Please allow us to bask in yet more glory this Bank Holiday Monday - the Sunday double we tipped at the weekend of Aston Villa (13/10) and Chelsea (4/7) came up trumps and returned some welcome winnings.

With this red-hot streak of form in mind, let's look at the Premiership clash between Middlesbrough and Portsmouth at the Riverside.

Not the most glamorous of fixtures admittedly, but one where we are confident of adding to our cash reserves.

Pedro Mendes is out of the Fratton Park squad after that now infamous horror challenge by Manchester City defender Ben Thatcher who is not only awaiting punishment by the FA but is also under investigation by the police. But in truth, Mendes's omission may not be that significant.

Middlesbrough were unlucky on opening day against Reading but then shocked Chelsea with a victory in their second Premiership game.

Whether or not new boss Gareth Southgate is benefiting from beginner's luck, we have been impressed by Boro's start to the season.

We think Pompey, despite a solid start to the season, might not cause too many problems which is why we will sink some of our winnings from Sunday on Bet Direct's 23/20 for the home win.

We are going for a Super-Sunday double this weekend when Aston Villa host Newcastle and Chelsea travel to Blackburn.

The midlands club are on a high following the arrival of Martin O'Neill as boss and that wave of optimism cannot be ignored.

The Irishman can do no wrong it seems and a new manager usually brings an initial change in fortunes anyway.

On the other hand, the Toon will be buoyed by the recent signing of Obafemi Martins who will go straight into the squad provided his international clearance arrives in time. But do they really have the firepower to make an impact this season?

Chelsea take the trip up to Blackburn knowing there is already some pressure on Jose Mourinho after their defeat at Middlesbrough last weekend.

The Londoners have had their odds to win the league cut this week and with a tasty Champions League campaign set to begin, it looks like they could be hard pushed to fight on both fronts this season.

However, we fancy the Stamford Bridge men will produce the goods in Lancashire. Bet Direct will give you 4/7 for the away win and we will double that up with Villa to come out on top against the Magpies at 13/10.

Well my punter friends, if your pockets aren't bursting with cash this week then don't blame us!

We've now given you four consecutive winning tips, AEK Athens doing the business for us against Hearts in their Champions League qualifier in Greece on Wednesday night to add to last weekend's three-in-a-row.

Okay, the odds of 8/13 on the Greeks weren't great but the old saying holds true - better to win at short odds than lose on a rank outsider.

Anyway, bragging aside, let's hope we can keep our run going when we turn our attention to the Championship and Friday's football sees Queens Park Rangers welcome Ipswich Town to Loftus Road.

Neither side are pulling trees up early in the season, the Hoops have only won one league game while the East Anglian side have yet to get off the mark and sit in third bottom place in the table.

QPR beat Northampton in the Carling Cup in midweek, while Ipswich went out on penalties to Peterborough which sways us towards the home side.

We will take Bet Direct's 5/2 for the London side to be winning at half-time and full-time. Don't say you weren't told!

What a start to the Premiership season!! Forgive us for blowing our own trumpet but we got off to a storming start last weekend, tipping Sheffield United to draw with Liverpool (13/5) and cashing in on our Sunday double of Chelsea (4/5) and Manchester United (5/6) to beat Man City and Fulham respectively by at least two clear goals. Three out of three isn't bad in anybody's book!

And not only are we brimming with confidence this week but we have spotted the first stick-on result of the season so far.

Hearts are in Greece to play AEK Athens in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier and the Edinburgh side trail 2-1 from the first leg.

However, the Greeks were so far ahead of the Jambos a fortnight ago that you needed binoculars to see them.

Bet Direct will offer 8/13 for the home win which isn't great but lump on AEK like we will and we can almost guarantee you a return.

Two of the Premiership favourites, Chelsea and Manchester United have to wait an extra 24 hours before their league season gets under way.

Fulham have the unenviable task of travelling to Old Trafford for their first game of the campaign and the refurbished stadium, which has been extended over the last season, will have nearly 70,000 fans packed inside which will create a Premiership attendance record. The Londoners will be difficult to break down as always but we can't see past a United win in this game.

Chelsea open up with a visit from Manchester City and again, for all the visitors' enterprising play and ability to cause upsets, we cannot see the Blues slipping up here.

We will go for a Bet Direct Double on these two matches using the same type of bet, which means in effect that both home sides have to win by two clear goals.

Take United to win at 5/6 starting a goal down against Fulham and Chelsea, also starting a goal behind against City, at 4/5.

