Scottish Football Tips: Kai Watson's Best Bets, March 14
It's back to league action for this week's Scottish football tips, taking in the Scottish Premiership, Championship and down to League One.
Our Free Bets Scottish football expert, Kai Watson, runs the rule over four matches north of the border.
Scottish Football Tips
Here are Kai's four top football betting tips for the weekend, featuring the best odds from UK betting sites to help you get maximum value on your bets.
Celtic vs Motherwell - BTTS
It’s a shame that this is a 3PM kick-off because this is a massive fixture in terms of the title race. The last time Motherwell went to Celtic Park, I don’t think anyone would have imagined the run they have gone on and the fact they are still, technically, in the title race.
They have the best defence in the league, alongside playing the most attractive football but that defeat against Dundee last weekend could massively dent their confidence. A win in that game would have put Jens Berthel Askou’s side one point behind Rangers and two behind Celtic.
A win in that game would have given Motherwell a chance to overtake both Rangers and Celtic after this game but it will be interesting to see how they react to that defeat, which was only their fourth of the season.
Motherwell have lost at Celtic Park and Ibrox this season and to really be in the title race, they need to win this one to show their credentials.
Celtic had an incredibly difficult run of away fixtures with Stuttgart, Rangers, Aberdeen and Rangers, they won three out of four of those games and drew the other one, the draw coming in the league game at Ibrox. Their away win at Pittodrie put them above Rangers and now just five behind Hearts but they can close that gap to two before Hearts play in the evening.
I’m honestly not sure how this game will play out but one thing is for sure, it will be an open game with plenty of chances at both ends. Both teams to score seems an easy winner for this one.
Kilmarnock vs Hearts - Hearts to win
It looked like Kilmarnock were on an upward trajectory after an impressive display at Ibrox, despite losing by four, a win against St. Mirren and then an excellent first half display at Rugby Park against Celtic in which they went in 2-0 up at half-time. Since that game ended in defeat and Tyreece John-Jules has been ruled out for the season, they’ve gone back to the Killie side we saw under Stuart Kettlewell.
They were lucky with a late equaliser against Dundee United but were absolutely hammered last time out away to Falkirk. It finished 5-1 but it really could have been as many as Falkirk wanted it to be. They are terrible defensively, have the worst defence in the league and are now struggling to score goals without John-Jules.
Hearts on the other hand, just keep winning games and have the second best defensive record in the league, just behind Motherwell. They have won three of the last five and all of those wins have been 1-0 against Hibs, Falkirk and Aberdeen so they are grinding out results, exactly what potential champions do.
Hearts are the second top scorers in the league with the second best defence and if Celtic win the gap will be reduced to two points so they need to win this one to keep their lead at the top. Even at Rugby Park, I don’t think Killie have much of a chance in this one.
Aberdeen vs Falkirk - Aberdeen to win
Falkirk will be flying after hammering Kilmarnock then getting through to the Scottish Cup Semi-Final last weekend. They play good football, have a striker in-form in Barney Stewart and create plenty of chances with their wide threat.
HOWEVER, Aberdeen look set to appoint Steven Robinson as their new manager and that changes everything for me. Peter Leven’s set up, alongside the players' performance has led to Aberdeen playing well under what they are capable of.
Robinson coming in will do one thing, tighten up the defence and make the players give 100% again. He won’t stand for the half-hearted effort that’s been on show the last few games and I can see underperforming players really stepping up from now till the end of the season.
It will be a tough fixture considering how well Falkirk have been doing but I can see the new manager bounce coming in to play at Pittodrie.
Dunfermline vs Raith - Dunfermline to win
The Fife Derby should be a really interesting game, Raith haven’t won in their last four and Dunfermline have won their last two. Those two wins have taken the Pars back up to fourth place and two points clear of Ayr.
Raith’s form has seen them slip to seventh and allowed Queen’s Park to overtake them, even though they have a game in hand, they’re only three points clear of the relegation play-off spot currently.
Dunfermline hammered Aberdeen at East End Park last Saturday evening and keeping a clean sheet there meant they haven’t conceded in their last three and have won them all. They are hitting form at the right time of the season as they look to secure their spot in the promotion play-offs.
At home, I don’t see this being anything other than a Dunfermline victory, particularly after their last three wins.
Peterhead vs Stenhousemuir - Stenhousemuir to win
Stenny have won two of their last three after drawing with Queen of the South last weekend which allowed Inverness to create a two point gap whilst having a game in hand. If they want to continue this title race then they need to get back to winning ways at Balmoor this weekend.
Peterhead have won three out of their last four but that defeat against Cove a couple of weeks ago will be cause for concern. They had an impressive win against Alloa last time out but recently have struggled the next game after getting a big result.
Stenny have the second best defence in the league and Peterhead concede a lot of goals, which is why I see this one going in favour of the away side. If Peterhead can’t score multiple goals, they don’t win and Stenny barely ever concede more than one.
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