Well, Monday night provided yet more success for us with Manchester City beating Middlesbrough but there is no resting on laurels here.

Wednesday night's Champions League football offers some delicious matches and one of the most intriguing is Celtic's trip to Lisbon to play Benfica in Group F.

The Hoops last played Benfica in the European Cup in season 1969/70 and after winning the first-leg 3-0 in Glasgow, they lost by the same score in the return game and only went though on the toss of a coin - which was the curious way they decided tied games in those days.

A fortnight ago, Celtic beat the Portuguese club in their Group F game by three clear goals at home so how will this match go? Perfect symmetry?

Benfica, like most Portuguese clubs, have no great history of travelling but they are very strong in front of their own fans.

The Parkhead side have never won away from home in the Champions League which gives us the confidence to take Betterbet.com's 8/11 on a Benfica win.

In the other group game Manchester United take on FC Copenhagen in Denmark but are too poorly priced to bother with but if you are looking for a double, take Arsenal at 4/11 to beat CSKA Moscow at the Emirates Stadium.

When you consider your options on Monday night's Premiership match between Manchester City and Middlesbrough take a moment to reflect back on our advice for Sunday's tense West Ham v Blackburn game at Upton Park.

In tipping the Hammers at 11/8 with Betterbet.com, our words were: 'We have a gut feeling - no more - that the Hammers will get it right this time in front of their disgruntled fans.'

Happily for us - and Alan Pardew - the Irons came through and it is that same gut feeling that takes us to tip under-fire Stuart Pearce to calm the nerves of his board and supporters by getting a win against Boro.

City are enduring a somewhat wretched time of it this season with Pearce - a one time candidate for the England job - the latest boss to have his future questioned.

At Eastlands they're unbeaten in four games, haven't conceded a goal and have claimed the scalp of Arsenal but it is their disastrous away form that has heaped pressure on the man still known in many quarters as 'Psycho'.

On the other hand, City have never beaten Boro in the Premiership or in their last 11 meetings. But we will be brave and back the Sky Blues to lay that bogey to rest.

Betterbet.com offer a decent 5/4 for the home win and that's where we will be putting our cash.

The vultures will hover over Upton Park this Sunday when free-falling West Ham United welcome Blackburn Rovers.

Sir Alex Ferguson, no less, called for an end to the culture of sacking managers at the first sign of trouble but that plea could fall on deaf ears in the east end of London.

Hammers boss Alan Pardew, whose side were defeated 2-1 at lowly Chesterfield in the Carling Cup in midweek, insisted he would not take himself out of the firing line - even if his side crash to their ninth successive defeat.

Pardew has been given a dreaded vote of confidence by his board but that might produce its usual counter-effects in the wake of a Rovers victory.

Some good news on the Upton Park front is that veteran striker Teddy Sheringham could shrug off a knee injury to put his shoulder to the wheel against the Ewood Park men.

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes is without midfielder Robbie Savage who serves a one-match suspension after accumulating five bookings.

But we reckon that loss will not affect the result of this match too much.
We have a gut feeling - no more - that the Hammers will get it right this time in front of their disgruntled fans.

At 11/8 with Betterbet.com, the home side are a decent price to stop the rot. One suspects however, that it may only be temporary.

Kirkland joined Liverpool from Coventry for £6m in 2001Wigan have signed goalkeeper Chris Kirkland on a permanent deal from Liverpool until 2009.
Kirkland, 25, initially joined the Latics on a six-month loan deal in the summer and has been ever-present for the Premiership outfit this season.
Wigan boss Paul Jewell said: "It was always our intention to make the deal permanent. It's great news that we've got it all sorted so quickly."
Kirkland joined Liverpool for £6m from Coventry in 2001.
But he fell down the pecking order because of injury and spent last season on loan at West Brom.
606: DEBATE
If he can stay injury free Kirkland has the potential to be the England number one
footy-analysis
606: Have your say Kirkland, who made his international debut in England's 4-0 win over Greece in August, said of his move: "I'm really pleased that my future is now sorted.
"It's been great since joining Wigan, we have a tremendous set of lads and the gaffer has been different class.
"This is an ambitious club that is going places and I'm delighted that I'll be part of that."
Jewell is delighted with the quality of goalkeepers he now has at the JJB Stadium.
He said: "I'm blessed with three excellent keepers in Kirky, Mike Pollitt and John Filan, who's currently on loan at Doncaster. The competition is fierce and that's how I like it."

