SCOTTISH football aficionado Gerry Taylor (@thefurlongpole) continues his new column, sharing his NAP, next best and long shot ahead of the weekend action.
NAP – Kilmarnock to win (1/1 Betfair)
The veteran striker, Kyle Lafferty, has provided the spark, to finally ignite Kilmarnock's season. The Northern Irish international has now bagged an impressive 6 goals in 371 minutes for the East Ayrshire side.
Whilst Tommy Wright's charges are coming into this crunch relegation clash in decent fettle with two very comfortable wins, (4-1 v Motherwell in the league, 4-0 v Stenhousemuir in the cup) the Staggies are not – last time out losing 3-1 to their local rivals, Championship side, Inverness.
If truth be told, it was an abject, soulless performance from John Hughes's men. On the road, on league business, the Highlanders don't generally travel well either, with a W2-D0-L10 record in their last dozen away days.
So based on the current form of the hosts, and the doubts about the form of the Staggies, Killie are this weekend's NAP, at a decent looking evens with Betair.
Next best – Queens Park to win and Over 1 Goal (1/1 Bet365)
I make no apology for including the Spiders once again, to do the business for this column. They have become the punters pal all season, and their recent record has been particularly impressive, after the lower leagues resumption.
Ray McKinnon's full-timers have just went 3-2-3-1-3 for goals in their last five starts in League Two. The Spiders defence is yet to be breached in this sequence.
It's not inconceivable though, that the Warriors are able to bag a goal at Ochilview (they did so in reverse fixture at Hampden), as they have scored in 12/14 league outings this term. However, the Glasgow gusts are averaging over 2 goals per-game and netted 3 against Stenny last time.
Ultimately, with the flair of Luca Connell, and the attacking options of Bob McHugh, Simon Murray, Jai Quitongo and Will Baynham etc to call on, a comfortable enough win on their march towards League One, looks likely for the all-conquering Queens Park.
On Bet 365’s Bet Builder we can get a tasty 1/1 on the visitors to win, and Over 1 Goal.
Long shot – Kilmarnock to win and Over 4.5 goals, Queens Park to win and Over 4.5 Goals and Raith to win and Over 4.5 Goals (899/1 Skybet)
Instead of putting up a 7/2 or a 9/2 long shot, for the remainder of the season I'm going to try and net a big winner. Most weeks, I'll probably look a bit stupid, but lets's have a go, and try and bag a whopper of a pay-out.
As mentioned above, Killie are in a much better place now that Tommy Wright has properly got settled in at Rugby Park. The Staggies last three trips to the theatre of pies has seen them lose 3-1, 3-1 and 3-2. So their inclusion in the treble looks a runner.
Queens Park seem to hit the ceiling of three goals in most games, with the possibility of Stenny bagging a goal, maybe the Spiders will be pushed into going above their usual goals threshold.
Raith remarkably have scored 5 goals four times in the Championship on their return to this division this season. Most recently, their 5 goal-haul against their Fife neighbours, was extremely impressive. Then last weekend they were 10 minutes away from a penalty decider, against top-six Premiership outfit Livingston. So after a mid-season blip, John McGlynn's hosts are right back on it.
Arbroath are the visitors to Kirkcaldy, and on the road they are W2-D2-L7. So I expect the second-top Rovers to have too much for the third from bottom Red Lichties.
Let's hope all six teams read the script, and maybe contribute to the speculative long shot.
Best Bets
Kilmarnock vs Ross County – Kilmarnock to win (1/1 Betfair)
Stenhousemuir vs Queen's Park – Queens Park to win and Over 1 Goal (1/1 Bet365)
Treble – Kilmarnock to win and Over 4.5 goals, Queen's Park to win and Over 4.5 Goals and Raith to win and Over 4.5 Goals (899/1 Skybet)
