Tonight’s tip is to stick money on both a Swedish superstar doing the business in the Champions League, and a Geordie Messiah continuing his fine form in the Championship this evening.

Bet365 are offering double odds of 17.75/1 on both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Andy Carroll scoring the opening goal in their respective games tonight, a bet that can be placed each-way, with a third of the odds if either fails to grab the opener but both get on the scoresheet.

By our calculations, that means that by sticking a fiver each-way on the bet – a tenner outlay in total – you will make a profit of £106.11 if both break the deadlock, and £12.36 if they score at any time.

Why Ibra and Carroll? Well, Ibrahimovic fired his first ever Champions League knockout round goal in the first leg and, against a Stuttgart defence that are allergic to keeping clean sheets, has a great chance of getting more. As for Carroll, he has struck six times in his last eight games and will be confident of further enhancing that statistic against struggling Scunthorpe.

The Premier League’s a lot poorer this afternoon following the dismissal of Phil Brown as Hull manager, but there’s no room for sentiment in betting, so we’ve already moved on to looking at who’ll be next through the door.

The joint-favourites at 5/2 with Paddy Power to succeed the Humber Bridge Hero are Gary Megson and Alan Curbishley, who both have recent experience of coming into a club in the bottom three of the Premier League and keeping them up.

Our hunch is that Curbs will hold out in hope of an approach from a mid-table club, whereas Megson would surely jump at any Premier League job offer after the criticism he received before parting ways with Bolton to clear the path for the man who calls himself Moses.

Uninspiring appointment, you cry? Well, Adam Pearson’s last managerial alteration as a Premier League chairman saw him sack Billy Davies, the man who got Derby promoted against all odds, and replace him with Paul Jewell, the consequence being that they didn’t win another match all season.

Who do you fancy to succeed Phil Brown at the KC? Tell us your tips below…

Since Stoke’s promotion, many methods have been employed to try to nullify the threat posed by Rory Delap’s bullets into the box.

Dean Windass tried distracting him with some unusual warm-up routines, Lucas Neill attempted to engage in some towel-related mind games and, just the other day, Burnley tried pushing the advertising hoardings closer to the pitch, but still goal after Stoke goal stems from a Delap throw.

Aston Villa won’t need any fancy techniques to shield themselves from an onslaught – they’ve got Richard Dunne, while the presence of James Collins and Carlos Cuellar will come in pretty handy.

Most importantly of all though, they have the league’s best defensive record, with just 21 goals conceded in 26 games, including none when Stoke visited Villa Park in December.

The Potters have been silenced just twice at home this season – by Manchester United and Birmingham – but back Villa to become the third to keep a clean sheet there at 2.9 (19/10) on Betfair.

Triple B Accie: Another option for your Saturday afternoon punt is a treble on Birmingham, Bolton and Burnley seeing off Everton, Wigan and Wolves, paying £74.15 for a fiver stake with Betfair.

With a midweek schedule brimming with betting opportunities, it’s easy to waste a fiver on Tuesday, then a tenner on Wednesday and finally a score on Thursday as you try to win it all back.

It’s a trap we’ve fallen hooter-first into before, forcing us to produce a shrewder plan, where we can stake a tenner and the bet will still be alive on Wednesday even if our Tuesday punt leaves us looking silly.

By picking out three draws – one for Tuesday, one for Wednesday and one for, you’ve guessed it, Thursday - and sticking them into a £2.50 treble and three £2.50 doubles, you stand to win up to £200 if all three come in and should come close to trebling your money if only one lets you down.

Our Tuesday choice is Fiorentina/Bayern Munich, with the hosts in rotten form but Bayern not as strong as they were during their 13-match winning streak. On Wednesday, we fancy AC Milan to impress at Old Trafford without winning, and then on Thursday, trust Fulham’s sense of invincibility to conquer their weary legs and earn them a famous draw away to Juventus.

Germany and Italy are both available at odds greater than evens to beat Argentina and Cameroon tonight – meaning that a £10 double on the second and third most successful nations in World Cup history with Betfair tonight will return £37.10.

If you’re a bit of a daredevil and think that bet is a little too straight-forward then why not throw an away team into the mix?

Croatia had a poor World Cup qualifying campaign but still managed to pick up twice as many points as Belgium, so odds greater than 6/4 on Slaven Bilic and friends look tasty. Ten pounds on Germany, Italy and Croatia in a treble with Betfair pays out £112.50.