Newcastle versus Charlton at St James Park is Saturday's second televised match and two more nervy sides, certainly with regards their Premiership form, would be hard to find.

The struggling Londoners beat Bolton in the Carling Cup in midweek but will be looking to find some Premiership respite at St James Park against a United side who have hardly been world beaters themselves this season.

The statistics make depressing reading for fans of both clubs. Iain Dowie's men remain anchored to the foot of the table, with last Saturday's disappointing goalless home draw against fellow strugglers Watford preceding the encouraging win over the Trotters.

Glenn Roeder's erratic side beat Portsmouth in the Carling Cup but it is difficult to read too much into a game that was played in farcically wet conditions.

The fact is, Newcastle haven't won at home in the league since their opening day success over Wigan, and have lost three Premiership matches on the bounce. Can Charlton take advantage?

We think a draw will be the best the capital side can hope for and Betterbet.com's 11/5 encourages us to gamble on honours even.

Friday night's Lancashire derby between Burnley and Preston is a meeting of two teams flying high towards the top of the Championship.

The home side are well on course for a play-off place if not promotion itself and their biggest problem could he hanging on to their manager Steve Cotterill whose growing reputation will inevitably see him coveted by other clubs.

The former Cheltenham boss was heavily linked with the West Brom job recently and the Burnley board turned down Sheffield Wednesday's request to speak to Cotterill last week.

However, this Friday evening Cotterill's men face a tough test against a side who are even better placed in the table, sitting in second place behind Cardiff.

Preston recorded a fifth straight home win against Hull City in their last league match thanks to a brace from Danny Dichio but they did not have it all their own way against rock-bottom Tigers.

But significantly - we think - Burnley are playing this match at Turf Moor.

It is their away form that has shot them up the table - they have been beaten three times in front of their own fans.

The Deepdale side could take advantage of some nervousness among the home players as the match goes on.

Betterbet.com offers 5/1 on Preston to grab an away win after drawing at the interval - good odds in our book.

Carling Cup football takes over this week and there are several intriguing ties which will hopefully give us the chance to make a few bob.

Accumulators are usually for mug punters only but in these circumstances we feel confident enough in picking the winner in four of the Wednesday night matches.

Manchester United are at Crewe Alexandra and although the Reds will no doubt field a weakened side - and they have lost out before in this competition by doing that - we reckon they will brush aside the challenge of the Railwaymen and will happily take the 1/3 offered by Betterbet.com.

Take Spurs at 4/11 to beat MK Dons - the White Hart Lane side are too professional to be caught napping in this tie - and add to that Bolton at 11/8 to see off struggling Charlton at the Valley.

The Londoners are in freefall at the moment while Sam Allardyce's side are in need of oxygen after reaching the dizzy heights of third in the Premiership above Arsenal and behind Man Utd and Chelsea To round off what we hope will be a fruitful night, we reckon Liverpool will be too strong for Reading at Anfield.

The Merseyside club were crucified by critics after their abject display against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday and will be stung into a reply.

Betterbet.com odds of 4/9 for a Liverpool victory, added to the other three winners should make for a profitable enough four-team accumulator.

Can we humbly remind you that Manchester United's comfortable win over Liverpool at 10/11 with BetterBet.com was tipped by us and we will take our winnings onto Monday night's Championship clash between Coventry and Colchester.

