Scottish Football Tips: Kai Watson's Best Bets, January 24
It's another busy weekend of action in the SPFL, and Kai Watson, our Free Bets Scottish football expert, is back looking at five games north of the border.
Scottish Football Tips
Here are Kai's five best football betting tips for the weekend, complete with the best prices available at the top UK betting sites.
Aberdeen vs Livingston - Aberdeen to win
Aberdeen won for the first time since December 14th last weekend against Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup. Livingston however, still haven’t won a match since August 9th and were put out the Scottish Cup on penalties against fellow Premiership side St. Mirren.
They also played them again in midweek and it ended in another 1-1 draw and it’s looking bleak for David Martindale’s side. Aberdeen do look set to lose top goalscorer Jesper Karlsson as Bologna have reportedly agreed a deal for him to finish the season with Utrecht. He’s not hit the levels many Dons fans expected but he is a quality player and still popped up with some important moments.
The first meeting between the two sides this season ended in a 0-0 draw at Pittodrie but Aberdeen won 1-0 in November thanks to a late Nicky Devlin goal. Neither side have been in good form and will be disappointed with their seasons so far but I still fancy Aberdeen here.
They just have better players, in my opinion, Peter Leven is still in charge but with the manager search ramping up the players will already be playing for places.
I also think the home advantage will play a massive part if the home fans can get themselves up for this one.
Motherwell vs Kilmarnock - Motherwell to win
Motherwell, for me, have been the most impressive side in the league this season and have been a joy to watch at times. Some of the football Jens Berthel Askou have them playing would make prime Barcelona proud!
At the start of the season they were playing good football without getting the results they perhaps deserved but that has changed in recent months. Motherwell currently sit fourth in the form table and are barely conceding goals these days. They also sit third in the home form table and Killie sit 9th in the away table having only won once in eleven away matches this season.
Motherwell have the joint best defensive record in the league with Hearts and Rangers and Kilmarnock have scored less goals than they have played games. The first game at Fir Park, when Motherwell were struggling in August, ended 2-2 but the most recent match at Rugby Park ended 3-1 to the ‘Well.
Killie haven’t won a match since October 4th and although it’s early in Neil McCann’s managerial reign, I don’t see this one being the game that they turn their season around. Motherwell are at home, they have the league's second top scorer and play brilliant football.
Kilmarnock have been struggling, can barely score and are one of the worst teams in the league away from home. I can’t see anything other than a home win in this one.
Falkirk vs Hibs - Both teams to score
It’s 6th vs 5th at the Falkirk stadium in what looks like the most exciting game, on paper, on Saturday. John McGlynn’s side have been performing well above expectation when many, myself included, were predicting them to be in a similar position to fellow promoted side Livingston.
They performed really well in their last league match against Celtic and should have taken the league and even then, were unlucky not to come away with at least a point. Then they had an incredible result last week and probably deservedly knocked Hearts out of the Scottish Cup at Tynecasle on penalties. They play with freedom but are also organised and hard working when it comes to the defensive side of the game, a perfect storm really.
Hibs have gone under the radar with their climbing up the league and haven’t been getting anywhere near as much credit as Motherwell, despite only being two points behind them. They’re unbeaten in their last five, scoring ten whilst only conceding two and currently sit third in the form table.
This includes an incredibly impressive Edinburgh Derby win in which the 3-2 scoreline really flattered Hearts. On another day that would have, deservedly ended four or five nil to Hibs, they were excellent.
They’ve tightened up their defensive issues but I really like Falkirk’s forward options, they have dynamism with Calvin Miller and Kyrell Wilson on the wings and new signing Ben Parkinson, who was the hero at Tynecastle, looks a threat.
This should be a good game and I think each side will struggle to keep the other out.
St Johnstone vs Dunfermline - Both Teams to Score
St. Johnstone sit top of the Championship with a game in hand over their challengers. They’re also the top scorers in the league and have the best defensive record, by a distance. Their goal difference is 18 (yes 18!) better than their closest competitor in Partick Thistle.
Dunfermline will be flying high having dumped Hibs out of the Scottish Cup thanks to a late Miguel Chaiwa OG. They were fair value for their win and it didn’t look like a match between games who were a league apart.
Dunfermline have been very up and down this season but have a good squad and are capable of much more than what they’ve produced so far. The last meeting between these two sides was an incredibly exciting affair under the Friday night lights which ended 2-2.
I’m predicting a similar matchup this time round.
Kelty Hearts vs Stenhousemuir - Stenhousemuir to win
Stenny are currently joint top of League One, albeit Inverness have a game in hand, and absolutely hammered Championship side Morton 4-0, they’re flying!
Kelty are bottom of the league and have conceded 46 goals in 21 games and currently sit with a goal difference of -26, they have been awful. They’re bottom of a league where other clubs have been deducted five and six points respectively. The last meeting between the sides actually ended in a 2-2 at Ochilview but Stenny did win the prior meeting 1-0 at New Central Park. I just don’t see how this one ends in anything more than a win for Gary Naysmith’s side, an absolute banker in my opinion.
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