Segar Says: Meat Loaf, discipline and a 9/1 Saturday accumulator

As Meat Loaf once famously said, “Two out of three ain’t bad”. That thought occurred to me as I saw both West Ham and Hull winning last Saturday, followed by Swansea’s fifth goal at QPR. Mr Loaf also said “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that”. Presumably, ‘that’ was referring to betting on QPR.

The opening weekend of the season was filled with goals and not all where you’d expect them to be. The only thing for sure about the early stages of the campaign is that nothing is for sure. Just ask Norwich and Liverpool (not going to mention QPR again, they’ve made ‘the list’).

After viciously berating the bwin boffins for Loftus Road-gate (optional ‘r’ in ‘berating’), I soon calmed down and offered them a chance to redeem themselves. Together, we looked over every spec of detail from last weekend’s action and came up with four games that definitely won’t throw up any ridiculous 5-0 surprises… or else.

If you wish to follow these selections, then why not use the free £20 bet you receive for opening a bwin account to be in with a chance of winning £207.74 to brighten up your bank holiday?

Swansea to beat West Ham @ Evens

It takes a brave man to put the early Saturday kick-off on an accumulator coupon, but next to coffee and a fork in the hand, it’s the best way to ensure you are wide awake enough to start your football-filled weekend.

After last week, Swansea owe me big, and what better way to make up for it than by starting this week’s accumulator with victory over newly-promoted West Ham? The Swans picked up 31 points at home last season and will be looking to at least replicate that total this year.

The Hammers came up trumps for last week’s accumulator after beating Aston Villa, but I’m afraid they’re on the other side of it this week. Sam Allardyce’s men were actually impressive on the road last season, but they were not really tested in the Championship to the level they will be at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

Despite initially fearing that the Welsh side would miss Brendan Rodgers too much, I am doing as every good football writer does – entirely reversing my opinion based on one game. Michael Laudrup has made a career out of buying very effective players with a small budget and in Michu, who scored 15 times in La Liga last season, he appears to have a goalscorer who can keep the Swans away from the wrong end of the table.

Lets just hope for Laudrup’s sake that it’s not Michu-do about nothing…

Wolverhampton Wanderers to beat Derby County @ 18/25

Since they lost a three-goal lead to draw 5-5 with Scunthorpe in the Capital One Cup, before losing on penalties, I have developed an uncontrollable fear of betting on Derby. Betting against them, on the other hand…

Wolves got their season up and running with a comfortable 3-1 win over Barnsley on Tuesday evening and look good at 18/25 to do similar to County.

It was their first home win of 2012, but under the guidance of Stale Solbakken, there appeared a freshness in the Wanderers squad as they took apart the Tykes at Molineux.

With just one point to show for their opening two games, Nigel Clough’s side will do well to come away from the Black Country with anything on Saturday, which is why the Wolves box gets ticked on this particular accumulator.

Coventry City to beat Bury @ 13/20

They will hear such sentiments a lot this season, but there’s bound to be cries of “Can you believe Coventry v Bury is a league match now?” all around the Ricoh Arena this weekend.

But a League One fixture it is, and exactly the sort of game the Sky Blues need to be winning if they are to make their stay in England’s third tier a short one.

It’s not been a great start by Andy Thorn’s side, who have picked up just two draws in their first two games, but he will fancy his chances of registering a first win against a Bury team who remain without a permanent manager after losing Richie Barker to Crawley.

Peter Shirtliff has taken temporary charge and overseen a loss and a draw thus far, and he will surely need to improve the away form of a Shakers side who lost 13 games on the road last season if they are to have any hope on Saturday.

Bradford to beat AFC Wimbledon @ 83/100

To complete our coupon this week (and one that features a game from each of the top four tiers, I might add), we put our trust in Bradford City… no, seriously.

Since their relegation from the Premier League just over 11 years ago, the Bantams have fallen, and fallen again. Now finding it tough to even stay in the Football League (they finished 18th last season), the Yorkshire outfit are desperately seeking to reclaim former glories.

Speaking of former glories, AFC Wimbledon are embarking on their second season as a Football League club as their dream of emulating the original Wimbledon – who achieved quick promotions from non-league right up to the top flight – continues.

However, after Tuesday’s 6-2 hammering at Burton Albion, any pre-season optimism may have already been slapped out of the Kingston-based club and if the players are still smarting from that rout, then it could very well be a straightforward win for a Bradford side who won their first game at Valley Parade this campaign on the same night against Fleetwood.

So that’s it for this week’s selections. No sign of QPR or Norwich – luckily they’re playing each other.

Enjoy your bank holiday weekend and as ever, happy punting!

New customers can register here to claim their free £20 bet or click here to see all our Premier League odds.

Follow us on Twitter @bwin