Both sides are sitting in the middle of the table, unlikely to be bothered by relegation problems or the fight for the Premiership but both are in different stages of their season.

Colchester crushed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in their last outing which lifted them into 10th in the Championship, their highest ever position in the Football League.

Goals from Jamie Cureton, Greg Halford, Chris Iwelumo and Karl Duguid saw them coast to victory at Layer Road and you would assume confidence is at an all-time high for this trip to the midlands.

Coventry, on the other hand, lost 1-0 to Wolves in their last league match and manager Micky Adams is more than pleased to see the impending return of long-term injury absentees Stuart Giddings, Mikkel Bischoff and Wayne Andrews - but all three will struggle to make it for this game.

We are impressed by the Essex side enough to tip them for an away win and will wager a few quid of our United winnings with BetterBet.com at 5/4.

Manchester United welcome old rivals Liverpool to Old Trafford in Sunday's joust of the giants.

However, this contest looks rather one-side from where we are sitting. The Koppites grabbed an encouraging Champions League win in Bordeaux in midweek but will face up to stronger opponents in the Premiership leaders.

United are off to a flier this season - despite having to deal with a number of injuries and suspensions - and there's already a gap of eight points between this pair just eight games into the league campaign.

Liverpool have already lost three times away from home - at Bolton, Chelsea and Everton - and there is a fragility and inconsistency about them on their travels.

Old Trafford stars Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville and Gabriel Heinze could all be back for the weekend and that makes us think that BetterBet.com's 10/11 is worth taking.

Saturday's tea-time Premiership sees on-form Aston Villa welcome Fulham to the midlands.

Martin O'Neill is being heralded as the messiah (again) since arriving at Villa Park in the summer although there was some consternation at home last weekend before they eventually got their 1-1 draw with Tottenham.

But significantly, that point meant that, almost incredibly, Villa remain the only team in the league yet to lose a game.

And it is at Villa Park where they have set about building their new-found reputation this season although it has to be said that all their victims have been less than top drawer opponents.

Wins over Reading, Newcastle and Charlton preceded the stumble against the men from White Hart Lane and once again the fixture list has been kind to O'Neill.

Fulham have struggled away from Craven Cottage and their win at Newcastle this season was just their second victory in their last 22 Premiership games away from home.

So why then will we take the Londoners to win this game? Call it a gambler's instinct but we feel Villa must be due for a set-back and their draw against Tottenham indicated that they are not the finished article by a long chalk.

BetterBet's 4/1 for Fulham to win the match tempts us to go for the long shot as we are inclined to do occasionally throughout the season. Join us if you feel lucky.

The Coca-Cola League Two clash on Friday night between Chester and Hartlepool kick-off this weekend of football.

Both these mid-table clubs have struggled so far this season with the home side having won four in 14 league games while the visitors have fared slightly better with five wins from the same amount of games.

Chester drew 0-0 with Rochdale in their last league outing while the Pool drew 1-1 with Stockport at home which makes it difficult to split these two sides.

betterbet will give you 5/4 for Chester to pick up their third home win of the season but we think the visitors are the more likely at 7/4 - and that's what we recommend.

Danny Wilson's men cruised to a 3-1 win over League One side Rotherham in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy - the performance of the round - which suggests they have found a bit of form just in time for the visit to Chester.

When you consider your options for the Champions League action on Wednesday remind yourself of our latest advice on the Fulham versus Charlton game on Monday.

We said: "Bet Direct offers 7/2 for the game being drawn at half-time and Fulham to be the victors at the final whistle. That's where we will be directing our stake money."

Hopefully you all took advantage and are ready for our next steer.

A goalkeeping crisis at Chelsea leads us to lean towards Barcelona in their Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge.

Petr Cech is currently recovering from an operation on the serious head injury he suffered in the early stages of Saturday's Barclays Premiership victory at Reading.

In a bizarre game, Carlo Cudicini was also stretchered off and is recovering well from the bout of concussion he suffered in the closing stages of the match.

