Roker Riches: More Ill-Advised Bets On The Weekend's Action

Last week saw a mixed bag of results for the Roker Report lads, mainly thanks to the unpredictable results the opening day of the season managed to conjure up. Learn who is chasing a few quid to recoup last week's loss and who may be feeling a little more adventurous now their kitty has been bolstered with a nice little win as we present our bets for this weekends action, SAFC and beyond.

Week One Recap

So, as you can see, not the best of starts for head-honcho Simon with both of his £5 stakes failing to return any cash. There were better results for myself and Karl who both profited from backing draws at the Emirates, half time for myself and the full time result for Mr. Jones.

Still early days and plenty of betting to go! Speaking of which, here are this week's picks from the team:

Simon Walsh

A spectacular failure by myself last weekend, and I've learned my lesson this week so I'm playing things a little easier. I'm not going for an epic big win, just a small amount to get me on the board and into profit.

Now then, I'm feeling very confident this weekend about a win for us, especially being in front of our own fans for the first time and the general feel good factor there is around the place at the moment. I'm stuck in two minds between a 2-0 win and a 3-1 win. So shall I go for a win by two goals? Nah, I'm putting my money on James McClean opening the scoring in a Sunderland win. The Wincast looks decent at 10/1 on Bet365.

In my other bet I'm going for an accumulator again, and after last weeks disappointment - yes, I'm looking at you Birmingham and QPR - I'm going for the following three teams all to win. I see the impressive Swansea as great value at home to West Ham United after last weekend's results. If Southampton can put in the same performance they did against Man City they'll walk over Wigan at home, and lastly I'm going for Arsenal to pull themselves together and take a cheeky win from Stoke City.

• James McClean Wincast - 10/1 - Stake £3
• Swansea, Southampton & Arsenal Treble - 9/1 - Stake £2

Dan Williams

Okay, after last week's negativity, I'm going all out positive, and saying that Sunderland will be winning at both half time and full time.

In front of a rampant home crowd, with Reading a little bit knackered after defeat at Chelsea, and hopefully with a new signing at the club, if not on the pitch, I think we could well undo the shackles and show a few teams what we are made of. £7 please.

For my non-SAFC bet, I'm going to call on Barnsley. My acca' was pretty shocking last week, so I'm going to go for something that I know about, instead.

Craig Davies has been on good form recently for the Tykes, and looked dangerous against an organised Wolves defence. Brighton don't look as solid at the back, but it's been almost a year since Barnsley kept a clean sheet away from home, so although Davies might notch first, it's unlikely that 1-0 will be on the cards. £1 please.

• Sunderland to win - 2/1 - Stake £7
• Craig Davies to score first, game to be a draw - 37/1 - Stake £1

Karl Jones

There always seems to be an inability to take advantage of the newly-promoted sides, and in recent years better sides than Sunderland have let the element of surprise be the catalyst for a shock result. In 2010/11, the Black Cats didn't win a single home game against thhe three Premier League new boys - drawing to Newcastle United before losing to Blackpool and West Bromwich Albion.

We managed to break trend last season, beating Swansea (2-0), Norwich (3-0) and QPR (3-1) and despite O'Neill being in charge for all three of those games, and the boost the Wearside faithful has received with the news that Steven Fletcher looks set to finally become a Sunderland player, Reading look a tough nut to crack. I'm erring on the side of caution, and a slight home win.

Elsewhere, Crewe got off the mark with a win at Scunthorpe last time out and are away again this weekend. Surprisingly, the League One new boys are a massive price against a Brentford side still searching for their first win.

• Sunderland to win by a one goal margin - 11/4 - Stake £4
• Crewe to beat Brentford - 4/1 - Stake £2

Chris Weatherspoon

Sunderland showed the prowess of their backline last weekend with a clean sheet away at Arsenal, and I'm tipping Mignolet et al. to have another successful shut out this coming weekend. At the other end, I fancy us to notch our first couple of goals of the season, with James McClean firing us to victory and me to some very favourable winnings.

McClean scored three "winning" goals last term - the most of anyone in the squad - and I expect him to chip in with the all important first goal on Saturday. He didn't have the best of games last weekend, but don't be surprised to see him start his season with a bang against Reading.

Michael Laudrup announced his arrival in the Premier League with an emphatic 5-0 victory over QPR last weekend, and I expect them to pick up where they left off with another victory this weekend over Sam Allardyce's West Ham.

Laudrup has the Swans continuing the impressive passing game they perfected under Brendan Rogers last season, but the difference lies in that, following the acquisition of Michu, they now have a man capable of finishing off their meticulous moves. Expect him to notch again this weekend.

• Sunderland to win 2-0 and James McClean to score first - 40/1 - Stake £1
• Swansea to beat West Ham 2-0 - 8/1 - Stake £1

David Boyle

Following on from a morale boosting point away to Arsenal and with the SAFC faithful buoyed both by the excitement of the first home game of the season and the club's potential dealings in the transfer market I'm expecting the lads to come flying out of the blocks on Saturday afternoon and can see an early goal on the cards. For the lads in red and white of course!

Looking elsewhere, the late kick-off at Stamford Bridge between, obviously, Chelsea and Newcastle caught my eye. I reckon this game has got goals written all over it, yet just to err on the side of caution, I think I will stick with both teams to score in this one.

• Sunderland to score in the first ten minutes - 7/1 - Stake £2
• Chelsea vs Newcastle, both teams to score - 2/1 - Stake £3

Where's your money at this weekend? There's some tasty bets in here, plus Simon Walsh's "One's To Avoid" if his current form is kept up...