Speaking of Bolton, they could quickly find themselves in The Championship having sold their only player with any pace in Anelka and former betting,betfair.com columnist Gary Speed. They'll also be going nowhere fast in the UEFA Cup having drawn Atletico Madrid. Fernando Torres may not be around anymore and Martin Petrov is doing the business at Man City these days but the money gained from their sales has allowed them to bring in the likes of Simao Sabrosa, Luis Garcia and Diego Forlan to join players of the calibre of Motta and Angulo. Atletico Madrid's ability to keep the ball and extra bit of class upfront should be enough to see them take a lead into the second leg and I'm on the "Colchoneros" at [2.49].

I've mentioned two of the sulkiest sportsmen on the planet in Andy Murray and Nicolas Anelka so I thought I'd push the boat out and mention a third: Dimitar Berbatov. But he's also a top-class player on his day and if Juande Ramos is going to lift the UEFA Cup for an incredible third time in a row, you suspect Berbatov is going to be the guy getting the goals. Punish the Keane layers of Spurs and show them you're the Multiples King by getting on Tottenham at [1.9] to win at Slavia Prague.

There are certain events that will probably never happen nor is there necessarily an answer to them but I'd be interested in seeing how they'd be priced up anyway: a public national vote to nominate the most annoying British sportsman out of Ian Poulter and Andy Murray and who has the most attractive wife out of Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson (Wenger once said in response to a comment made by Ferguson that "Everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife at home"). For the record I'd go Poulter v Murray - evens the pair and [1.8] Wenger [2.1] Ferguson. Another interesting match up would be a streetfight between Graeme Smith ("Pietersen is a traitor") and KP ("Smith is an absolute muppet") and I'd go [1.7] Smith and [2.2] Pietersen. Smith has clubbed 86 and 56 in his last two ODIs against the West Indies which have set up South Africa nicely for comfortable wins and I can't see the 4th ODI going any differently. It's been a long tour for the Windies and Morton Samuels excluded, everyone just looks like they want to go home and put their feet up. Short price though it is I'm going to take the [1.27] on another South Africa win.

It's all well and good calling yourself Peter "one-dart" Manley when your form is so bad that people never actually see you get to throw at a double. It's anyone's guess whether he needs just the one dart or twenty. The Amarillo man - Manley clearly has as good a taste in music as he has a dislike for razors - is in action against PDC World Champion John Part tonight and I'm not buying the argument that the travelling from Canada is going to wear Part out. After all, they're playing darts, not running a marathon. I'm all over the [1.65] on Part.

Despite going well in all competitions at present, Chelsea aren't playing well and a midfield missing Essien and Mikel (away at the African Cup of Nations) plus Lampard and possibly Wright-Phillips will struggle tonight against one of the best midfields in the Premiership when they face Everton. Anelka's availability is a boost for the Blues but Everton don't lose many matches at home and with the draw being enough for Chelsea to progress, they won't be busting a gut for a win. I'm laying Chelsea at [2.67].

I've never really understood the expression "nice weather for ducks", commonly used when it's a despicably miserable day. I can understand it to the extent that if the rain came after a period of drought the ducks would indeed welcome it with open wings but other than that why would they want rain falling down on them any more than the next animal? One duck who has made plenty of splashes in a short period of time is Pato, the Portuguese word for...duck. The 18-year old was fantastic on debut as Milan beat Napoli 5-2 a couple of weeks ago to record their first Serie A home win of the season. The Samba-flavoured trio of him, Kaka and Ronaldo could prove to be a destructive force if they start to gel and I wouldn't rule out a successful defence of their Champions League title. More imminently, I can't see Atalanta's defence keeping them out tonight so I'm backing AC Milan to take all three points at [1.64].

Speaking of expressions that don't make sense, here's another - "buying money", often used in betting when talking about a bet that seemingly can't lose. The first point I'd make is that there are no certainties in betting. If you don't believe me, just ask the so-called 1.01 merchants who pile in thinking that something is a cert then find out its not; it happens every day on Betfair. The second thing I'd say is why would you want to buy money? And if you do - at what cost? And does it make sense to buy money at a greater price than the money you're actually buying? As if Lara retiring and Sarwan being injured wasn't bad enough for the West Indies, skipper Chris Gayle - their only genuine match-winner bar Chanderpaul - is also injured and has flown back home. There are some rather unfamiliar names amongst South Africa's team such as J Duminy and Justin Ontong but these are guys who have scored a lot of domestic runs recently. Pollock is carrying on in ODI cricket for the time being and Steyn and Nel are there too. In recent weeks South Africa have dominated the Windies in Test, Twenty20 and ODI cricket so why should tomorrow's game 2nd ODI be any different? Surely the 1.29 on Graeme Smith's side is just buying money...

Understimate the 35-year old at your peril though as Agassi, Sampras and most notably Marat Safin have found out. Snooker in turn has the "Wizard of Wishaw" John Higgins. The current world champion faces Ding Junhui in the first round of the Masters tomorrow afternoon in a mouth-watering encounter and I'm more than happy to side with Higgins at [1.96]. Wembley was the venue where Ding endured his most painful experience in snooker to date, being heckled and humiliated by a partisan north London crowd wiling to take the law into their own hands as their idol Ronnie O'Sullivan faced the young Chinese prodigy in last year's final. Ding will have to battle those demons as well as the shorter first-to-6 format which I always feel makes it more difficult for the "shot-makers" and natural potters to get into the groove. Higgins' experience could be the difference between the two and the Wizard is the first of my selections.

A few years ago I read Dickie Bird's autobiography where he recalls an anecdote involving Geoffrey Boycott at a wedding. On hearing that Boycs was present, some friends of the groom grabbed a bat, ball, stumps and pads from the boot of their car and persuaded the former Yorkshire opener to have a quick bat in the car park. Two hours later they returned to the reception dripping with sweat, bow-ties undone and generally in no state to be attending any sort of wedding reception. Boycott walked back unscathed and fresh as a daisy. More importantly, he left the crease "not out". Another player I have noticed who appears to increasingly play for his average is the West Indies' Chanderpaul. For sure, he's been their best batsman for at least four years (even when Lara was around) but finishing not out time and time again rather than going for shots at the end of an innings isn't always best for the team. Chanderpaul's impact will be limited in the Twenty20 format on Friday with less time to play himself in. Big hitter Graeme Smith's influence on the match on the other hand could well be greater than normal in this format and a few blows of that big bat in the first few overs could be enough for South Africa to win this comfortably. Add into the equation South Africa's superior fielding, the superb form of Dale Steyn and the probable absence of Chris Gayle for the Windies and I'm left with no choice but to be with South Africa at [1.34].

I wonder what odds you would have got on both Rio and Anton Ferdinand both scoring goals on Saturday. Shorter odds than you would on either of them saying something remotely interesting or articulate in the post-match interview I suspect. Anton will be in action on Wednesday night at the Eastlands against a Man City side going through a mini "crisis" that has seen them drop from fourth to seventh in the league over the last few weeks. West Ham's away record isn't too bad but Man City's home record is pretty special and with key man Elano coming back into some form I think the Foreign Legion-like Man City side should win this FA Cup replay in normal time. It's [2.01] and at that price I'm having Eriksson's boys as the third selection in my Multiple.

There's nothing delightful about Turkish side Besiktas' away record in the Champions League this year. A 2-0 defeat at Marseille is probably par for the course for a side that has struggled over the years away from their vocal and partisan supporters. There is no shame in being defeated at Anfield either, but an 8-0 scoreline is a little much. Porto will take huge confidence from the fact they beat Besiktas in their own backyard earlier on in the competition, courtesy of a Ricardo Quaresma goal, one of the most in-form attackers in European football. The winger could once again be Porto's key player, with skipper Lucho Gonzalez another class player who can create or score a goal out of nothing. Despite needing to just avoid defeat to go through, I can't see anything other than a Porto win at [1.41].

I've mentioned Turkish Delights above so I thought I'd stick with the theme and turn my attention not to deep-fried Mars bars but rather their place of birth. The blue side of Glasgow play hosts to a side who is actually named after a chocolate bar, French Champions Lyon. Rangers were good for their goalless draw at home to Barcelona and impressive in beating Stuttgart 2-1, also at Ibrox.

Lyon are a shadow of the side they were two or three years ago with players of the calibre of Essien, Malouda, Carew and Tiago all allowed to leave with players of inferior quality brought in to replace them. Too much depends on the genial yet ageing Juninho Pernambucano to create chances and deliver from set-pieces if Lyon are to get results in Europe. Rangers need just the draw to progress to the next stage and I suspect that's what they'll get but I'm going to be a little more cautious so I'm laying Lyon at [2.5].