Hilario, the 31-year-old Portuguese keeper, is set to make his debut but whoever ends up in the Chelsea goal, there must be an element of nervousness around and we think Ronaldinho and co can take advantage.

We will take Bet Direct's 13/8 for a Barca win and double it up with Bordeaux, also at 13/8, to take care of Liverpool in France.

Koppite talisman Stevie Gerrard has been ruled out with a hamstring problem and we feel that will tip the balance in favour of the home side.

After a controversial weekend of goalkeeping injuries followed a week of goalkeeping errors, we might hope for a less controversial Monday night in the London derby between Fulham and Charlton at Craven Cottage.

Iain Dowie's men will travel across the Thames with trepidation given their start to the season. Not good at all.

Six defeats in seven games has left the Addicks looking up at the rest of the Premiership and probably kept Simon Jordan, his boss at Palace before they parted in acrimony, in a perpetual state of mirth.

Fulham, neat and tidy as usual without having you on the edge of your seat, have only lost to Manchester United and Chelsea in their opening seven games and there is no shame in that.

So this game offers the chance for the Cottagers to consolidate their mid-table position - probably as high as they are likely to end up at the end of the season.

And we think Fulham will eventually squeeze through in the end but there won't be much in it.

Bet Direct offers 7/2 for the game being drawn at half-time and Fulham to be the victors at the final whistle. That's where we will be directing our stake money.

We tipped Chelsea to be winning at half-time and full-time on their trip to Reading (and what game that turned out to be) but we have to admit following that winning advice up in Sunday afternoon's Premiership encounter between Bolton and Newcastle will prove more difficult.

Sam Allardyce's side beat Liverpool in their last outing but a visit to St James Park does not inspire massive confidence in us.

United are notoriously difficult to predict and could turn on the style at any given time - usually when you least expect it.

But Bolton's rock-solid defence has conceded just three goals all season - not bad by anyone's standards - so we think that they are good enough to hold out against the Magpies.

We will take Bet Direct's 11/5 for the draw but we will use that as part of a double and in our other match, the Edinburgh derby, we are much more confident.

The Easter Road side go into the game still trying to get over the news that manager Tony Mowbray has left to join West Brom.

Mowbray's assistant Mark Venus will take the team for the last time before he also departs for the Hawthorns and we reckon the disappointment surrounding the loss of the popular management duo will affect the home players.

The Gorgie side have shown in the past few seasons that they can play through all sorts of upsets and should be too focussed and strong for the Leith side who have worries over Moroccan duo Abdessalam Benjelloun and Merouane Zemmama.

So given the disarray at Easter Road, we tip Hearts at 5/4 with Bet Direct to triumph in the first capital meeting of the season.

On the face of it, Saturday's live tea-time game sees a real David and Goliath contest when champions Chelsea visit Reading.

The Royals gave Middlesbrough a two-goal start on the opening day of the season before coming from behind to win and have already held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at the Madejski Stadium.

But despite the fact that Reading have captured just three points less than Chelsea from their opening seven games the superstars of the Kings Road are a different proposition altogether.

The Stamford Bridge side have the Champions League to look forward to next week and Jose Mourinho make tinker with his line-up but even then they should still be too strong.

Bet Direct will give you even money for Chelsea to be winning at half-time and full-time and we will be lumping on.

And for a nice little side bet, why not try Andriy Shevchenko at 9/2 to open the scoring for the visitors.

The Ukrainian striker looked back to his best against Scotland during the week and could take that form into the domestic scene.

Most of Britain's football fans are in need of cheering up after the midweek 2008 Euro qualifiers.

England and Scotland suffered depressing defeats which badly affected the punters although the two Irish sides and Wales did well.

Hopefully Friday night will give us all a chance to recoup our losses with a nice little winner to start off the weekend.

