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Simon is celebrating another profitable week and he's backing Alan Pardew's men to get the best of Aston Villa in his main bet this weekend

Week three of the diary is upon us already and it has all started, unnervingly it must be said, rather well, with a profit being turned in both of the first two weeks and a total profit of £24.50 being amassed.

Swansea City were my big positive from last week, thumping West Ham at home at the far too big a price of 11/10 (2.10).

As I’m all too aware, though, the betting gods are fickle fellows and bad weeks have a tendency to be lurking just around the corner from the good ones, ready to strike your bankroll at any time.

"As I’m all too aware, the betting gods are fickle fellows and bad weeks have a tendency to be lurking just around the corner from the good ones" - Simon on not getting too complacent after a win

Therefore I’m going to look to continue the relatively cautious approach and try to build the bankroll and the profit in a slow and steady manner.

I was not the only winner either as my partner in crime, Jim Knight, has amassed an even bigger profit over the first two weeks with his Diary of a Punter picks, so be sure to check his articles too, whilst we also had our first winner of the £20 free bet from Paddy Power.

Georgi Gogov managed to tip up a 7/5 (2.40) winning single when Napoli beat Palermo away from home and takes the £20 free bet prize.

Congratulations to him but for the rest of you; look how easy it could be to win – 7/5 (2.40) isn’t the biggest priced winner in the world so make sure you get your tips in for this week’s competitions, details can be found below.

Mladen Petric to score anytime (v West Ham) at 21/10 (3.10) with Paddy Power

On to this week’s selections and my first bet is an anytime scorer bet in the West Ham vs Fulham game, a London derby and a chance for West Ham to bounce back from their thumping at Swansea last week.

However, with goals seemingly hard to come by at the moment for the Hammers - just the 1-0 win against a poor Villa side so far - they could find Fulham a really tough encounter.
 
Fulham may well be without Moussa Dembele after Friday’s transfer window deadline but in their first two games they have managed to score seven goals so far and Martin Jol has them playing some nice football.

New signing Mladen Petric got two great goals against Norwich in the 5-0 drubbing and he threatened again against United.

With the creativity provided by Duff, Ruiz and Kacaniklic, he should get chances against West Ham and he is 21/10 (3.10) with Paddy Power to get on the score sheet. £10 of my bankroll is going on that.

Newcastle to win both halves (v Aston Villa) at 7/2 (4.50) with Paddy Power

My second selection is in the Newcastle v Aston Villa game; the Magpies already have an impressive win at home against Spurs this season and are looking to bounce back from their defeat to Chelsea last time out. Whilst they do play a Europa League qualifier on Thursday, there should be plenty of changes made, leaving a more or less full strength squad for Sunday's game.

Villa, despite a 3-0 win over Tranmere in the League Cup, have been very poor so far this season, recording a 1-0 away loss to West Ham on the opening day and then following that up with a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Everton. On both occasions, they have shipped goals in the first half and I can see Newcastle’s midfield and attack completely dominating them.

Therefore, £20 of my bankroll goes on the 7/2 (4.50) shot that Newcastle will win both halves.

Enjoy your weekend and, of course, the football but, once again, don't forget that we've got a £20 free bet to give away each week thanks to Paddy Power. To win just email your best tip for the weekend with the word "PPTwenty" in the subject line.

Be it a well-priced single, an ambitious multiple or any other bet available in all of Paddy Power's football markets for games taking place from September 1-2. Last week a 7/5 (2.40) winner took the prize; surely you can beat that! Just send in your selection to betting@goal.com, the price available at Paddy Power, and include "PPTwenty" in the subject line before midday on Saturday to enter. Good luck!

Diary of a Punter: Simon's Selections this week

Balance at the start of the week: £524.50

Profit on the season: £24.50

Mladen Petric to score anytime: £10 at 21/10 with Paddy Power

Newcastle to win both halves: £20 @ 7/2 with Paddy Power

Total staked this week: £30

Sign up with Paddy Power for up to £250 in free bets

Simon Pilkington is a sports writer, an avid supporter of Liverpool FC and has been betting on sports for the past 13 years. Follow Simon on

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