There is plenty of sporting action to get stuck into this weekend with Australia playing South Africa in what promises to be a spicy Test series as well as England’s third match with Pakistan, with viewers hoping it is as entertaining as the previous two.

Racing may have fallen victim to the weather, but inside at the Alexandra Palace, the drama continues in the darts with Michael Smith, Daryl Gurney, Dimitri Van Den Bergh and Nathan Aspinall all in action over the weekend.

There is also the small matter of the World Cup final taking place with France taking on Argentina out in Doha. Ahead of all that, we review the last two days from a spread betting perspective to find out where there was the potential for profit.

Please remember that unlike fixed odds betting, when spread betting losses can exceed deposits.

RANGERS v HIBERNIAN – HIBERNIAN 1^st GOAL (SETTLED AT 8)

It was Glasgow v Edinburgh last night as the Scottish Premiership returned with Ibrox hosting Michael Beale’s first game in charge since swapping Queens Park Rangers for Glasgow Rangers.

Beale was assistant to Steven Gerrard when the Scouser was in charge at Rangers would have been left fuming with his side's defending as they conceded an early goal with Ryan Porteous putting Hibs in front after just eight minutes. However, Rangers would go on to win the game 3-2 thanks to an Alfredo Morelos strike in the second half following wonderful feet from the on-loan Mark Tillman.

Sellers of Hibs’ 1^st Goal could relax though and enjoy the rest of an entertaining match as they had profit secured already. The spread on this market was 64-67 with Porteous’ 8^th minute header securing sellers a win of 56x their stake.

KEANE BARRY v GRANT SAMPSON – BARRY/SAMPSON 10-3 (SETTLED AT -16)

It took until just the second match of the Darts World Championship to see our first major upset as South African qualifier Grant Sampson knocked out the up-and-coming Keane Barry. Sampson had previously only played in front of 30 or 40 people, whilst despite only being 20, this was Barry’s fourth appearance at the Alexandra Palace.

You wouldn’t have thought Sampson was the more inexperienced watching the game and despite flashes of brilliance from Barry, Sampson held it together to set up a second round tie with Kim Huybrechts this afternoon.

The 10/3 Supremacy spread awards a player 10 points for winning the match and a further three points for every set won buy. Our traders fancied the Irishman to get the job done last night and the Supremacy was priced 14.50-17.50 in his favour. However, a 3-1 win for Sampson saw this spread settle at -16 with sellers winning 30.50x their initial stake.

DUNDALK 14^th DECEMBER 17:15 – ST CINIANS FIRE 50-25-10 (SETTLED AT 0)

With freezing temperatures on both sides of the Irish Sea, racing meetings have been decimated, with plenty of top-quality races falling victim to frozen ground. Thank the heavens for the polytrack though which meant we got to watch a 47-70 handicap at Dundalk in the lucky last on Wednesday.

The favourite was St Cinians Fire and Conor Hoban’s mount had been backed in to a shade of odds on before the off, with the spread at 32-35. However, despite favouritism, St Cinians Fire found very little and was trailed off way down the field with sellers landing a win of 32x their stake. Buyers of the winner Halcyon Spirit (priced 7-9) were given a pre-Christmas boost of 41x their stake.

Please note that these are examples of winning bets from the past week, and it is important to remember that spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit.