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Here are some pieces of advice that will hopefully give you a helping hand when it comes to your weekend wagers on the football!

Pay attention to the penalty-takers for each team

Graham Alexander might be a holding midfielder for Burnley, but the Scot has scored three times from the spot this season. At this rate, he will get close to double figures for the campaign and so the odds of 7.00 about him scoring at any stage would pay over time. Frank Lampard might be injured, although he has also scored three penalties this season, while Alessandro Diamanti, Darren Bent, Steven Gerrard, Danny Murphy and Leighton Baines have all scored twice past the keeper from twelve yards.

Back players to score at any time rather than first

Let’s face it, how can you back a First Goalscorer with any confidence? While punting on Darren Bent to achieve this in every game so far this season would have resulted in a 50% strike rate, it’s always a risky bet with each goal consisting of so many variables. If you genuinely believe that a player will find the back of the net during the ninety minutes, a far safer option is to bet on them scoring at any stage. Not least because your bet is guaranteed to last the full match unless the player is sent off. When Cristiano Ronaldo played for Manchester United, the bookmakers regularly used to offer the Portuguese forward at even money, even when he was on a scoring run of five games.

If Fernando Torres is fit for the Manchester City game on Saturday, then it’s worth noting that he’s scored in four of his last five Premier League matches. Similarly, Cesc Fabregas has scored in his past three matches and also five of his past seven games for the Gunners. The Spaniard will have the urge to get even further forward at Sunderland, now that Robin Van Persie is injured.

Consider Asian Handicap and Draw No Bet markets for bigger-priced selections

Ahead of Liverpool’s match at Sunderland earlier this season, it emerged that the Reds were missing Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for the trip to Wearside. I was therefore surprised to find the bookmakers offering 3.00 about the Black Cats on the Draw No Bet market, where you get your money back if the scores finish level. This is a sound bet if you think the outsiders are good for at least a draw.

Asian Handicap betting can be employed if you either a) think that a favourite will win by a big margin or b) think that an outsider will only lose by a slender margin at worse. Last Saturday, Norwich City were available at 1.90 to beat Tranmere with a -1.0, -1.5 handicap. If the Canaries had won by one goal, then you would get half your stake returned from this wager, although they ended up triumphing by a 2-0 scoreline. This won the bet and was far more profitable than backing them at 1.40 to win the match.