SCOTTISH football aficionado Gerry Taylor (@thefurlongpole) takes a look at the weekend's action north of the border, highlighting his best bets.
Hibs vs Livingston | Saturday 28th August 2021, 15:00
Hibs have started the season pretty well, bagging seven points from their opening three league matches. Livingston, on the other hand, have a zero-point haul from their trio of fixtures. Goals-wise the Easter Road men have netted 3-3-2, whilst the Lions have conceded 3-2-2 over the same period.
Jack Ross’s hosts have Martin Boyle in excellent nick – the Australian international has netted in all three league matches to date.
Livingston boss Davie Martindale may have a decision to make over which goalkeeper to select – the current incumbent is Max Stryjek. The big Pole has made a few blunders in games, so it will be interesting to see if he retains his place between the sticks, or if Norwich loanee Dan Barden is brought in to start.
Taking both teams starts into consideration, and their current strengths and weaknesses, I quite like the 11/10 on offer with Paddy Power for Hibs to score at least twice.
Motherwell vs Dundee | Saturday 28th August 2021, 15:00
I’m expecting quite a lively encounter in Lanarkshire on Saturday afternoon. With fans back in, Fir Park is always usually a cracking atmosphere, with fans right on top of the action. As more card markets become available, I wouldn’t put anyone off any card-based punts – Willie Collum takes charge of this clash.
However, for the time being, I’m going to keep things relatively simple, with an even-money Both Teams To Score wager, which is available at MansionBet.
The Steelmen have scored in all three league matches to date 2-1-2, and two of those fixtures were on the road. The Dark Blues are 2-0-2 for goals in their trio of league games, only failing to score against a rampant Celtic side at Parkhead, so no disgrace in that.
So fingers crossed for a ding-dong end-to-end encounter.
Queen of the South vs Hamilton | Saturday 28th August 2021, 15:00
Queen of the South’s games have pretty much been goal-laden thus far. The Dumfries outfit’s last six games have seen 4-5-5-5-1-5 total goals scored. The match containing the single goal, was when title favourites Kilmarnock won at Palmerston.
Hamilton have a new gaffer in Stuart Taylor, who has recently replaced Brian Rice. You would like to think he can get a bit of a reaction from the Accies players, who have been performing better away from Lanarkshire. Indeed, they scored four times in their last away match, in a 4-4 draw at Kirkcaldy.
I think, especially with Allan Johnston’s attacking management style of the Doonhamers’, we could see a few goals in this match up. For that reason I’m going to get involved with Over 2.5 Goals at nice 11/10 with MansionBet.
Clyde vs Cove Rangers | Saturday 28th August 2021, 15:00
Clye, David Goodwillie apart, have been rather disappointing to say the least in the early part of the season. Having watched them last week against Falkirk, the defeat was bad enough, but the zero shots on-target says a lot about the lack of quality and supply in the Bully Wee team for their lone striker.
Cove, on the other hand, have been coming to the boil rather nicely in the last couple of weeks – with five goals against East Fife and three on the road at Dumbarton last week.
Having accumulated 19 shots on-target, Paul Hartley’s charges should have too much firepower for Danny Lennon’s outfit, who have only fired in a paltry eight attempts on-target all season, which is by some distance the worst return in the league.
So looking at all the numbers and with arguably the best goal-grabber in the league in Mitch Megginson in their ranks, the Wee Rangers look a nice price at 10/11 with Boylesports to bag the three points.
Aberdeen vs Ross County | Sunday 29th August 2021, 15:00
Aberdeen have had a very decent start to the league campaign, winning against Dundee Utd and Livingston, whilst bagging an excellent point at Tynecastle last weekend with a late equaliser from Funso Ojo.
The Staggies by contrast, have only a solitary point (0-0 draw with St Johnstone) to show for their efforts, and their opponents missed a penalty to win the match.
The Granite City men have scored 2-2-1 in their trio of games – the Dingwall outfit 0-0-2. The shot count in their three matches to date reads: Dons 7-3-4, Staggies 0-0-5.
So despite the exertions of a Thursday night Europa Conference league match, I expect the Dandies to have a little too much for County, and MansionBet’s 10/13 for the hosts to win looks a fair enough price to me.
Best Bets
Hibs vs Livingston – Hibs to score Over 1.5 Goals (11/10 Paddy Power)
Motherwell vs Dundee – Both Teams To Score (1/1 MansionBet)
Queen of the South vs Hamilton – Over 2.5 Goals (11/10 MansionBet)
Clyde vs Cove Rangers – Cove Rangers to win (10/11 Boylesports)
Aberdeen vs Ross County – Aberdeen to win (10/13 MansionBet)
