Scottish Football: Underrated Saints worthy of support again, says Willie Duncan

SCOTTISH football bible Willie Duncan (@Willie_Duncan) is back with his best bet from north of the border this weekend.

Hamilton v St Johnstone | Saturday 15:00 | BT Sport

Before a ball was even kicked in Scotland this season, St Johnstone were a side who appeared to have been completely underrated by the odds compilers.

Many observers were left scratching their heads at the even money quotes for the men from McDiarmid Park to finish in the top half of the Premiership table – and those who backed it will soon be able to comfortably collect their winnings, for Tommy Wright's side sit fourth in the standings.

Saints haven't always been consistent this season; they can throw in the odd erratic result and the occasional woeful performance but, on the whole, they are one of the better teams in the top tier of the Scottish game.

Accies out of form

On Saturday afternoon, Saints travel to take on a Hamilton Accies side that has lost their form at a terrible time; Martin Canning's charges have won just one of their last nine matches inside 90 minutes, conceding 14 goals without reply in their last three defeats.

In fact, Hamilton have scored just one goal from open play in their last seven matches, and they've been beaten without finding the net in four of their last five league matches – a run of results that has seen Accies drop like a stone to the foot of the Premiership standings.

Nevertheless, St Johnstone, with back-to- back wins against Dundee and Motherwell under their belts, are chalked up as an odds-against chance to take all three points from their trip to New Douglas Park this weekend.

Saints settled for a point there in the first match of the season between the sides, but a thumping 3- 0 win for Wright's men at McDiarmid Park in the most recent renewal was, perhaps, a fairer reflection of the trajectory that these two clubs find themselves on at present.

Accies must find a way to stop the rot if they are to avoid dropping down to the Championship at the end of this campaign and Canning's men will need to produce a significantly improved performance if they are to stand any chance of stopping Saints on Saturday.

The team from Perth are poised to take advantage of another Hamilton horror show and the 5/4 quote for an away win could represent a solid selection for punters ahead of Saturday's match at New Douglas Park.