Barcelona may well field a reserve side at home to Stuttgart in a match they don't need anything from. But to paraphrase the advert, it will probably be the best reserve side in the world and far too good for a Stuttgart side that who have lost both their way matches in the competition so far, conceding 6 in the progress. I'm backing the Barca home banker at [1.47].

Which reminds me of last week's acca. India beat Pakistan in the 1st Test and Spain beat Northern Ireland in the Euro 2008 qualifiers but Portugal failed to beat Finland. In other words, close but no Monte Cristo.

It's a widely accepted theory of sports betting that when teams or players don't need to win a particular match, they have less chance of doing so and at face value that theory has certain merits. Man Utd, who have already qualified for the Champions League knock-out stages, host Sporting Lisbon tonight and despite being a bigger price than they would be at [1.59] if they hadn't already qualified and being likely to field a couple of "reserves", are still...a good price.

Firstly, they will be playing in front of a packed Old Trafford and will therefore be under pressure to perform, not to mention eager to make up for their loss at Bolton at the weekend. Secondly, they will want to wrap up the small matter of winning the group at home rather than face the prospect of having to do it away at Roma on the last day of the group stages. As Sir Alex Ferguson pointed out: "We've also got an important game against Liverpool straight after the Roma game. Beating Sporting would allow us to rest players against Roma." Thirdly, quite simply Man Utd's home record in this competition is exemplary and they will want to keep it that way. Fourthly, Sporting Lisbon aren't the greatest travelers and have top scorer Liedson nursing a bruised right thigh. Enough said.

Republic of Ireland striker and sometime Betfair radio pundit Tony Cascarino once said of Glenn Hoddle: "I he were an ice cream, he would have licked himself". Another player who you suspect has the odd glance at himself in the mirror is Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner who according to reports from the Emirates is happy to tell anyone who will listen that he is a better player than Adebayor, despite having only started a handful of games for the Gunners. It is precisely the rested Adebayor that Bendtner will be replacing in the Arsenal line-up tomorrow night at Sevilla. Last season's UEFA Cup champions are still recovering from the loss of Juande Ramos and were completely outplayed at the Emirates in a 3-0 defeat. I'm not expecting a repeat scoreline but with the "Gas Man" Fabregas back after missing Saturday's match and most virtually all of the other Arsenal thoroughbreds on show, I can't see Sevilla winning and I'm laying them at 2.35.

I've seen a fair few extraordinary things in my time: an inflated condom called Mr Blobby make it to Christmas Number 1, Victoria Beckham smile and I once saw Robert Key run three in a Test Match. But even this couldn't prepare me for the sight of Chelsea being available to lay at just 1.71 away to Rosenborg. This is the same Rosenborg who got a draw at Stamford Bridge that cost Mourinho his job and beat Valencia 2-0 home and away. With a snowstorm expected to cover the pitch, the likes of Ashley Cole and Joe Cole will no doubt have their gloves out and I doubt the likes of Didier Droga will be fancying the conditions either. Rosenborg are a big, strong, physical side who will be more than happy to throw their weight around. Terry and Drogba excluded, Chelsea are not. I'm happily laying the 1.71 about Chelsea all day.

As a kid I watched in utter disbelief as fitter, stronger, more talented boxers with better techniques than Rocky Balboa all fell at the hands of the "Italian Stallion". Whenever he was down, out, exhausted, hurt (and in Rocky IV actually suffering from triple vision) he managed to find one last, little bit of strength and determination to go and win before embracing the long-suffering Adrian. And that is precisely what Northern Ireland's David Healy has been doing for the last year-and-a-half and that's precisely what he did again on Saturday against Denmark (ok, his partner isn't necessarily called Adrian). But just like with the Police Academy films, I've reached a point where I have to say "enough is enough" and that's the point where I see Spain trade at 1.38 to beat them at home.

The great underachievers at big tournaments may well have already qualified but I can't see them taking their foot off the gas in front of their impatient fans. When you're a Spanish midfielder competing for places with the likes of Fabregas, Baraja, Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso and Albelda (to name a few) you can't really afford to take a laid-back approach to any match or else you'll be the one watching the next match from the comfort of your own Lazy boy chair. Spain's record in qualifying is superb and Healy's turning-water-into-wine-like miracles can't go on forever so I'm snapping up the 1.38 on Luis Aragone's thoroughbreds.