Friday night's action sees Championship football between Southend and Coventry and it's fair to say this is not a contest between two teams playing at the top of their form.

The Shrimpers lost 3-0 to Derby in their last outing and currently sit third bottom of the table.

Coventry lost their last game at home to Plymouth although in mitigation that was their first defeat in front of their own fans this season.

City boss Mickey Adams can see light at the end of the tunnel for three of his players Stuart Giddings, Mikkel Bischoff and Wayne Andrews, whose injuries have surely affected the Sky Blues' start to the season.

But we think they will be happy enough to leave Southend with a point and will take Bet Direct's odds of 11/5 for both sides to fight out a draw.

Steve McClaren's honeymoon period ended abruptly on Saturday after England were held to a 0-0 draw with Macedonia, a scoreline that was available at 20/1 with some bookmakers.

It is unthinkable that England will not eventually qualify for the Euro 2008 championships but it could become a bumpy ride for the former Middlesbrough boss if they lose to Croatia in a fixture they have every right to face with some trepidation after the weekend‘s performance at Old Trafford.

Despite having several chances to take all three points, England simply looked devoid of ideas throughout and deserved only a point from the match.

There should be no doubt that Croatia, unbeaten at home in competitive matches for 16 years, will pose even more problems in front of their hostile supporters.

McClaren is believed to contemplating operating a 3-5-2 system but he must be worrying about his options in attack with Wayne Rooney still looking out of sorts.

Bet Direct have Croatia at 2/1 with England at 11/8 and the draw at 9/5 and it is the draw that interests us.

We don't think England can end Croatia's fine run of form at home but they should have enough to escape with a point.

Ledley King has pulled out of the England squad for the Euro 2008 qualifier in Croatia.

The Tottenham defender did not join Steve McClaren and his players on the flight to Zagreb as he still has concerns about his knee, on which he had an operation in the summer.

The problem ruled him out of training on Monday and, after a conversation with boss McClaren and England's medical staff, it was agreed he should not travel.

The Football Association's director of communications Adrian Bevington said: "While Ledley King didn't suffer any reaction overnight to his knee, further to conversations involving Ledley, Steve McClaren and England's medical staff, immediately before flying this morning, it has become clear that Ledley is not entirely comfortable.

England are favourites at around 6-4 to win the match.

We have to work even harder for our value this Saturday in the Euro 2008 qualifiers which dominate the football calendar.

There is no surprise that England are as short as 1/20 in some places to beat Macedonia at Old Trafford. Not encouraging at all.

First goal scorer is what interests us in this fixture and what better time and place for Wayne Rooney to shrug off all his latest disappointments with fitness and form to grab the opener.

We will take Bet Direct's 10/3 for the controversial Scouser to strike first but even those odds are not enough on their own so we will use it only as the first part of a 'Home Nations' accumulator.

The Republic of Ireland were unfortunate to lose their opening qualifier in Germany and even though the knives are out in some areas for boss Steve Staunton, the Irish can make amends against Cyprus who were thrashed 6-1 by Slovakia.

Bet Direct offer 4/11 for the away win and let that roll onto the Wales v Slovakia match at the Millennium Stadium.

The fact that Craig Bellamy has been named Wales captain tells you all you need to know about the injury problems which have beset John Toshack as they look for their first point of their qualifying campaign.

No Welsh joy on this occasion I'm afraid so Take Bet Direct's generous 2/1 for the away win and turn your attention to Northern Ireland's encounter with Denmark.

Lawrie Sanchez's side go into the match on the back of a coupon-busting 3-2 win against Spain but we can't see lightening strike twice.

Denmark, solid if unspectacular, are 2/9 with Bet Direct. For the last leg of this five-bet accumulator take France at 8/13 to overcome Scotland at Hampden Park.

Friday night's football can be seen as the tasty starter before the international main course on Saturday.

England's under-21 side take on their German counterparts in the first match of a two-legged play-off and the edge that always involves encounters between these two traditional enemies will make this 90 minutes worth seeing.

