite tight despite the form so take the draw no bet just to be on the safe side at 7/10.

Down to League 1 and our only bet here will be on the Tranmere/Colchester game. John Barnes is yet again showing himself to be more than capable of managing a side badly, and Rovers have shipped a lot of goals at home already. Colchester are typically tight away from home but this could just be their chance to open up and score some goals. Over 2.5 goals at evens is the bet.

In League 2, Rochdale are tempting at 8/11 to win at home to a Hereford side that were on a 16-match winless run until last week. However we’ll steer clear this time, with Hereford up to their old tricks of signing every young pro in the country on loan, in the hope of finding 11 that can kick a ball properly.

Our last tip isn’t football and it isn’t even on the 26th! Sri Lanka play England in the ICC Champions Trophy on Friday and basically they are miles better than us. 4/9 can still be obtained.

So our first bet this week is in the Prem and it’s Everton. They are 5/6 to win at home to Blackburn, and despite a dodgy start they have a strong side and smashed AEK 4-0 in midweek. Blackburn are no mugs but the Toffees should have enough on home soil, with Jo, Saha and Yakubu all in contention now.

Down in the Championship, and Newcastle are at home to Plymouth. The Magpies haven’t even conceded a goal at home yet and Plymouth are bottom of the table. The price is only 4/9 but even this is worth taking.

League One, and Leeds are at home to Gillingham. Although they’re too short to back outright, there should be goals with Gillingham conceding and scoring plenty, and Leeds firing themselves into the promotion places so take the 5/6 on over 2.5 goals.

League Two, and Rotherham are 28/17 to win at Cheltenham. Despite Cheltenham being in 7th, their home record is average and this price is too big to be missed.

Finally we’ll look into Europe and specifically France. Bordeaux are top of the pile at the moment and play at Boulogne this weekend. They are 7/10 to win the game and we’ll have that.

Looking at the Prem this week despite our fingers being burnt last time, there are some intriguing clashes on offer. Spurs/Man Utd promises to be a great game but I wouldn’t like to say who will come out on top! Stoke are a massive 8/1 to beat Chelsea which is definitely one for the braver souls, but we’ll content ourselves backing West Ham in the draw-no-bet to win at Wigan. The 5/4 on the Hammers can’t be missed.

One more punt here and we’re going to be tempted into believing the Manchester City hype. They are hosting an Arshavin-less Arsenal and 2/1 is too big considering the relative merits of the two sides. It promises to be very even.

Into the Championship, and the only bet we can muster here is over 2.5 goals in Watford v Barnsley at evens. Both sides are leaking so despite average strike-forces you would expect enough defensive mistakes for this to come off. The same bet was considered in Palace/Scunthorpe at 23/10 but Palace just don’t score enough goals.

One place we will take the same bet is in League 1 with Orient v Exeter. Both sides know how to score with like the likes of Fleetwood and Scowcroft but neither defend overly well so 19/20 on over 2.5 goals is the bet.

Our other bet this week won’t be a football match – it’s going on the F1. Renault are set to dust off their very own KERS system for this weekend’s high-power Italian GP and the McLaren cars should be looking to push home the advantage the system will bring. Despite this, half a point each way on Kimi Raikonnen at 5/1 is the bet. If he comes top 3 you get your money back, if he wins you win.