One brings two...

As promised on the Facebook yesterday I will provide you readers with a selection of tips from leagues other than the Premier League. Whilst I thoroughly enjoy selecting tips from the self-proclaimed 'Greatest, Bestest, Most Brilliant League In The Whole Wide World Ever' I think there are often some great value bets in leagues outside of the main betting spectrum.

Lower League English
The Championship
Coventry v Preston, Saturday 1500
One level below the Premier League is the free-for-all that is the Championship and my bet of the weekend! Last season under Chris Coleman Coventry really struggled and it seems that the bookies are pricing matches up with that in mind still. Whilst their style of play is a bit more, ahem, industrial, it is certainly more effective. Preston are absolute crap at the moment to be blunt, and it looks like very little of Sir Wrigley's managerial skills have rubbed off on young Darren. He did well with pots of cash in Leagues 1 and 2, but now he has a bit of a challenge on he's drowning. Coventry are a best priced 2.1 with Hills and I'm all over that.

League One
Bournemouth v Carlisle, Saturday 1500
Bournemouth may have one of the least experienced managers in the Leagues in Eddie Howe, but he is doing a hell of a job. After guiding them up from League 2 last season he has overseen a bright start at League 1 level so far. Carlisle have also made a decent start, but this is one hell of a long journey for them down to the South Coast to Dean Court to play a team that are very good at home. I think this match is a home win all day and Hills are best priced at 2.38 which I'd say is very generous of them.

German Bundesliga
Stuttgart v Leverkusen, Saturday 1430
Stuttgart had not started their season well at all before last weeks astonishing 7-0 victory against Monchengladbach. Leverkusen had also got high hopes for this season with the signing of Michael Ballack, who has since injured himself and continued to prove he's well past his best. I'm happy to follow the form here and back the Swabians to get a home win and prolong Leverkusen's misery another week. 888sport go 2.4 on that result and I'd be happy with that.

Italian Serie A
Sampdoria v Udinese, Sunday 1400
Bologna obliged with a last minute victory for me in midweek against Udine, but Antonio Di Natale was on the scoresheet and I fancy him to carry on scoring in this. Sampdoria are one of the few Serie A teams I'd pay to watch and that's mainly to see Antonio Cassano. The man is a genius and a goal threat as well as being a generally interesting footballer. Legend has it Capello once chased him around a training session as he was so annoyed at his lack of effort. Since marrying last summer though he has knuckled down and is putting the graft in to make him a brilliant player. I think this match has got goals in it, and with the general decline of defenders in Italian football I think there's some value in the over 3.5 goals here. BWin go 3.2 on over 3.5 and I'm going to chance that.

Spanish La Liga Primera
Malaga v Villarreal, Monday 2000
Both of these teams have started the season in decent goalscoring form. Malaga have gone with a 3 pronged attack and are scoring for fun, including a good 2-0 victory at Getafe in midweek. Villarreal had faded slightly in recent years, but their strikers have found their shooting boots this season like Guiseppe Rossi. Neither team is particularly strong at the back and are both happy to go for the jugular whether in front or behind and for this reason I see goals in this game. Betfred are a best priced 2.0 on over 2.5 goals and I'd be pretty confident of that coming in.

France Ligue Un
Lyon v St Etienne, Saturday 2000
This match is a derby game and one that Lyon have had the better of in recent years. Their domination of French football seems to be coming to an end though, and manager Claude Puel has them playing a brand of football many have referred to as 'utter merde'. St Etienne are a team in the ascendency currently and are in the upper reaches of the table at this early stage. They will have the backing of a vociferous home crowd desperate to beat their local rivals, and when you add that to a Lyon team low on confidence it could be enough. Many bookies are going 5.5 on the away win and I'll have a half stakes go at those odds.