If you can’t get by without a bet on the England match then over 2.5 goals is probably the best way to go at 1.92 – around 10/11. Nine of Fabio Capello’s ten home games in charge have featured three or more goals. So much for all those clichés about old-school Italian bosses and boring football…

Whisper it quietly but the mesmerising, seatbeltless Brazil who stylishly strutted their way to five World Cups by brushing aside anyone who dared to challenge them are fast becoming the masters of doing just enough.

Six of the Confederations Cup winners’ last 11 victories have come by a solitary goal, including their semi-final and final victories in that competition, and that trend has every chance of continuing when they face Republic of Ireland at the Emirates tonight.

“One nil to the Brazil” might not have quite as good a ring to it as the song that fans in north London used to revel in singing but it’s a very strong possibility tonight, and was in fact the result the last time the nations clashed two years ago, so look to back it at 7.6 (over 13/2) on Betfair tonight.

All three of the teams representing the continent’s most debt-filled league in the Europa League head into their round-of-32 second legs with a lead but we think that only two will go through.

We’re backing a treble comprising of victory for Liverpool, a draw for Everton, which is all they need, and a loss for Fulham, a combination that pays out £85.50 for a stake of only £10 with Paddy Power.

Want some reasons? Liverpool have conceded just once in seven games, so should finish the job against Unirea Urziceni and Sporting Lisbon haven’t won in seven, while Everton have drawn three of their last five on the road.

Nothing would please us more than Fulham knocking out the holders and going on to face Juventus or Ajax in the next round but their poor away record will more than likely be exploited by an exceptional Shakhtar team who have won 29 of their last 31 on home soil.

Picking out just one away winner in Europe is a tough task, attempting to find three – all at odds of evens or greater – is just asking to be humiliated, but we’re willing go for glory and live with the shame if it all ends miserably.

Our first pick is Roma, who having won their last nine matches in all competitions, look ominously like the kind of team we can rely on. They’re off to Greece to face Panathinaikos, who were beaten at home by Kavala at the weekend, and look great value at 6/4 on Bet365.

Then there’s Benfica, another team who are flying. They did the double over Everton in the group stage and are unbeaten in 16, so evens for them to win away at Bundesliga bottom club Hertha Berlin is unignorable.

The final selection is for Red Bull Salzburg (23/10), of 100 per cent group stage record fame, to continue their unlikely charge in Belgium, where they face Standard Liege. The one-time Arsenal troublers are having a bit of a mare, winning just four of their last 15, while losing eight.

Feeling brave? Got a spare fiver floating around? Backing the three teams above in a treble at that stake with Bet365 would return a tidy sum of £82.50.

The price has gone in since we initially tipped AC Milan to knock out Manchester United in the Champions League - from 7/4 to 13/8 on Boylesports - but we’re not quite as confident.

AC Milan have staggered since surrendering in the derby last month, while last season’s finalists are in their best form of the season thanks largely to Wayne Rooney.

However, we’re not the sort to go back on our instincts and there are still plenty of reason to have faith in Italy’s Red Devils. Firstly, there’s history: the two teams have met four times in the competition and Milan have progressed each time.

Then there’s the fact that AC Milan have already won away to a Real Madrid side who player for player should have presented a much tougher challenge than Manchester United, while their European away form - unbeaten since October 2007 - means that drawing tonight would not be a disaster.

Two months into the season, Charlton and Bristol Rovers were having a whale of a time. The Addicks were second and comfortably clear of expected promotion rivals like Norwich and Millwall, while the Pirates were third, a point off behind and already boasting a seven-point margin over seventh.

Skip forward to mid-February and you can see that it didn’t take long for that early season optimism to fade away. Charlton are third and five points behind Leeds, who have a game in hand, and Rovers are down in ninth, somehow 13 points off the play-offs. And both sides are in dismal form tonight.

Something has to give when they meet at the Memorial Ground tonight and it’s Charlton who we’re backing to remember how to win. Despite becoming over-familiar with the art of drawing, they’ve lost just once in 15 and are unbeaten in seven away games.

Those trends are far more encouraging than the Pirates’ recent runs: one win in eight, four without a win, three without a goal. Phil Parkinson’s team are 6/5 to triumph with 888sport and that’s where our cash is heading.