After an extended break which included the more mundane (international football break) and my own personal international break, the weekly SMT betting tips are back. So, without further ado, lets delve straight in:

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Bet 1 – Manchester United vs Manchester City – Manchester United Win

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The biggest game of the weekend is undoubtedly the Manchester Derby, which sees the top two face-off in what will be a feisty encounter. The only thing that both sets of supporters can agree on is their hatred for a certain Argentinean (has anyone else seen Betfair’s ‘Trash your Tevez Shirt’ campaign?). Considering they are at home, I see great value in backing United for the victory here – bearing in mind they only dropped 2 points at home all last season. There is no doubt City will be fired up for the game and eager to get one over their rivals, but with key players returning to the squad, I see value in odds of 2.15 at Bodog. www.bodog.co.uk 

Bet 2 – Arsenal vs Stoke & Newcastle vs Wigan – Double on Arsenal & Newcastle Win

What would this article be without the customary bet on an Arsenal game? This week I am actually going to bite the bullet and back the London club to beat Stoke at home. Poor form in general has seen odds pushed out on what would normally be considered a home banker as odds of 1.58 offer decent value. With Ramsey coming back from injury mid-week to continue his rich vein of scoring form, and RVP’s goal scoring machine ticking into motion, Arsenal should be able to counter the deficiencies that Andrei Arshavin provides them and take all 3 points.
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Newcastle also host a Wigan side that are about as thrilling and interesting to watch as Louis Walsh. Roberto Martinez and his side cannot buy a win at present and I don’t see that changing here as they face a Newcastle team who will be buoyant at their comeback last week against Spurs, which ensured they kept their unbeaten start to the season. The decent odds on this result combine well with the Arsenal game to offer odds of 2.54 on the double at Coral. www.coral.co.uk/

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Bet 3 – European Punt – AZ Alkmaar v Roda, Barcelona v FC Sevilla & Malaga v Real Madrid – Triple Over 2.5 Goals
 

AZ Alkmaar are sitting pretty at the top of the Eredivisie and are averaging over 3 goals a game at home in a blistering start to the season. Meanwhile, it needs very little inspection into the exploits of Messi, Ronaldo, Higuain, Villa & co. to understand why I am backing the treble here. Higuain & Ronaldo seem to be trading hat-tricks at the moment whilst Barcelona could have scored enough goals to win 3 matches had they not been so wasteful in mid-week. They won’t be so wasteful again. Whilst it is a punt, odds of 2.73 at BWin offer good value https://www.bwin.com/Default.aspx