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With more than 20 International Friendly matches taking place this evening, you’d imagine there must be some good value punts to be had - and you’d be right!

Bosnia-Herzegovina v France, 20:00

Losing World Cup finalists France will be looking bounce back in the first game of their (second) post-Zidane era. With strength in depth they should be able to experiment and still put on a good show, we predict that they’ll emerge as victors by a tight margin. In this kind of company, you can’t go too far wrong with a few quid on Henry to be first goalscorer.

England v Greece, 20:05

McClaren’s first match as England manager is tough one to call. On the face of it, you would expect England, under a new manager with players playing in their best positions and at home, to be too strong for Greece. We think England will win but with McClaren likely to experiment we’d be reluctant to rule out the possibility of a draw with the durable Greeks coming back into the game late on.

Liechtenstein v Switzerland, 19:15

They say there are no easy games in world football anymore, and a lot of weaker countries have certainly lifted their game in the last ten years or so, but with all due respect there really aren’t too many teams that visit Liechtenstein without expecting to come away with a win. While they have been taking more points off visiting teams by drawing in the last few years, the Swiss should be too strong by far.

Luxembourg v Turkey, 19:00

If there’s one team in World football with a worse record than Liechtenstein. With a 100% losing record in their World Cup 2006 Qualifying campaign, an average of a goal scored once in every three games - as opposed to an average of more than three goals conceeded every game, there’s no way we can see anything but a Turkish victory in this one.

Rep of Ireland v Holland, 19:30

The Dutch were hand picked to give the Gaffer’s men a dress rehersal for their opening Euro 2008 Qualifier against the Germans. Unfortunately for Staunton many of his own team have had to pull out of the game due to injury and in order to protect player who were nursing injuries. With no establish threat up front, Robbie Keane and Damien Duff are both ruled out, we can’t see the boys in green causing any problems for the Dutch. And with Given and Dunne missing - the calamitous John O’Shea standing in as a central defender - we can’t see Ireland keeping a clean sheet. So the verdict, we can only assume it’ll be a win for Holland, possibly by a couple of goals.

After last weekends less then stellar prediction results, we’re looking to lock in some good wins this weekend. First up, the two teams that let us down last week, Wolves versus Preston. They line up on Friday evening at Molineux for the first game of the weekend, as such both will only have had three days rest since Tuesdays fixtures. Wolves will surely be the happier of the two teams as a result of notching up their first win under new manager Mick McCarthy. Preston, still without a win, still without a goal so far this season will be looking to get a grip of things early on and silence the home crowd but without influencial captain Graham Alexander, who starts a three match ban after being sent off midweek, I can’t see them getting a result. Wolves should win this one assuming they can continue to find the net.

Saturdays games are tough to call with a few finely balanced games in there. First up on Saturday at lunchtime are Stoke and Birmingham. Stokes good win midweek will have given them a boost going into this clash with the title favourites but I can’t see either that or the home advantage saving them. Birmingham have looked way too strong already this season and are going to have the desire and skill to take all three points on Saturday.

Cardiff against Coventry is a hard one to call but looks like it could produce a goal or two. With both the momentum and home advantage though it’s hard to see Coventry pulling off an upset. If forced to choose we’d have to plump for Cardiff City on this one.

Colchester versus Barnsley should be tight too inspite of Colchester being unable to pick up any points so far this season, they’re bound to get off the mark eventually and with home advantage this weekend they’ll be looking to produce a good display and secure all three points. Though should new signing, former Celtic and Ireland international Colin Healy, receive clearance in time he’ll be in the frame to give Barnsley a boost. Too close to call on this one.

Both Leicester and Ipswich will be desperate to open their account having both had bad results in their opening two games. Leicester have a number of injury doubts going into this game but we’ve guessing that they’re going to be going hell for leather on Saturday in order to get some points on the board. Leicester City to make it a home win - by a narrow margin.

Luton and Norwich have been going well so far this season and face each other at Carrow Road on Saturday. Coming off the back of their 2-0 win over a disappointing Preston midweek we can only assume that Norwich City will press home their advantage. As always, Darren Huckerby is sure to give the Luton defence a horrible time and may even get on the score sheet if he remember his shooting boots.

Next up, we have QPR at home to Southend. QPR nicked a point midweek against Leeds United and will be looking to go one better this weekend. They’ll need to shore up their defence as will Southend, who shipped three goals last weekend, in order to get the points. We’re expecting a Draw at this one.

Burnley have shot out of the traps this season are sit second in the table, conversely, Sheffield Wednesday have been looking like the proverbial rabbit in the headlights, having not managed a goal yet. We’re nailing our Burnley colours to the mast on this one.

Southampton versus West Brom is another tough to call match. Both teams have been going well and banging the goals in. With nothing to choose between them, we’ve giving Southampton the slight advantage but with a good chance of it ending equal.

Sunderland against Plymouth should be finely balanced but inspite of the home advantage we can’t see Sunderland pulling out of the losing streak with a win and with odds as high as 4/1 to be had on a Plymouth victory, it could be a nice little punt to make up a double/treble.