With a place in next summer's UEFA European Under-21s Championship Finals at stake, Peter Taylor's men know they will probably have to leave the Ricoh Arena with a lead to take to Leverkusen for the return game on Tuesday.

The home leg in Coventry is already a sell-out, with 32,000 expected but we reckon the Germans can play through the passion of the England fans and get the draw that will out them in the driving seat for the second-leg.

Bet Direct's 2/1 for the draw is too tempting for us to ignore - so we won't!

Chelsea have hit back at Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon's claim that their spending power may over-inflate transfer fees for other European clubs.
Calderon expressed concern at the huge financial loss Chelsea have made since Roman Abramovich became owner in 2003.

He told BBC Five Live: "It's a problem, prices are high. It's very dangerous."

But Chelsea director of communications Simon Greenberg retorted: "It is an open market but sometimes we have to pay more because we are Chelsea."


Interview: Chelsea communications director Simon Greenberg

He added: "The money that we have spent has been invested into football - the majority of it. A very small amount of Roman's investment went on purchasing the club.

"The rest of it has gone into football and filtered down through football.

606 VIEW
Chelsea are having an impact on transfer fees but Real Madrid were doing the same not so long ago

AS
606: Have your say

"Although we made a substantial loss last year, there were a number of one-off payments that won't be repeated this year.

"We run ourselves as much as we can as a plc and we are completely transparent about our accounts - which is something that cannot be said for many top European clubs, including, I would say, Real Madrid."

Calderon is frustrated as he believes Real will have to spend more to attract the world's best players to the Bernabeu.

"Abramovich is paying a lot of money for players but we have to compete with it," said Calderon.

"In his case, he admitted to having lost nearly £150m last season.

"You just don't know how long those people are going to stay in soccer. If somebody decides to leave, it's going to be a problem."

Rooney has yet to play for England under Steve McClaren
Rio Ferdinand expects Wayne Rooney to end his goal drought in the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Macedonia and Croatia - with help from Peter Crouch.
Manchester United striker Rooney, 20, scored his last competitive goal for England against Croatia at Euro 2004.

But defender Ferdinand said: "He will be on the scoring trail again soon.

"Crouchy can do no wrong in an England shirt. His goalscoring record is up there with the best of them and add Wayne and it could be fantastic."


News conference: England's Rio Ferdinand

It is the first time Rooney has been in the England squad since serving a suspension following his sending off in the World Cup quarter-final against Portugal in July.

And another ban, this time at domestic level, has been cited as the cause of a recent dip in form.

People are harping on about him having a bad time at the moment but I don't think he will be seeing it as a crisis point

Ferdinand on Rooney

He scored twice on the opening day of the season in August before being consigned to the sidelines for three matches and since his return he has struggled to recapture the verve he showed in that 5-1 victory against Fulham.

But Ferdinand believes too much has been made of his United team-mate's supposed lack of form.

"He has set himself some fantastically high standards and if he is not attaining them at any point people seem to think it's an absolute travesty," added centre-back Ferdinand.

"But he hasn't been playing poorly by anyone's standards. He has been doing okay and is finding his feet fitness-wise and is improving every day.

"Against Benfica in the Champions League he was asked to do a job out wide, which he did brilliantly.

"And I think it was a good game for him in terms of fitness levels. He was doing a lot of defending and working his socks off, which he does without an argument anyway.

"Hopefully, in the next game we'll see some goals and a great performance from him in an England shirt.

"People are harping on about him having a bad time at the moment but I don't think he'll be seeing it as a crisis point."

Following the successful start to the Steve McClaren era, during which time England won their opening two qualifying games for the first time in a decade, Ferdinand added that it was a boost to see Rooney involved again.

"It's good to have him back," confirmed Ferdinand.

"He adds a lot to the squad, not just on the pitch - where his talent speaks for itself - but off it as well.

