Scottish Premier League Preview

The Sun will rise in the morning, tides will ebb and flow and Cliff Richard will release a Christmas single. These are the inevitable facts of life. You can now add to this list Celtic winning the league title (for this and the following two seasons). If you want to bet on this the bookmakers odds make it very difficult for all but the heavy hitters to get involved. bet365 have Celtic as high as 1/100, while Coral offer the best odds at 1/25. It is best then to look at some of the other markets when it comes to betting on the new season in Scotland.

Most bookmakers are offering betting without Celtic, with Dundee United the 2/1 (Coral) favourites. Peter Houston has lost a number of key players with Scott Robertson completing a move to Blackpool and Paul Dixon joining Huddersfield. The addition of Ross County star Michael Gardyne was a good signing and he should work well with Jon Daly who was the top scorer in the SPL last season. Dundee United will know that if they can start the season like they ended it (just two defeats from their last 16 league games) then they should be hard to beat to that second spot.

Motherwell finished the season in third and in the absence of Rangers claimed the second Champions League slot. The summer has not been kind to them though as they have lost captain Stephen Craigan to retirement and influential midfielder Steve Jennings to Coventry. Bookmakers think the season will not be as good as last and make them 7/1 (Bodog) in the betting without Celtic.

Hearts and Aberdeen are the other teams expected to be in the mix for second place. Hearts are 5/2 (BetVictor) second favourites in this market. The Jambos finished fifth last season (ten points behind Motherwell and seven behind Dundee Utd). The Edinburgh side have lost a few key players with Rudi Skacel, Ian Black and Stephen Elliot leaving. They look a little short at this price. Aberdeen are without Fraser Fyvie and Kari Aranson, but the additions of Niall McGinn and Jonny Hayes should offer them more creativity in midfield.

At the other end of the table Dundee are expected to finish bottom 9/4 (Bodog) while fellow promoted side Ross County are 100/30 (paddy Power/Bodog). Dundee are most likely to struggle after just securing promotion as a result of Rangers demotion. If they finish higher than expected then the side most likely to drop down instead could be Inverness CT. Caley won just three of their last 15 SPL games last season and have lost a number of key players this summer. Terry Butcher’s men are 6/1 (BetVictor) to finish bottom.

Gary Hooper is the strong favourite at 4/6 (BetVictor/ladbrokes) to finish top scorer. Hooper grabbed 18 last season and as the leading forward for the main team in the SPL is likely to be popular with many. That price is a little restrictive with Stokes and Kris Commons likely to share the goals along with Hooper. That is why it might be worth chancing some players at bigger prices. I could do nothing to put people off defending champion Jon Daly at 12/1 (BetVictor), but personal preference is for two value picks. Michael Higdon has grabbed 14 goals in each of the last two seasons (12 coming in the League) and at 25/1 (general) looks value. In addition Scott Vernon at 50/1 (BetVictor/Bodog) looks worth an each-way interest. In an Aberdeen side that has a much more creative midfield than last season Vernon should be able to add to his ten goals from last season.

Go To bet365

#Ad

02/08/2012     © Frixo 2024