Which bring us to our final game on Saturday evening, Hull at home to Derby County. Hull’s defensive frailities have cost them dear already this season, no more so that last Tuesday when they surrender a 2-0 lead to Barnsley who when on to win 3-2. We don’t think 3 days is enough time to shore up that defence. Derby to get their first win of the season on Saturday evening.

Sunday afternoons game between the two promotion hopefuls, Crystal Palace and Leeds looks set to be a cracker. Leeds although not entirely convincing have been picking up points steadily. The signing of Geoff Horsfield should solve some of their problems up front and we can see him adding to his midweek goal tally this weekend. But alas it probably won’t be enough to push past free scoring Palace and pick up the points. Crystal Palace to extend their 100% record.

After last weeks poor result away to Heart, Celtic will be looking for a convincing win over St. Mirren at Parkhead. A midweek fixture against English Champions Chelsea won’t have helped their preparation but Strachan rightly rested some first team players and having managed a credible draw the team’s spirits will have being buoyed. Having said that, it’s still the Bhoys eighth game in nine days and with St Mirren in good form with two wins to open their SPL campaign it’s easy to see some value in the 16/1 being offered on St. Mirren by Bet365 or 11/2 for a draw with PaddyPower. Inspite of these factors, home advantage should make all the difference so look to see Celtic winning by two or three on Saturday.

Rangers have had their own stumbles already this season too, scraping an opening day 2-1 win over Motherwell and dropping points at home last weekend to Dundee United. This Sunday they take on struggling Dunfermline at home and should be able to put in a convincing performance. The players will be looking to impress new manager LeGuen so expect a big push early on and for Rangers to be leading at half time. A solid second half performance should see them finish up victors by two goals. Rangers/Rangers in the Half-time/Full-time market should be available to 10/11.

Second place Hearts face third place Falkirk at Tynecastle on Saturday. In spite of their midweek exertions in the Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens, Hearts should be able to break Falkirk’s 100% run. With no game midweek and Rangers next weekend they’ll surely be wanting to take their frustrations this weekend and set up a good run before the second leg of their Champions League qualifier.

So this weekend, we’re back to the old reliable, Celtic, Rangers and Hearts to win. As a treble it should work out as an Evens punt or you might want to mix and match with the predictions from tomorrows English League Championship post.

With the second round of games in the Championship having just kicked off earlier this evening, we thought it’d be a good time to look back at the opening weekend. First off, it wasn’t a good weekend for our predictions with two of our four selections, Wolves and Preston NE, being among the three drawn games.

After the opening round of games, Burnley sit proudly in first place thanks to a debut brace from Derry born Steve Jones against QPR. They’ll need to keep him in the side and banging them in like that to put themselves in with a chance of a playoff spot this year. QPR play Leeds United tonight in what will surely be a close game with plenty of chances, if their opening day form is anything to go by. Another Northern Irish man David Healy gave Leeds the points against Norwich last Saturday by converting from a spot kick, though by all accounts it was terrible finishing by Norwich that cost them the points. Leeds will need to strengthen up front if they’re going to contend for an automatic promotion spot.

Tonight, Norwich will hope to find the net against Preston, last seasons playoff favourites. Preston played out a dismal goal-less draw against ten man Sheffield Wednesday last weekend and be desperately hoping to improve on their performance and finishing. After the disappointment of last season, they’ll have been hoping to get off to a good start this time round.

At half time now, Sheffield Wednesday are one-nil down to Luton Town, who had a good opening day win against Leicester City and are comfortably ensconced in second place. Last years solid 10th place finish is a good platform for the Hatters to build on, with the additional stability provided by coach Mike Newell signing on for another four years they should be able to put in a good run and fight for a playoff sport at the very least.

The Baggies picked up tonight against Cardiff City where they left off on Saturday against Hull by going one up with three minutes. Though they’ve since been pegged back by the Blues and one-all it stands at half time. West Brom, having been relegated from the Premiership last term, will be hoping to bounce back and secure automatic promotion. While man for man, Birmingham’s squad probably shades it as the strongest in the division, they don’t have anyone of the calibre of John Hartson who at £500,000 is surely the bargin of the season. Harston will surely have his critics but I can’t see anyone else leading the line, holding the ball up and bringing teammates into the game like he will. And as he showed on opening day, he’ll knock a few goals in too.

That brings me to Birmingham, the bookies favourites to head straight back up. With a strong experienced squad they look set to do well but I’ve a suspicion that expectations may weigh on them this year. As a big club with a few years of Premiership exposure under their belt, surely everyone else in the division will be lining up to stick on on them. Brimingham make the long journey up to the Stadium of Light in the North East tonight and take on fellow relegatees Sunderland tonight.

Sunderland, now under the total control of chairman/manager Niall Quinn, will be hoping to stop the slippery slide begun under the reign of Quinn’s former teammate and manager, Mick McCarthy. Unfortunately for Quinn, Coventry battle back from one down last Saturday to extend their miserable run of defeats. He need to beat the bad defending habits picked up by his team out of them and quick if their ball watching and napping isn’t going to cost them more cruicial points.

