First and foremost, a happy new year to you all, full of punting goodness and bookie-bashing brilliance. After a self-enforced winter break over the festive period, it’s time to get this punter back to the land of profit.

There’s some excellent football to come in the second half of the season with both of the domestic cups, all the European action and the climax to the Premier League.

Manchester United are running away with the Premier League at the moment yet I can’t help but feel that it’s the weakness of the other sides rather than their prowess which is the major factor in their seven point lead.

If any of the top three or four put a solid run together, you could see the league get much tighter but at the moment, no one can.

Looking ahead to this weekend, there’s a cracking Sunday in store with Liverpool heading to Manchester United and Manchester City heading to the Emirates to play Arsenal.

Brendan Rodgers will be looking to avenge the Anfield defeat earlier in the season; a game they dominated with 11 men, controlled with 10 men (once Shelvey got sent off) but still conspired to lose.

Double: QPR v Tottenham (Both Teams to Score) and Manchester United v Liverpool (Both Teams to Score)
 
This week, I’m going to slip back into the betting side of things nice and easily with just the one bet. It features two of the weekend’s TV fixtures, Spurs’ visit to QPR and the aforementioned Manchester United v Liverpool game.

The bet is a both teams to score double and is priced up at odds of 7/5 (2.43) and I will be having £30 of my bankroll on this.

QPR v Tottenham

Spurs have been really solid of late and have climbed to third in the table whilst QPR are still rooted to the bottom of the League despite Harry Redknapp’s appointment. The former Spurs manager will be keen to get one over on his old club though and should have them fired up for this.

In 70 per cent of QPR’s 10 home games this season, both teams have been on the scoresheet, whilst if you look at Tottenham’s away form, the percentage is even higher – 80% of the 10 away games this season have resulted in both teams scoring.

Manchester United v Liverpool

In Manchester United and Liverpool games, there always seems to be a trend of goals. In eight of the last 10 head-to-heads between the two, both teams have got on the score sheet.
 
If you look at this season’s form then 70% of United’s home games have seen both teams score, whilst Liverpool’s away fixtures have also seen the same percentage with both teams getting on the score sheet.
 
Between them, they also have the two highest domestic goalscorers to date; Robin van Persie has 16 goals, whilst Luis Suarez is chasing him down with 15.

Steven Gerrard is the Premier League’s top assist-maker with eight so far, whilst Van Persie and Rooney are high on the table too with six and seven respectively. That’s enough to convince me to place a maximum stake bet this weekend.
 
Enjoy your football and your betting this weekend and don’t forget to get involved with our free £20 bet giveaway from Paddy Power.

Free £20 Bet Competition

Mark Rothwell was the latest winner of our competition as he tipped up Gareth Barry to score first against Reading. We’ve got another £20 free bet from Paddy Power to give away this week so don’t miss out.

If you’d like to enter this week’s competition just email betting@goal.com with your best weekend tip and price and use “FreeBet” in the subject line to enter.

Entry is open to residents of the UK and Ireland and is limited to one entry per person, the winner must have a valid Paddy Power account to claim the prize and the editor’s decision is final. Good luck!

Entry is open until midday on Saturday so get your emails in early to ensure your tip is counted.

Diary of a Punter: Simon’s Selections this week

Balance at the start of the week: £380.30 Profit for the season: -£119.70

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Simon Pilkington is a sports writer, an avid supporter of Liverpool and has been betting on sports for the past 13 years. Follow Simon on

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With such a mouth-watering set of Premier League fixtures this weekend it’s the ideal chance to get involved in Totel Football and their real money fantasy football game.

I’ve gone down a route of siding with proven performers this week as I’d rather stick with the players that are in some sort of form, points-wise. There’s a reason they’re consistently high-scoring players and I’m hoping I’ve managed to hit upon the perfect combination to land myself a cash prize.

Goalkeeper

Simon Mignolet

The Sunderland goalkeeper has notched three double-point scores in his last six matches, as Martin O’Neill’s side host a West Ham team that have really struggled to score on the road.

The Hammers have two goals in their last five games away from Upton Park so Mignolet gets the nod in goal.

Nemanja Vidic

The Serbia international has returned to the Manchester United starting 11 following a spell on the sidelines and although Liverpool are in fine form, I think Vidic could cause some problems in the air for Brendan Rodgers’ side. It’s a crucial game and hopefully he can contribute to the points tally on Sunday.

Jan Vertonghen

Spurs visit QPR in Saturday’s early kick-off and Jan Vertonghen looks a good inclusion given that he averages over five points a game and could be a real headache for Rangers to deal with from set pieces. He notched the winner against Swansea recently and another goal scoring performance would be most welcome.