Pakistan have had their own David Healy in Mohammad Yousuf in recent times. He has certainly kept his head when all around him others haven't (specially when the likes of Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar are around) and been the cornerstone of anything good the team has achieved. Pakistan have done themselves a huge favour by omitting Afridi but the recall of Mohammad Sami is bad news for Pakistan and good news for Tendulkar, Dravid, Dhoni and buyers of innings extras on the spreads. Sami is quick but unreliable, inconsistent and as a cricket commentator once said "Guilty of bowling at least one four-ball per over".

Add into the equation the fact that Pakistan's blue-ribband bowler Akhtar may not be up to the strain of five-day cricket and that this is Shoaib Malik's debut as Test captain and you can begin to see the sort of trouble the tourists are in. Admittedly, it is also Anil Kumble's debut as Test captain but this is a man with 118 Tests and 566 test wickets under his belt on home soil which makes things a little easier. The pitch has been prepared in a way that is likely to produce a result and unless Yousuf can score 150+ in one his innings I'm pretty convinced it will be 2.49 India that will be getting the result.

Portugal will not be in Austria/Switzerland next Summer if they lose to Finland. Given the beauty of the Portuguese coastline at that time of year, I doubt they'll be too fussed. Or so you'd think. Perennial partyers Cristiano Ronaldo, Quaresma, Miguel and Nani spend most of the year doing just that and I suspect they'd somewhat rather be playing in Euro 2008 than watching it on a TV screen in a nightclub. A draw against Finland would be enough to secure qualification but I can't see those boys taking those sort of risks and their record in qualifying at home is right up there with the best (ie Germany). Portugal look a banker at 1.38 to beat Finland at home.

Barcelona's 2-0 loss away to Getafe at the weekend was the latest ridiculous upset to occur in the world of sport. Barcelona have one of the most expensive squads ever assembled in world football, Getafe have Kapo Blanco, who was on loan at West Ham last season and struggled to get a game. Its probably a good thing for Rijkaard's men that they're taking a break from league football in midweek and will instead be involved in the Copa Del Rey against Alcoyano of the Segunda Serie B. Even though Barcelona are likely to be without some of their key players due to international commitments, they will still be able to produce plenty of goals, for two simple reasons. Firstly, there is a huge gulf in class between the two sides irrespective of Barca fielding a weakened side and secondly those that fill in for the regulars will see this as a great opportunity to push for a place with some of the stars out of form. They're unlikely to take the foot off the gas when they go ahead and 1.65 on over 2.5 goals looks a good bet and that is the first leg of the Pacman's midweek acca.

Yuvraj Singh is one of a string of athletes with millionaire parents. Gianluca Vialli had blue blood in his veins long before he put on a Chelsea shirt and Zara Phillips' old man isn't short of a few bob either. Yuvraj's father is former Indian fast bowler and Punjab movie star Yograj Singh and its one of the worst-kept secrets in India (along with the fact that English people eat rubbish curries) that Yuvraj has a Bollywood career awaiting him when he hangs up his big bat.

Before he does that, Yuvraj continues to establish his reputation as one of the very finest ODI batsmen in the world. His 77 against Pakistan in the 3rd ODI was probably the difference between the two sides and I suspect he's not done just yet in this Series. Dhoni's captaincy has been mature and inspirational and Tendulkar's 99 in the 2nd ODI was right out of the top draw, which he followed up with a lightning 29 in the next match. Pakistan continue to struggle despite Salman Butt's career-best 129 on Sunday and need to decide sooner or later where it is that their potential match-winner Shahid Afridi (http://betting.betfair.com/cricket/cricket/boom-boom-or-bust-is-afridi-a.html) should bat. Get on Yuvraj's India to Boom Boom Afridi's Pakistan at 1.76.

By 8pm on Saturday Russia will have beaten Israel and England will be out of Euro 2008. McClaren will be out of a job, Beckham won't reach his beloved 100 caps and England fans won't have a summer of thinking they have "every chance" and "the best squad we've had in years" before crashing out in the quarters. But don't let all that put you off backing England to beat Austria on Friday night just hours before their Euro 2008 fate is sealed. Austria are an awful side and despite their probable failure to make next summer's championships, England should prove to be too good for them. Michael Owen wants to break Booby Charlton's goalscoring record before he goes off to feed some sugar lumps to some horses and this is the sort of match where he will be expecting to get on the scoresheet. Back England at 1.72.