Coventry have the night off tonight as they face Southampton tomorrow evening. Whereas Coventry snatched the points on the weekend, Southampton dropped two points by conceding late on against Derby. As a dark horse each way chance for many, a lot will be expected of Southampton this year, as befits a club with the sort of history and resources that they have. They’ll want a good run in the next few games to grow in confidence but it may be too big a leap for them this year to put themselves in contention for automatic promotion. They may scrape through for one of the final play off places though.

We’ll be keeping an eye on all the main contenders for the Championship crown over the coming weeks to see how the race for the Premiership pans out and we’ll hopefully have some more successful match picks next time round! :-)

The Championship starts today so here are our match tips for the weekend:

Birmingham v Colchester - Birmingham win

Ipswich v Crystal Palace - Crystal Palace should be too strong

Plymouth v Wolves - Wolves although kicking off the season away from home should dispose of Plymouth

Preston v Sheff Wed - Preston at home are almost sure to have a good opening day

These four as an accumulator should weigh in at about 15/1. Though taking a conservative option and going for Trebles from Four is still a decent punt at 15/2.

Celtic sit prettily on top of the SPL table this morning after a fine opening day performance that will no doubt have pleased Gordon Strachan. Their impressive 4-1 win over Kilmarnock will be particularly pleasing after their meek pre-season buildup which began with three successive defeats. Strachan will also be pleased that Zurawski and Miller linked up well to produce a brace for Zurawski. As predicted on Canny Punter last week, Jarošík also made it onto the score sheet, albeit as the second goalscorer.

Hearts will be reasonably happy with their capable away display on Saturday in disposing of 10-man Dunfermline. Their Czech frontmen both looked lively and got themselves on the scoresheet. They’ll surely be looking to cause the Celtic backline some trouble when they meet next weekend. Celtic, who have a midweek fixture in Japan will need to be on their toes in order to avoid an early slip-up.

With both Celtic and Hearts managing to win on the opening day, the success of last weeks tip rested on Rangers completing the treble with a win on Sunday afternoon. They duly obliged, but not without causing a few nervous moments by allowing Motherwell back into the game having spurned a hat full of chances in the first half. This was the cue for stand-in captain Dado Prso to take the game by the scruff of the neck. The Croatian upped his game and put the Gers back in front on 65 mins with a well taken header, moments later he almost doubled his tally for the day but was denied by the woodwork.

After last weeks winning tip, make sure you check back for our League Championship preview later this week and our forthcoming English Premiership preview!

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The wee man, Strachan, did well last season after what could only be called a nightmare start to the season. Having lost the plot completely by throwing away a three goal lead in the opening match and needing to be rescued by a last minute equaliser, followed by an embarassing 5-0 hammering by lowly Artmedia Bratislava, the gaffer faced early calls for his head. But will all around him losing theirs, Strachan steadied the ship and thanks in large part to the steady flow of goals from John Hartson established a strangle hold on the league. The Scottish Leauge Cup was the well deserved icing on the cake for Strachan in his impressive first season. They’ll need to add to their squad this year and hope that Kenny Miller can bang enough in goals to earn his keep. Keep an eye out for former Chelsea and Birmingham midfielder Jiri Jarošík pulling the strings in midfield, he be worth a few quid on him at about 8/1 to be first goalscorer.

Conversely, Rangers imploded last season. Their terrible form leading them to a rare trophyless season and a lot of work needed to make up the ground on their bitter rivals. Luckily for them, they’ve found a manager with the potential to achieve such a task in three time French Championship winning manager (with Lyon), Paul LaGuen. LaGuen is famed for unearthing diamonds in the rough, much like his compatriot Arsene Wenger, and has already poach a number of talented young players from his home league. After only managing an anemic third place in the league there can be little doubt that the blue end of Glasgow will be looking to throw down the gauntlet with a strong start to the season.

Hearts, after their magnificant run in last season may have other things on their mind this year, their squad is surely going to struggle in the Champions League have not managed to sign any new players in the close season. While their fans will be hoping to go one better than last year, here at Canny Punter, we can’t see them being able to beat either of the Old Firm this year. So while there’s little value in the market we’re predicting a Rangers win, followed closely by Celtic, with Hearts a distant third. Just don’t put your house on it!

A better value punt we feel (being somewhat conservative still) is for the top three from last year to get off to a winning start this year, which one should be able to get for 3/2 at your favourite bookies. *

Welcome sports fans, to a new blog dedicated to all the Canny Punters out there. The team here will be using the next couple of weeks to analyse all the pre-season activity and transfer market with the goal of predicting who’ll be able to challenge Chelsea for the Premiership crown this season.

We’ll also be taking a look at Celtic and Rangers to see who’ll dominate the SPL this year. While the Outright Betting market may not provide us with great value the match betting should be able to provide us with a few bankers to anchor an accumulator.

Canny Punter HQ will also be looking to hear from you throughout the season, so send us your tips, news and views to punter [at] cannypunter.com or leave us a comment.