Sheffield United and Liverpool get this season's Premiership off and running and this encounter at Bramall Lane looks like a wise choice by Sky television for its opener.

The Blades, under the stewardship of pantomime baddy manager Neil Warnock, are unlikely to win many friends this season with their blustering style of football but after so many failed attempts to get into the top flight, survival under any circumstances will be acceptable.

The Scousers have their own 'bad boy' in Craig Bellamy who is sure to form a formidable partnership in attack with the much-maligned Peter Crouch and the Anfield men have already won the Community Shield by beating Chelsea.

However, United may have enough early-season spirit to catch the Koppites unawares and Bet Direct's 13/5 for the draw could well be the punt to collect on.

The Championship contenders are still jockeying for position just a few weeks into the title race and Friday's midlands derby between Coventry and Leicester should provide plenty of entertainment.

There is little between the two teams at the moment although bother are languishing in the wrong half of the table with only three points from a possible six.

Coventry's decision to sell Gary McSheffrey, whose latest strike came during the 2-1 victory over Sunderland on the opening day, perhaps sends out all the wrong signals for the Sky Blues' supporters and could have short-term repercussions at least.

Leicester, who carved out a fine 3-1 win over Ipswich in their last outing, will travel with confidence and Bet Direct's 11/4 for the away win has tempted us to put few quid on the Foxes to enjoy some happy hunting.

The 2006/07 Premiership season is ready and waiting to unfold and the question everyone is asking is - who can stop Chelsea?

The high-spending Londoners have splashed out on their annual summer sales and look like they have too much strength in depth again for their probable challengers Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool.

Jose Mourinho, as ever, has his eye on the Champions League but even the Special One will be under pressure if he fails to deliver the title.

There's no value, however, in taking Chelsea to win the title so we will go down to the bottom of the table for our pre-season bets.

Relegation could visit a few teams this season and of course it is always the newly-promote clubs who get tipped to go down again.

However, we think Sheffield United, Watford and Reading will not all slip back to the Championship although we will take Bet Direct's 4/7 for the Hornets to be relegated.

We will add that to Wigan at 3/1 and Charlton at 11/4 to join them down the bottom of the table and sit back and wait for that treble to come up in around nine months time.

If you are keen on a flutter for the title then perhaps look at Bet Direct' odds on teams 'winning' the title if you take the big four clubs that we have already mentioned out of the equation.

Spurs are 6/4, Newcastle are 9/2 to finish in fifth place but we reckon West Ham at 20/1 could be in with a decent chance.

The World Cup final seems like it was contested only the other day but international football is back on the agenda this week as countries warm up ahead of their quest for the European Championships in two years time.

If we accept that only Italy will be happy with their efforts in the summer - given that they won the tournament in Germany - then most teams will likely begin a revamp of their squads.

England begin a new era with Steve McClaren replacing Sven-Goran Eriksson - or do they?

The former Middlesbrough boss was number two to the Swede during three ill-fated major tournaments in which the Three Lions returned with their tales between their legs after quarter final exits.

McClaren's tenure begins with a home friendly against Greece at Old Trafford and the fact that he left former captain David Beckham out of his first squad could be seen as a statement of intent and diversity - but could also backfire spectacularly. We shall see.

Bet Direct will give you 10/3 for England to win the game following a draw at half-time and that's how we see this match panning out.

McClaren's side - whichever 11 players he picks - could take some time to settle but watch for them stretching ahead after the break as they seek to impress their new boss.

But whatever happens, at least there won't be penalties!

What was the traditional curtain raiser to the season, the Community Shield, takes place after the lower leagues have actually begun their campaigns but Chelsea v Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium will still attract more than its fair share of interest, in the media if not at the game itself.

The London club - with new England captain John Terry on board - are going for three Premiership titles in a row this season but the Scousers will want to put down an early marker for their own ambitions in this match.

Indeed, if any club can afford to face the Blues with confidence its Liverpool who have trumped Chelsea on several occasions over the past few years.

The Reds looked far from impressive against Maccabe Haifa in their Champions League qualifier while the Stamford Bridge side played out a 1-1 draw with Celtic in midweek.

We anticipate a cagey encounter with neither side wanting to lose their opening domestic game of the new season and therefore Bet Direct's 21/10 for the draw looks a safe bet.

Saturday lunchtime sees Birmingham travel to Stoke looking to maintain their 100% record in their quest to bounce back to the Premiership at the first time of asking.

City boss Steve Bruce knows he is under pressure this season and will want to get his supporters back behind him again as soon as possible.