I've always heard that if you fall off a horse, you need get right back on it at the soonest opportunity. Personally, I've never ridden a horse, much less fallen off one but it's Champions League this week so I'll apply that rule by just pretending it happened to me, a bit like Milli Vanilli pretended they could sing.

A few years ago I went to Hawaii and was sitting on the beach when a bloke walked past me with his highlighted hair and Chinese-symbol tattoo. He had a top-of-the-range wetsuit and surf board which he polished with wax for 15 minutes before doing a few exercises and taking to the sea. Two minutes later he was rescued by the lifeguard as he almost drowned in neck-high water. The point of the story? He looked the part but he was out of his depth - literally. Which reminds me of Roma. They look the part with their hand-gesturing, designer stubbles and innovative formations but they've been pretty poor all season, a 2-2 draw at Empoli after being 2-0 up being the latest of their disappointing performances. Without the leadership and goals of the injured Francesco Totti, they strike me as a side that doesn't really know where it's heading. Sporting Lisbon were impressive in their 2-1 defeat away at Kiev and unlucky to lose at Roma in the last round of fixtures. My money is on Sporting's young guns to come good and take all three points at 2.78.

Sachin Tendulkar is one of my favourite batsmen in world cricket and I have always look forward to watching "The Little Master" bat when he comes to the crease. Eight years ago a certain Virender Sehwag came on to the scene and when I first saw him I thought Tendulkar had been the first human to have been cloned. Same height, build and most crucially, same technique. In fact, he was so similar that they called him "The Little Tendulkar". Since then I have always wondered what would happen if another batsmen came along who looked and batted just like Sehwag. Would he be known as "The Little, Little Tendulkar?"

Sehwag has been dropped from the current ODI side that is playing an ODI Series against Pakistan but Tendulkar, who turned down the Test captaincy a couple of days ago, is still there. India look a confident and assured side under the leadership of Dhoni and I've been extremely impressed with the resourcefulness and patience of both Gambhir and Uthappa. Harbhajan Singh looks like he's back to something like his best and Yuvraj Singh is quickly becoming one of the most reliable middle-order batsmen in this form of the game. With Inzamam out of the picture, Afridi's continued insistence on going for broke just after arriving at the crease and Kamran Akmal still not convincing as an opener, too much pressure is piled on those two class performers Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar to perform miracles. India are the more balanced side and I fancy them at 1.74 in Wednesday's ODI.

Phil Neville is someone who you instinctively feel has always been handed a bit of a rough deal. Fathered by a guy called Neville Neville, brothered (is that a word?) by a guy who is better looking than him and who is also best mates with the world's most famous footballer, you could also say that not only is he not the most talented player in his family but perhaps not even the second most talented as twin sister Tracey has 14 England caps more than him (at netball), despite her career being plagued by injury.

Good thing for the Toffeemen then that Joleon Lescott and Mikel Arteta have had storming seasons for Everton that have made up for their weakest link. Moyes has assembled by far the best squad they've had in years and are beginning to get results from matches in which they haven't played particularly well, as happened on Saturday against Birmingham. I see no good reason why third-from-bottom in the Bundesliga Nurnberg are as short as 2.94 so I'm laying them. Which is a good bet anyway and a cracking bet if Phil Neville doesn't play.

The Pacman's midweek selections are:

Backing Sporting Lisbon v Roma @ 2.78

Backing India v Pakistan @ 1.74

Laying Nurnberg v Everton @ 2.94

which comes to odds of 6.1

Little Sam on the other hand was found wanting in his short spell in charge at Bolton and the result is they're second from bottom in the Premiership with only Derby below them on goal difference. Gary Megson was a strange choice in my opinion to replace him as his Premiership credentials are hardly impressive but I suspect he will at the very least conquer the respect of the dressing room that his predecessor clearly didn't have. Avoiding relegation is the one and only priority this season, success in any other competition is a bonus. Which brings to me tomorrow night's match. Bolton play hosts to a Manchester City side that have reached the dizzy heights of third place in the Premiership by keeping clean sheets and defending leads, most of them gained through the goals of the brilliant Elano and the wing wizardry of Martin Petrov.

Ok, they didn't exactly keep a clean sheet on Saturday as Chelsea put six past them but these things happen in football and Chelsea are looking good at the moment. I'd expect Bolton to rest a few of their key players for the premiership relegation fight and without the goal-scoring threat of the sulkiest and moodiest player in the game (bar Thierry Henry) in Nicolas Anelka, they'll struggle to create chances. Bolton are a big lay at 3.05.

There's a theory that sooner or later things turn out ok in the end through sheer persistence. As someone who once bet on black (and lost) seven times in a row whilst playing roulette I can vouch for the fact that isn't always true. Amy Whinehouse may have suggested I was betting on black to get black to black but in reality the incessant reds put me firmly in the red.

Speaking of red and blacks, the OAPs at AC Milan have had a torrid time in the league recently and I see no good reason why that should change on Wednesday night at Sampdoria. David Platt's former club are sitting one place above Milan in Serie A and will fancy their chances against a side who at the moment seem to be relying solely on the goals and inspiration of Kaka to get results. A bad day at the office for the Brazilian playmaker can lead to more pain for the Milan faithful who are also without the suspended Ambrosini. I'm laying Milan at 2.32.

But let's not dwell on last week's losses for too long. After all, I'm sure those nice men at the bank will give me another mortgage.

I see Roma are available at just 1.52 to pick up three points tomorrow night against Sporting Lisbon. Normally I'd be rushing to the front of the queue to get with some high-quality Totti featuring in a good outfit but on this occasion the price just seems wrong. Roma have come off the back of a 4-4 home draw against Napoli and were spanked 4-1 at home to Inter Milan just a couple of weeks ago. Sporting Lisbon are no world-beaters and lost 1-0 to Man Utd just like Roma did, but I think they'll have just as much of the ball as the home side and if star striker Liedson is given half a chance, maybe he can score half a goal. I'm laying Roma at 1.5 to win on Tuesday night.

Rooney and Rio return to the cold of Eastern Europe as Man Utd travel to Dynamo Kiev looking for their third win of the campaign. I suspect the winners of this tie will be the pub owners and the ticket touts of Kiev and I don't want to have a guess at who will actually win the match, as that would just be guesswork. Man Utd have won both matches in the competition by a 1-0 scoreline, whereas Kiev have lost 2-0 and 2-1. Goals should be at a premium here and I'm going with under 2.5 goals at 1.79.

Benfica play hosts to Celtic on Wednesday night and after back-to-back defeats in their first two games, they need three points, pure and simple. Or is that just hearsay? No, it really is the case. Celtic are a bit like that Matt character from "Game on" - capable of people performing minor miracles at home, but less comfortable once they step out, as a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Rangers at the weekend showed. Benfica are beginning to show some solid domestic form and there's every chance that they will put in an enlightened performance at the Stadium of Light. Actually, there's an even money chance and that's good enough a price for me and I'm backing Rui Cost and co at 2.0.

The Pacman's midweek multiple comes to 10.35.

But life goes on for Pakistan and they fared pretty well without him at the Twenty20 World Cup anyway and were just a single boundary away from winning it. South Africa were excellent in winning the Test Series just gone but this is another ball game...literally. Jacques Kallis was instrumental in the Proteas' win with the bat but having missed out on the Twenty20 World Cup I wonder how sharp he is in the shorter version of the game and whether he can come back in and score at a decent rate. If he can't or if he gets out cheaply I think South Africa might struggle, particularly with so many players (Duminy, Philander, Langeveldt, Kemp, Morkel and Botha) in the squad making their debuts in Pakistan. I see no good reason why Pakistan are the outsiders in this one and I'm backing Shoaib Malik's men at 2.14.

In the world of football, I think England will seriously miss their skipper John Terry who has been ruled out of Wednesday's match. Luckily for England, it will take more than a change of surface and a fall in temperature to put Sol Campbell off his game and he's been there and done it in terms of strong away performances away from home throughout his career.

I won't read too much in to the fact that England have scored 12 goals in their last four matches as with the exception of the Russia game at home, the opposition wasn't of the highest calibre. The four consecutive clean sheets are a different matter though and even the absence of Ashley Cole doesn't put me off thinking England can keep another clean sheet on Wednesday. England could nick this one by a single goal but I'm always a little wary of backing teams to win matches they don't necessarily need to win. So I'm resisting the temptation of backing England at 2.41 and instead laying Russia at 3.54.

The Pacman's midweek acca comes to 2.96.