"He's always having a laugh and keeps the place bright and bubbly and that's important, especially on 10-day trips like we're on."

Meanwhile, McClaren believes Arsenal's teenage forward Theo Walcott could develop into a candidate for the role on the left-hand side of the England attack in future.

"When you look at the modern game, people are not stuck in one position," said McClaren.

"The likes of Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho at Barcelona rotate so one is in the middle and one is on the left. They interchange.

"The modern player, coming through over the next few years has to be adaptable and flexible enough to do that."

After Saturday's match against Macedonia at Old Trafford, England travel to Zagreb to play Croatia on Wednesday.

It's international week and as countries all over Europe gear up for the Euro 2008 qualifying double headers, we have to look to domestic football for a chance to make a few bob.

Conference football provides our live television action and there is likely to be no shortage of action when Weymouth host Gravesend.

The home side are currently in fifth place in the table and have yet to lose at home, winning five and drawing one so they will go into the game with some confidence.

Gravesend, in 10th, have a decent away record it has to be said but we reckon this match may just be a bridge too far for them.

Bet Direct are offering even money Weymouth and 12/5 for Gravesend but we think the former will just edge this encounter.

Newcastle were handed a daunting task in the draw for the UEFA Cup group stage in Nyon.

The Magpies were drawn with Celta Vigo, Palermo - conquerors of West Ham in the first round - Fenerbahce and Eintracht Frankfurt in Group H.

Tottenham were handed a kinder draw despite being among the lowest seeds and were drawn with Bayer Leverkusen, Bruges, Besiktas and Dinamo Bucharest in Group B.

Blackburn face a tough task to progress from Group E containing Feyenoord, Basle, Wisla Krakow and Nancy.

Rangers will come up against Auxerre, Partizan Belgrade, Livorno and Maccabi Haifa.

Latest Betting:
Sevilla 5/1
Tottenham 10/1
Ajax 14/1
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Osasuna 16/1
Palermo 16/1
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PSG 20/1
Az Alkmaar 25/1
Celta Vigo 25/1

The weekend's football threw up its usual thrills and spills and now we look towards to Premiership new boys Watford taking on Fulham at Vicarage Road.

The Hornets have struggled in the top flight so far and are seeking their first win in seven Premiership games since promotion from the Championship.

It is a statistic which interests us given that we are fresh from tipping struggling Sheffield United to get off the mark against Middlesbrough.

Sunday was also a successful day for us as we punted well on Spurs to be winning at half-time and full-time against Portsmouth which paid out at reasonable 11/5.

Fulham, it has to be said, are no great shakes and we reckon they will struggle for most of the season. And back-to-back home defeats to Wycombe in the Carling Cup and Chelsea in the league doesn't augur well for Chris Coleman's side.

Will they be good enough to take care of Watford?

Three defeats and three draws leaves the Vicarage Road side second bottom but we think this game gives Adrian Boothroyd the chance to break their duck.

Bet Direct are showing 5/4 for Watford which we recommend by the narrowest of victories.

The wheels fell off Portsmouth's bandwagon on Monday when they lost at home to Bolton but Harry Redknapp's men get the chance to make amends when they take on Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Pompey were unlucky against the Trotters and certainly created their fair share of chances but the question is - can they bounce back from the disappointment?

On paper, they have little to fear from their trip to North London. Many Spurs fans and independent observers thought Martin Jol's men would be fighting for a Champions League spot this season but so far they have scored just once in six Premiership matches and the pressure is piling on especially ay home where they have lost three times.

But with all the talent at Jol's disposal, and the confidence from their 1-0 UEFA Cup win over Slavia Prague in midweek, we reckon that bad run will come to an end against Portsmouth.

We tipped Sheffield United to break their Premiership duck when they beat Middlesbrough so we will hopefully take that form into this match.

Bet Direct are offering 11/5 for the home side to be winning at half-time and full-time and we will pile on those more than decent odds.