29 - Nothing Clear Cut

This week also shows little promise on the betting front. I see my main options are Man Utd v Villa, Chelsea v Middlesbrough and West Brom v Colchester.

Although Villa have been on a downer recently, losing to Sunderland last weekend. But they are still in 7th place and so realistically I cannot bet on them to lose, no matter how good Man Utd are at the moment.

Beating Middlesbrough should be a simple task for Chelsea, but then again, Arsenal probably though the same thing a couple of weeks ago. That day Boro grabbed a point and so I don't feel comfortable with this game either.

That only leaves West Brom. The Baggies drew their last game at Charlton and were beaten heavily by Leicester the week before. However, they face a Colchester side without a win in 9 games. Surely this will allow West Brom to get their promotion hopes back on track?

Unfortunately it is not certain enough for me. I am going to have to have a 2nd week without a bet.

Very frustrating.

28 - No easy matches

Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to put a bet on this weekend as I cannot find a match which will gurantee a victory.

I think my best option would be Aston Villa versus Sunderland, but Villa have not won in their last 3 league matches and were beaten convincingly by Portsmouth last time out.

I did consider a wager on Aldershot v Altrincham, but I do not know enough about the Blue Sky Premier to risk my money.

It is a shame to not bet, but wth the end of the season approaching I do not really want to risk my winnings on something which I am not sure about. A return of 23.4% so far is encouraging and to throw it all away now would be a disaster for the project.

27 - Red Devils beat the Trotters

Another win for Man Utd keeps them top of the pile going into a tough week for the big sides. It also means another £2.06 is added to my account.

New balance is £123.41

On Sunday the top for side play each other and so the chances of betting on a Premier league match is unlikely. I will take a look at the fixture lists and report back when I have made my decision.

26 - Man U v Bolton

Manchester United's win against Derby was not convincing but Alex Ferguson's rallying call in the newspapers stated that he did not want so many chances to be passed up again.

Although such a call to action is usually a good sign that the next side to meet them will take a beating, the Reds face Liverpool at the weekend and so may not have a full strength team to do so.

Alex Ferguson cannot afford to miss out on the 3 points here though and for this reason I will still wager 10% on the match. Plus at Old Trafford, the Red Devils can usually be relied upon to grab the 3 points.

£12.13 on a Manchester Utd win!

26 - Chelsea thumb Derby County

My £17.85 bet on a Chelsea has added £2.33 to the account.

New balance: £121.35

Next week, the fixtures look particularly tasty. Man U v Bolton, Liverpool v Reading and Arsenal v Middlesbrough are surely all home bankers?

Arsenal can possibly be discounted simply for not beating Wigan last weekend, but the other two will be simple wins.

I think my favourite of the two is Man Utd. Simply because Liverpool are more likely to have a hanogver from the European games after their fine win in Milan against Inter.

Man U play Derby on Saturday then face Bolton on Wednesday. To be honest, a punt on both of these matches should be safe, however, my rules do state that I won't bet on away games.

Oh well. One will have to be enough.

26 - The wait until Wednesday

This weekend's fixtures throw up a lot of possible choices, but none that really take my fancy.

Liverpool should thrash Newcastle, but in football a bad run often comes to an end at an unlikely source.

The Scouse/Geordie games were always very open when Kevin Keegan was at St. James Park last time around, and all the neutral fans will be hoping that this is no different.

Of course, the more open the game is, the more likely that Newcastle could nick a point and so I will not be risking my money on it.

I also expect easy wins for Blackburn and Arsenal, but not enough for me to part with my cash.

The obvious choice for this round of games is actually on Wednesday evening, with Chelsea travelling to the midlands to play Derby. I can't see his game going any other way than a home win. Chelsea returned to form last weekend at West Ham and Derby should offer little resistance.

£17.85 on a Chelsea win will give me a £2.33 return if successful.

Come on you blues!

25 - Rangers increase my total

An early scare for Rangers saw them go 1-0 down to Aberdeen but eventually their quality shone through for a 3-1 victory.

The win means a £2.44 profit for my project which brings my total to the heady heights of £119.02.

Arsenal could only manage a draw with Aston Villa which means they have now gone 4 games without a win (in all competetions).

Manchester United on the other hand have won all 3 of their premier league matches since being beaten in the Manchester derby. And in London, Chelsea sent a message out to the rest of the league with a 4-0 thrashing of West Ham at Upton park.

It means that I will be closely watching the Reds and Blues rather then the Gunners in the coming weeks. I don't think at the moment an Arsenal win can be relied upon.

25 - Rangers to beat the Dons

After looking into the fixture between Rangers and Aberdeen I really can't see the Dons getting anything out of it.

They have lost their last 3 away matches in the league whereas Rangers have won 10 league matches on the spin.

It certainly seems as though Rangers will have it all their own way.

An £11.60 bet will return £2.44 if successful.

Come on you Gers!