The early signs are encouraging. The Birmingham squad has been bolstered by three Arsenal loanees in striker Nicklas Bendtner, midfielder Fabrice Muamba and winger Sebastian Larsson and the former has already shown his potential.

Stoke City are unlikely to be strong enough to cope. Bet Direct are offering 9/2 for a draw at the interval to be followed by a Blues win after 90 minutes and that's where our Saturday stake money will be going this week.

Regular readers will know how close we were to a nice European double on Wednesday with Hearts to win against AEK Athens after a drawn first half and Craig Bellamy to score for Liverpool.

The Welshman had done his bit against Maccabi Haifa and the Jambos were leading 1-0 with 89 minutes gone but two late goals by the visitors ensured that we punters never benefited from any gifts from the Greeks.

But it's early in the season and we live to fight another day and now that the Championship is up and running, we relish the opportunity to bet on competitive matches after far too many friendly games in recent weeks.

Friday's live televised game comes from Molineux where Wolverhampton take on Preston.

The Lancashire side have yet to score in the new campaign while Mick McCarthy has got his tenure as Wolves boss off to a decent start with a win and a draw.

We tip the former Sunderland boss to continue to impress the Black Country fans and recommend Bet Direct's 12/5 for the Molineux men to be winning at half-time and full-time.

All is well in the maroon side of Edinburgh these days as Hearts sit top of the SPL after two matches and look ahead to the prospect of making more history in Europe.

The Jambos take on AEK Athens at Murrayfield in their Champions League third round qualifier after a convincing 3-0 aggregate win over Siroki Brijeg in the last round. A place in the groups stages for the first time beckons.

The Gorgie side will play all their European games at the home of Scottish rugby this season in order to capitalise on the added capacity and there is sure to be a 40,000 crowd for the visit of the Greeks.

The club's charismatic and hard-to-please owner Vladimir Romanov described their last European performance in Bosnia, where they drew 0-0, as "unsatisfactory" so the Hearts players know only victory is acceptable but it won't be easy because AEK are no mugs.

Bet Direct are offering 7/2 for the match to be a draw at half-time and Hearts to win the second half first and that's the outcome find ourselves leaning towards.

If you are looking for a double on the night, take Craig Bellamy at 4/5 to score for Liverpool at any time during the 90 minutes against Maccabi Haifa at Anfield.

The first big match of the season in the SPL sees the visit of champions Celtic to Hearts.

It could be a day for endurance. The Gorgie club had a nightmare journey home from their Champions League qualifier against Siroki Brijeg in midweek while the Hoops found themselves pencilled in for an exhausting trip to Japan in what was little more than a marketing exercise to cash in on midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura.

So who will be fresh enough to strike the first blow in the title race?

Having watched the Tynecastle men in every game so far this season, it is obvious that they are missing the goals of injured Paul Hartley and Rudi Skacel who left for Southampton in the summer.

The Glasgow giants have more firepower which leads us to think that Bet Direct's 11/8 for the away win is worth having a few quid on.

English league football returns this weekend and all the pre-season optimism, and in some cases pessimism, will be put to the test up and down the country.

We are just in time for some ante-post bets before the action begins and some tempting odds are on offer.

The Championship will be a hard-fought league as usual but we reckon Birmingham have enough to bounce straight back into the Premiership and will take Bet Direct's kind offer of 5/1 to take the title.

In League One, we will have a few quid on Nigel Spackman's Millwall at 10/1 to finish top of the pile and in League Two, Wallsall catch our eye at 10/1.

In addition to single bets we reckon an accumulator is worth a small investment which could pay lucrative dividends in around nine months time.

We know England are still licking their wounds from their World Cup disappointment but who said Scottish football was dead?

The country was boosted on Saturday night by the battling display of Scotland under-19s who went down narrowly to Spain in the European Championship final.

Four days later and more good news. Hearts go into their Champions League qualifier against Siroki Brijeg in Bosnia knowing only a collapse can prevent them going through into the third qualifying round where they will meet AEK Athens.

The cosmopolitan Tynecastle side are leading 3-0 from the first leg and travel on the back of their 2-1 opening day win over Dunfermline at East End Park.

Another win for the Edinburgh men? To be truthful, we don't think so although we are confident that they will survive the tie intact to look forward to a trip to Greece in the next round.

But we think the Bosnians will have improved enough from the first game to leave Hearts happy to draw so we will take the 4/1 Bet Direct are offering for the game to be level at the interval and at the end of the 90 minutes.