SPL Weekend Games

With Celtic having the weekend off to host a glamour friendly with Real Madrid the focus of the SPL shifts to the other teams with the Edinburgh derby the pick of the weekend fixture list.

The last time Hearts met Hibernian was in the Scottish Cup Final last season with Hearts thumping their local rivals 5-1. Hibs fans will welcome this chance for early revenge but can their side repay them back? Bookmakers think not making Hearts the 13/10 (Stan James/Coral/william hill) favourites for three points. History is not on the side of the home team with them having a poor record against the visitors in recent clashes. Hibs have not beaten their rivals in any of their last 11 attempts (losing in eight of their last nine meetings) and have won just one of their last ten against Hearts at Easter Road. The first week of the season saw Hibernian poor in defeat to Dundee United (3-0) while Hearts opened their season with a 2-0 victory over St Johnstone. All the signs point to Hearts although I would be tempted to cover the draw in the draw no bet market at 4/6 (Stan James).

New boys Ross County got off to a solid start to the season with a home 0-0 draw with Motherwell, but this week face a much trickier task when they travel to Aberdeen. The Dons battled Celtic hard before going down 1-0 to a late Kris Commons goal. Expect the home side to get the three points here and the Evens (william hill) are offering must be taken. Ross County, for those who fancy the shock, are 7/2 (ladbrokes) while the draw is a 5/2 (Totesport/betfred/ladbrokes) chance.

Dundee also had a solid start to life in the SPL with a 0-0 draw at Kilmarnock in their opener and they are 19/11 (pinnacle) to see off St Mirren on Saturday. St Mirren also started the season with a draw (2-2 at home to Inverness CT), but reports suggested they were a little unlucky not to get all three points. St Mirren are 11/10 (paddy Power) in the draw no bet market and this seems very generous bearing in mind just one game ago people were suggsting Dundee might struggle this season. It is a much different task pitching up away from home and getting a battling point then it is when the onus is on you in front of your own fans and you are expected to breakdown teams.

As stated in the previous game both Inverness CT and Kilmarnock drew their opening games, with Killie surprisingly not netting Expect that to change in this game and with two teams of questionable defences the most logical way to play this is on the 10/11 (william hill) on both teams to score, while over 2.5 goals might interest some at 3/4(general).

Motherwell will look to bounce back from European disappointment in midweek when they take on St Johnstone, with bookmakers making them 6/5 (William Hill) for all three points. Home advantage should be enough to see Motherwell home here against a St Johnstone side who offered nothing in their season opener.

In addition to the SPL, the Scottish Football League gets underway this weekend with Rangers in Division Three. Rangers at 3/10 (bet365) might appeal to some in this live televised game, but I am far more interested in the prices on offer in the first scorer market with Lee McCulloch (who grabbed two in midweek) appealing at 5/1.

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10/08/2012     © Frixo 2024