Scottish Football Tips: Kai Watson's Best Bets, May 1
It's the final week of the season in the Scottish Championship, League One, and League Two, while there are just four games in the Scottish Premiership with everything to play for.
Our Free Bets Scottish football expert, Kai Watson, runs the rule over five matches north of the border.
Scottish Football Tips
Here are Kai's five top football betting tips for the weekend, featuring the best odds from UK betting sites to help you get maximum value on your bets.
Livingston vs Aberdeen - Both teams to score
This Friday evening Scottish Premiership tie sees bottom of the table Livingston host Aberdeen whose victory against Kilmarnock last weekend leaves them in a great position, eight points clear of the relegation play-off spot.
Stephen Robinson’s side are all but safe and avoiding defeat here should seal their survival. Livingston won last weekend for the first time since August with a surprise 2-0 win against St. Mirren in Paisley. They are nine points behind Kilmarnock with four games to go, that comeback is impossible, isn’t it?
They will have belief after last weekend however and will be desperate to get a second league win in a row for the first time since they were in the Championship. Aberdeen are looking to secure their place in the league with games to spare and Livingston are looking to secure one of the most spectacular comebacks the league will have ever seen.
Marvin Bartley’s side need to win every game and have results go their way to have any chance of survival and it seems like a long shot.
Both teams will want the victory and Livingston have conceded the joint most goals so there will be plenty of chances in this one. I don’t fancy either side to keep the other out with the likes of Lewis Smith picking up form at the right time for Livi.
This could either confirm Livi’s relegation or Aberdeen’s place in the league next season, another exciting match up!
Kilmarnock vs Dundee United - Over 2.5 goals
If Kilmarnock want to get out of the relegation play-off spot then they need to start winning games. The 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen last week was a massive blow but, luckily, Livingston’s first win since August meant that they remain just two points behind St. Mirren.
St. Mirren play Dundee at Dens Park this weekend so this could be a good chance for Kilmarnock to potentially close the gap or even leapfrog their relegation rival. Both Killie and Dundee United have two of the worst defensive records in the league.
There have been 11 goals in Killie’s last five games and 20 goals in Dundee United’s last five, yes TWENTY! Both teams have decent players up top that are capable of creating chances but they really struggle to keep the opposition out.
With how much that is on the line for Neil McCann’s side, they really need to go for victory. United fans will be disappointed to finish 7th this season but there have been encouraging signs in recent weeks.
They have won three of the last four, including a 2-0 win against Celtic and a 3-0 Dundee derby win last week. Players like Will Ferry and Emmanuel Agyei have been immense in recent weeks and offer a lot on both ends.
Dundee United will be favourites given their form but I can’t see this one being anything other than a goalfest.
Dundee vs St Mirren - Dundee to win
This is an incredibly important match for St. Mirren, especially given that they lost 2-0 to Livingston last week. With Aberden beating Kilmarnock last week, they had a real chance to increase the gap between them and the relegation play-off spot.
However, despite their recent improvement in performances, they fell to Livingston, who hadn’t won since August. That would have massively disappointed Craig McLeish and he’ll be desperate for them to bounce back this weekend.
Steven Pressley is another manager that will be desperate for their team to bounce back given that last weekend Dundee lost the derby 3-0. That means that Dundee are just three points ahead of Saturday’s opponents and five points away from Kilmarnock in the play-off spot.
Dundee haven’t won in their last five and have gone from looking relatively safe to being right in amongst the fight to avoid the relegation play-off.
I think Dundee have more going forward which is why I think they can come away with a victory in this one. Players like Congreve, Yogane, Scott Wright and Simon Murray pose a big attacking threat and St. Mirren have struggled to keep clean sheets in the last few weeks.
Their defensive collapse against Celtic in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final and losing 2-0 to Livingston last week should give Dundee massive confidence and a win here almost guarantees their safety this season.
Morton vs Airdrie - Airdrie to win
This is a massive game on the final night of the Scottish Championship season. Airdrie currently sit in the relegation play-off spot with Morton in 8th, two points clear. Airdrie need to win to guarantee safety but Ross County are just one point behind them also, so not winning here could mean they finish bottom of the table, should Ross County beat Raith Rovers.
Ian Murray publicly criticised his players after their 4-0 defeat to Ross County last weekend and that tends to go one of two ways. Either the players take heed of those words and pick up their game, or they go against the manager and don’t perform as well as they could.
Morton have only won once in their last five whilst Airdrie have only lost once in their five, winning two of them and gaining impressive draws at home to Dunfermline and Partick Thistle.
Airdrie also won against Ayr United last weekend so are unbeaten in their last three and have all the momentum. They have also won more away games compared to home games this season so that also goes in their favour.
It will be an incredible final night in the Championship with three teams having the chance to finish bottom but I don’t think it’ll be Airdrie!
East Kilbride vs Clyde - East Kilbride to win
A draw for East Kilbride is enough to win the League Two title but I don’t think there’s any chance that Mick Kennedy settles for that. They have scored more than anyone in the league, 14 more than Spartans and Clyde, who are second and third respectively.
They have a tougher game than Spartans who take on eight placed Stirling Albion which is why I think EK will do everything they can to win and seal the title in style.
Clyde already have their promotion play-off place and third place secured so have nothing to play for, apart from trying to take momentum into the play-offs.
John Robertson will also be desperate to take home the top scorer trophy and he currently sits level with Spartan’s Mark Stowe on 20. Their ability to score goals and with a title on the line leads me to believe they will win this one and secure a second consecutive promotion.
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