Two Premiership goals bets for you over the next couple of days:

1. Everton v Sunderland Under 2.5 @ 1.78 (Betfair)

Everton are lacking a striker and therefore firepower, and are tight at the back – Sunderland will be keen to avoid defeat. All the pointers are for under goals.

2. Hull v Aston Villa Over 2.5 @ 1.86 (Betfair)

Aston Villa are missing both Laursen and Cuellar, and against a Hull side who will be desperate to bounce back after capitulation against Man City, will have to ourtscore the home side to win the game (rather than shutting them out). Hull score and concede in abundance, and this could be a goal fest.

Our 2 point Blackburn 1 point Bury combo returned a small profit; soon you’ll be able to track our points/percentage record on Sports Tipsters, a proofing service.

We debated on publishing a tip for the Strictly Come Dancing final on Saturday, convinced that public favourite Tom would triumph in the absence of a judges’ decision – and he duly did, trading at around evens at the start of the final.

Although sticking by our mantra of ‘any winning bet is better than any loser’, betting on TV reality shows does compromise our position as a serious advisory service somewhat!

Let us know what you think – do you want advice on ‘novelty’ markets?

A couple of bets to tide you over…

1. Bury @ 6/4

We opposed Bury last week due to sickness (they won) but there’s no reason to think they won’t take three points against Bournemouth. Bury are 5-4-1 away, and Bournemouth are coming into this game on the back of a demoralising defeat to Blyth.

2. Blackburn @ 1.85

New manager syndrome – this is Allardyce’s first game in charge – coupled with Stoke’s poor away form makes this an attractive price. Blackburn have superior quality, and Allardyce just needs to make them perform.

Probably our best weekend to date this week, as all the following came in:

Dortmund @ 1.53

Lay Arsenal @ 1.83

Lay Rangers @ 1.83

Tim Cahill 1st goalscorer @ 11/1

Cahill to score anytime @ 7/2

Chris Hoy to win Sports Personality of the Year @ 6/1

A huge profit in the week running up to Christmas – Wakuuuuuuuba!

All the original picks can be seen here – a members only post which has now had the password removed. The Sports Personality selection was free content and can be seen here.

A nice start to the weekend as Dortmund did the business, winning 2-1 last night.

An inconsistent ‘Boro side look value at 5.1 at home to an equally inconsistent Arsenal side. For a more conservative bet, Arsenal can be laid at around 1.83.

Doncaster are in decent form – W D D D W L – and were unlucky last time out. They have a tight defence, only going over 2.5 goals in one out of their last nine games, and Palace have lost Craig Beattie back to West Brom. Shefki Kuqi may struggle to break down a tough backline and laying Palace at 1.72 seems the bet here. They have not won for four games, and lost their penultimate home game to another basement struggler, Notts Forest. Doncaster are added value at 6.4.

Dundee Utd have already taken points from Rangers this season – and the Old Firm side have struggled away from home, dropping points in 4 of 8 games. There is value here with Dundee U at 5.4, or by laying Rangers at 1.83.

Finally, with injuries to Yakubu, Saha, and possibly Anichebe, Tim Cahill may play upfront for Everton against Man City – and he is available at 11/1 for first goalscorer. The 7/2 on him to score anytime is also worth a look.

Advised Bets:

Lay Arsenal @ 183 / back Boro @ 5.1

Lay Palace @ 1.72/back Doncaster @ 6.4

Lay Rangers @ 1.83 / Back Dundee Utd @ 5.4

Tim Cahill first goalscorer @ 11/1 / score anytime @ 7/2

Some interesting news from Bury: this will throw their preparations into disarray; and when something like this sweeps through your squad, you’re left decimated. Remember Spurs two seasons ago? Even when you don’t have it, you think you do.

Our bet is to exploit this weakness and lay Bury – whether really ill or psycho-sematically ill, they’ll struggle to play at top speed and Port Vale could take advantage.

Bury’s home form is sketchy in any case – they have lost their last four in all competitions. Post Vale have scored two and four in their last couple of away games, so could make the home team pay – at least by taking a point.

Lay Bury @ 1.96 (Betfair)

2008-12-13 21:00 Europe/London (GMT+0.00)

Always a difficult game to call – unpredictable, fiery, two of the best sides in the world and many of the best players – anyone is capable of turning or deciding the game.

I wouldn’t like to call the result – but certainly the 1.62 about Barcelona is way too short. Laying 1.63 on Real to lose to anyone is a decent bet, but considering the nature of the occasion, Real’s newly appointed coach, and the ‘derby’ mentality, 1.62 is too short for any outcome.

Barcelona may win – but that is a false price.

Lay Barcelona @ 1.63 (Betfair)

At stated, these are too great sides with superb attacking talent – and Ramos has always been an ‘overs’ manager, playing open attacking football at both Sevilla and Spurs (with varying results!). He will not have instilled defensive solidarity at the Bernabau; but he should get them flowing as an attacking force.

Barcelona have always got goals in them at home; and these two sides, both in prime form, spells goals. The price is artificially low – but as per our mantra, and winning bet is better than any loser.

Over 2.5 goals @ 1.57 (Betfair)

This evening sees Borussia Dortmund take on Borussia Monchengladbach in the German Bundesliga.

After a poor start to the season Dortmund are now slowly climbing the table – they have lost only one of their last thirteen games in all competitions, and have not conceded in four matches.

Monchengladbach, on the other hand, are on a dreadful run – they have lost their last three games 3-1, and have not conceded less than two goals in a game for seven matches – since their last win, in fact.

Dortmund are currently available at 1.53 on Betfair, which still seems a decent price considering the form.

If you want something a bit more adventurous, look at the handicaps or possibly even correct score betting.

Dortmund @ 1.53 (Betfair)

Panathinaikos won 1-0 against Famagusta last night, bringing us another winner – this one at 1.73.

Midfielder Giorgos Karagounis scored the only goal of the game.

Our subscription punters were correctly advised to stay away from the Chelsea handicap – or back Cluj on it – this game was a lot tighter than predicted.

We had to wait until the 40th minute for the first goal, denying us a clean sweep, but returning a healthy profit nonetheless.