David Luiz

I’ve included David Luiz in plenty of my recent teams and he’s paid dividends at times. While Rafa Benitez continues to deploy him as a midfielder rather than in defence he has a much better chance of scoring, and getting more points for his goals, too.

He takes free kicks, is good in the air and should get forward against Stoke on Saturday.

Thomas Vermaelen

There’s a good reason the Arsenal man is rated as a four star player by Totel Football. Six clean sheets and just two cards mean he is often good for at least five or more points in a game. Games between Arsenal and Manchester City have been very close in terms of goals in recent years and I don’t expect this one to be any different.

Gareth Bale

Following a missed game on New Year’s Day, the Wales international is back and available for selection ahead of the trip to QPR.

Given how impressive Bale was against Aston Villa where he racked up a massive 30 points, there’s every chance he could cause Harry Redknapp a serious headache and secure a good points haul in the process.

Michu

What’s left to say about Swansea’s star summer signing? Not a lot. He’s been one of the most potent attacking players of the campaign and is classed as a midfielder by Totel Football, even though he’s more regularly deployed as a striker, so his goals count for five points, not four. There’s no way I could leave him out, especially after another goal in midweek.

Juan Mata

Although Juan Mata was a little disappointing against Swansea on Wednesday he is one of the more consistent point scorers for Rafa Benitez’s side.

Seven goals and seven assists with just one booking tells it’s own story and if there’s one man that can unlock Stoke’s defence, it’s him.

Theo Walcott

Another midfielder who’s more often deployed in a striking role this season, Walcott renewed his contract with the Gunners this week and although it’s unlikely to be a high-scoring thriller, I’m banking on him increasing his tally of eight goals at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Robin van Persie

The Netherlands international notched 13 points on New Year’s Day against Wigan and although Liverpool may prove stiffer opposition, the Merseyside club could struggle to contain a man who has notched 15 goals and provided five assists in the Premier League this season.

Rickie Lambert

This is a little bit of a gamble. Rickie Lambert started the season really well and although he isn’t in contention for the Premier League top goalscorer prize just yet, recent goals against Fulham and Stoke are an encouraging sign.

After seeing Aston Villa falter against Bradford in midweek Nigel Adkins will know this is a massive opportunity for the Saints to bag three points and hopefully Lambert can be the focal point of the attack.

If you think you can do better than Jim this week, why not sign up for Totel Football and receive up to £100 in free bets to start your Fantasy Football betting

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Jim’s starting XI

Simon Mignolet; David Luiz, Jan Vertonghen, Nemanja Vidic, Thomas Vermaelen; Juan Mata, Michu, Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale; Rickie Lambert, Robin van Persie.

Substitutes

David Stockdale (Fulham), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), David Silva (Manchester City), Papiss Cisse (Newcastle)

EXCLUSIVE
By Tom J Doyle

Luke Shaw will develop into a better player by staying at Southampton rather than moving to a top Premier League club according to former Saints and Chelsea left-back Graeme Le Saux.

The 17-year-old has gained rave reviews for impressive displays on the left of Nigel Adkins’ defence this season which has led to Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all chasing his signature, as exclusively revealed by Goal.com.

However, the teenager has opted to spurn the advances of the top clubs and instead sign a long-term deal with Southampton and Le Saux feels he has made the right decision.

“There’s no hurry for [Shaw] to leave Southampton at the moment,” he exclusively told Goal.com. “His impact on the Premier League has been initially very, very good.

“Ultimately you have to look at the long-term benefit of the player. Playing regularly for Southampton is helping his development more at the moment than being at one of the top two or three clubs and being sat in the Under-21s.”

The former England international played in Shaw’s favoured position for both Southampton and Chelsea, and suggests although the youngster may eventually move to a bigger club, the Saints can nurture him into a top talent.

“I think you always have these situations with ‘smaller’ clubs and younger players who are developing; the reality is if someone breaks into the first team and does well they attract interest from other clubs,” he added.

“It’s how you protect that player and how long you protect that player for before the reality sets in before you’ve got to let them go to develop and fulfil their potential.

“Southampton over the years have produced some fantastic players and they have a great development centre.

“They are really family-orientated club so young players feel very much part of and connected with the club, they don’t feel isolated. It’s obviously proved very successful in the past.”

Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have moved from St Mary’s to the Gunners in recent years, while Gareth Bale left the south-coast side for Tottenham and has since won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year for 2010-11.

Graeme Le Saux was talking ahead of this week’s Capital One Cup Semi-Final first leg ties. Find out more about the competition on the official website at www.capitalonecup.co.uk or join the debate on the semi-finals on Twitter @CapitalOne_Cup using the hashtag #CapitalOneCup.