Scottish Football Tips: Kai Watson's Best Bets, May 8
It's a busy weekend of Scottish football action with playoffs underway, plus the Scottish Premier League heading towards a thrilling conclusion.
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.
Arbroath vs Dunfermline - Both teams to score
The first leg was a tight affair that ended 1-0 at East End Park, although Dunfermline will be disappointed they didn’t score more as they created plenty of chances, especially in the first half.
For the most part, Neil Lennon’s side looked really comfortable with some stand out performances in midfield, particularly Alfons Amade. The front three were very fluid and constantly interchanged which made it hard for Arbroath to cope, at times.
That being said, the Pars could only score once, mostly thanks to a couple of brilliant saves from McAdams, particularly from an Ngwenya effort from inside the six-yard box!
Arbroath never really got going the way they would have liked going forward but they have goal threats in the likes of Marshall, Reilly and Dow, with the latter also being a big creative influence with nine league assists.
Gayfield is a notoriously difficult ground to go to and Colin Hamilton and David Gold will be hoping to use that to their advantage. I’d predict another tight affair but with Arbroath needing to score at least once, there should be plenty of chances.
Motherwell vs Hearts - Over 2.5 goals & both teams to score
After Monday evening's victory against Rangers which sent them seven points clear of the Ibrox club and back to three clear of Celtic, this one feels like an even bigger must win. If Hearts win, because they play before the Old Firm, they would go ten clear of Rangers, meaning they couldn’t catch them, and six clear of Celtic.
A victory at Fir Park would mean that, if Celtic didn’t beat Rangers, Hearts could win the title in the midweek match against Falkirk at Tynecastle. Many have been expecting Hearts to falter and fall away but that comeback win against Rangers was such a massive statement in terms of their likelihood to win the league.
Motherwell have been excellent this season and have received many plaudits for their style, philosophy and how Jens Berthel Askou has turned the team around. Hearts are the only team that they haven’t beaten so far this season and I’m sure that’s something they would like to rectify on Saturday evening.
The sides met just around a month ago at Tynecastle and it ended 3-1 to the home side, after Motherwell had taken the lead. Maswanhise had a massive chance to put Motherwell 2-0 up but he missed and not long after it was 1-1.
There’s always going to be chances when Motherwell play the top sides because of how well they work the ball around but that also leaves them open at times.
There’s so much on the line for Hearts here and they will be desperate to win because any slip up could give Celtic or Rangers a chance to close the gap on Sunday. It’s Saturday night under the lights and it’s shaping up to be an incredible night for Scottish football.
Stenhousemuir vs Queen of the South - Stenhousemuir to win
The first leg between these two was a tight game that ended in a 1-1 draw after an injury time equaliser for Queen of the South. QoTS haven’t beaten Stenny this season but three of the four meetings have ended in draws with Stenny winning 2-0 at Ochilview in January.
They haven’t conceded in the two home meetings between the sides and have only lost once at home the whole season whilst conceding the least amount of home goals alongside Inverness, 12 in 18.
The only thing that may affect Stenny in this one is the fact that Ayr United announced on Wednesday that Gary Naysmith would be joining them at the end of the season. It shouldn’t impact the managers concentration or commitment levels but it is something that could play on the players mind.
At home, I really fancy Stenny in this one and, for the second year in a row, they’ll be looking to make the promotion play-off final. I don’t think QoTS have the firepower necessary to properly break the home side down and win the game.
Comfortable win for Stenny in this one for me!
Brora Rangers vs Edinburgh City - Over 2.5 goals
Brora Rangers scored an incredible 97 goals in 34 Highland League matches whilst only conceding 35. Edinburgh City conceded 72 in 36 League Two matches, averaging two per game and also scored 45. There were eighteen goals in their last five matches, they conceded thirteen goals in four games without scoring before hammering Dumbarton 5-0 on the final day.
That final day victory could give them the confidence needed to help them stay in League Two. Brora’s victory against Brechin in the second last game meant that avoiding a massive defeat on the last day of the season was all they had to do to seal the title and they drew 1-1 with Huntly.
I just don’t see how there won’t be goals in this one, especially with what is on the line!
St Mirren vs Kilmarnock - Kilmarnock or draw
Kilmarnock’s win last weekend was enough to help them leapfrog St. Mirren and out of the play-off spot after Craig McLeish’s side lost for the third league game in a row. Kille, on the other hand, have only lost two out of their last five which includes an incredibly impressive 3-0 win at Rugby Park against Dundee United last week.
Despite Killie’s defensive struggles, St. Mirren are the lowest scorers in the league and haven’t scored in their last three. They will be feeling the pressure now having dropped into 11th, whilst Killie will take confidence from last week’s win.
It should be a tight match but I don’t see St. Mirren having enough to overpower Killie anywhere on the pitch and their goal threat has been non-existent recently.
Killie double chance, at these odds, is a safe bet for me.
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