OUR resident Scot Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) takes a look at the live Friday night Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and Hamilton.
Motherwell v Hamilton | Friday 19:45 | BT Sport 1
I can't work out the big prices in this match at all. I had the sides going off around the same odds, so to see the home side as big as 11/5 with BetVictor stuns me to be honest.
Yes, there are six places and 20 points between Hamilton and Motherwell, but the landscape has shifted dramatically in the last couple of months.
Hamilton were the story of the season at the start of the campaign, when the promoted club sat top of the Scottish Premiership for a number of weeks in the autumn. They beat Celtic at Parkhead within a run of seven wins from their opening 10 matches.
Understandably their form dipped, but as late as January 4th (after a 1-0 win at St Johnstone) they sat third in the table just four points off Celtic. Five days from that victory at McDiarmid Park their manager Alex Neil was snapped up by Championship side Norwich and left the club. The effect on Hamilton has been brutal.
Neil was part of the furniture at New Douglas Park and incredibly they haven't won a game since he departed. Martin Canning has been appointed player-manager but he's overseen 10 games without a win and the Accies are now struggling to stay in the Top 6.
Motherwell are their hosts on Friday night, and while Well are going through their worst season in a number of years they are battling. They gave Aberdeen a real fright last week, drew with in-form Kilmarnock two weeks ago and the week before beat high-flyers Inverness. You can trace the improvement!
Ian Barraclough's side have picked up five points in the league since Alex Neil left, Hamilton have accrued just three.
So I see this as a match between an improving side fighting for their lives at home against a side who haven't won in two and a half months playing away. To get the improving home side at 11/5 is not something I can turn down. Not at all.
Best Bets
Motherwell v Hamilton – Motherwell to win (11/5 BetVictor)
Your View
What are your thoughts here? Is Chris on the right track or is he wrong to put faith in such a poor side?
Let us know in the comments box below.
