Andy Hillman is back for another season to cast his weathered eye over the betting opportunities at QPR v Sheff Wed, and elsewhere on the weekend coupon.

Hello all, and welcome back to the betting column. My advances to Betfair on Twitter telling them I’d work for half the fee I get from Clive (a Peroni pre-match as it stands...) fell on deaf ears, so I’m here again ready to enjoy my betting and help spend LoftForWords’ money in any way I can.

Last season was pretty successful for me all in all, with consistent winners at good odds. For this reason I’m going to stick with the same format of listing three or four separate bets made up of a QPR tip, a short odds pick and a long shot of some sorts.

Before I launch into this week’s bets, I thought I’d give my ante-bets for the season, so you can all take the piss out of me in nine months’ time.

Premier League — Chelsea

Championship — Bolton

League 1 — Wolves

League 2 — Fleetwood

Conference — Luton

German League — Bayern Munich

Italian League — Juventus

Spanish league — Real Madrid

And if that lot all comes in... well, you probably owe me a pint...

In terms of the Championship, QPR’s odds are ludicrously short as we all know, and I’ll be steering well clear of them. I actually think we’ll finish either fourth or nineteenth depending on how the team shapes up in the early games - I don’t see any middle ground there.

I like the look of Bolton in the Championship, who can be backed at 9/1 for the title. Unfortunately, the esteemed editor of this website also likes the look of Bolton for the title, which has placed a hole below Bolton’s waterline before a ball has even been kicked. He’s tipped Fleetwood as well the bastard.

For top scorer, Jordan Rhodes is the runaway favourite, as short as 6/1 for the award, whereas our newly acquired surly bearded wonder can be backed at 10/1 with most bookmakers. My recommendation though is Adam Le Fondre, each way at 14/1. I’m not going in for this Reading for the title nonsense (partly because I don’t think they’ll win, and partly because the other half hates Reading so much that she wouldn’t let me back in house if she knew I’d tipped them - if you ever meet her, ask her about the Oracle shopping centre...) but I reckon Reading will score plenty of goals, and he’ll be the focal point for them.

As for this week:

QPR vs Sheffield Wednesday - Andy Johnson first scorer @ 6/1

Whisper it quietly, but if Johnson stays fit, he might be key to our success this season. That IF is of course billboard high as he’s far more likely to break down and be out for the season. I reckon that Harry will start Johnson and Zamora with Austin on the bench, and the 6/1 on Johnson first goal scorer looks terrific value with Zamora, Remy, Taarabt and Austin all lower prices.

NAP of the Week - Forest to beat Huddersfield @ 5/6

Forest are shaping up quite nicely this pre-season, and the acquisition of everybody’s favourite goofy child-who-has-consumed-too-much-sugar Jamie Mackie is a very shrewd move indeed. Forest at a shade under evens represents terrific value against a Huddersfield side tipped to struggle this season. You can get Mackie to score anytime @ 11/5. Buying money?

Longshot - Ipswich to beat Reading @ 3/1

Reading are notorious cold starters - they haven’t won on the opening day for six years, and Ipswich are rapidly improving under Mick McCarthy. If backing the win is a little cavalier for your blood, you can get evens on Reading NOT winning, which is safer, but obviously a smaller return.

Home Treble - Millwall, QPR and Forest all to win @ 7/1

All three teams are available at around evens for the win, against relatively weaker opposition (Yeovil, Sheff Weds & Huddersfield respectively) a 7/1 return for a home treble is not to be sniffed at.

Any abuse, recommendations or observations about where the value lies this week is obviously welcomed - feel free to contribute to the bottom of this article with your suggestions for the best bets of the week.

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Photo: Action Images

thorpebankR added 11:54 - Aug 3 I think Yeovil will get a result at Millwall
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