Scottish Football Tips: Kai Watson's SPFL Bets, November 29
Action north of the border this weekend focuses on the Scottish Premiership and the third round of the Scottish Cup.
Kai Watson, the Free Bets Scottish football expert, reveals his top betting tips and weekend predictions for the best of the action.
Scottish Football Tips
Here are Kai's five top football tips for the weekend, including the best available odds from the top UK betting sites.
Motherwell vs Hearts - Both teams to score
This one, on paper, is hands down the game of the weekend for me. Probably the best team to watch so far this season, for me, in Motherwell and the surprise league leaders in Hearts. Motherwell had a brilliant victory last time out against Hibs which took them up to fourth. The ‘Well attempted almost 800 passes with 94% pass accuracy and played Hibs off the park, even if they did play for almost an hour with ten men.
Hearts, on the other hand, suffered their first league defeat of the season at Pittodrie when they couldn’t find their usual cutting edge and lost 1-0. This will be a massive test for Derek McInnes’ side in psychological terms at least, as many fans are anticipating that last weekend's defeat will be the beginning of a downward spiral for the league leaders.
Motherwell have won four out of their last five, only dropping points away to Aberdeen whereas Hearts have started dropping points in their last five. After beating Celtic 3-1 at Tynecastle, Hearts then drew to St. Mirren beat Dundee then drew with Dundee United and lost to Aberdeen last weekend.
Motherwell, joint with Rangers, are the form side in the league so this has potential to be a thoroughly exciting match with Hearts not wanting to drop any more points to let Celtic catch them.
Two sides who, for most of the season, have been excellent going forward, so I expect goals in this one!
Dundee vs St Mirren - St Mirren to win
St. Mirren’s form in the league has been bitterly disappointing for their fans so far this season, despite most clubs in the league hating playing against them. They were unlucky not to take a point against Celtic last weekend but that defeat meant it’s four losses and a draw in their last five whilst conceding ten and only scoring three.
On the 19th October, Dundee deservedly beat Celtic 2-0 at Dens Park, a performance which many fans may have expected to turn their season around. That hasn’t been the case though as they’ve lost all four since then and have only scored once in the 2-1 defeat against Falkirk. In the last three they’ve conceded nine goals and haven’t managed any in reply, they are in deep, deep trouble currently.
Although Stephen Robinson’s side have struggled in the league so far, they have a League Cup Final to look forward to and I think they have more than enough about them to beat a Dundee side that is incredibly low in confidence.
Airdrie vs Hamilton - Both teams to score
The first of the Scottish Cup ties on the tips this weekend is the Lanarkshire derby between Airdrie and Hamilton. The home side still don’t have a permanent manager with Aaron Taylor-Sinclair currently in charge. They’re performances have improved since Danny Lennon left his role and they’ve recently drawn against joint league leaders Partick Thistle, hammered Raith 3-0 and put in a respectable performance in a 1-0 defeat against Ayr last weekend.
Hamilton have well documented struggles off of the pitch and the points deduction which saw them relegated automatically last season which allowed Airdrie to survive via the Play-Offs. They’ve been deducted a further five points this season for rule breaches relating to paying players that were in on amateur contracts but would have been second in the league without that.
Hamilton hit a sticky patch over the last five but still remain just the one point outwith the promotion Play-Off places and nine behind league leaders Inverness.
Being a derby there was always going to be a bit of extra meaning in this one but even more so that Airdrie benefitted from Hamilton’s off-field issues last season. North Lanarkshire will be buzzing for this one and I expect an exciting cup tie with there absolutely being a chance that the lower league side can progress.
Bonnyrigg Rose vs Spartans - Spartans to win
Spartans started the season incredibly well but have been going through a tough spell in the last three matches where they have almost completely thrown away the lead they built at the top of League Two. After beating East Kilbride to open up a healthy six point lead, Spartans drew with Forfar and Clyde before conceding four first half goals and losing 4-0 to a Stranraer side that had previously been struggling.
That is why I think this will be an even more difficult game for recently relegated Bonnyrigg. Spartans will be looking to use this one as a way to get back on form and boost their confidence again.
Bonnyrigg sit second in the Lowland League and won’t be easy opposition though, they have won eleven of eighteen so far this season, scoring 41 times in the process. They have experience playing against Spartans having been in League Two last season and could definitely use the home crowd to their advantage.
This one should be a tight affair but I think Spartans will be desperate to get the win for a confidence boost and I fancy them to do it.
East Fife vs Arbroath - Arbroath to win
Arbroath have surprised many with their start to the Championship season so far and they currently sit fourth in the table. They’ve been great to watch and their games tend to be filled with goals and drama, some of their highlights of the season will be beating Ross County twice (3-0 last time out) and beating current league leaders St. Johnstone 3-1.
East Fife’s form has been up and down, they recently climbed up the League One table and currently sit in fourth although they lost to struggling Montrose last time out.
This is a fixture in which, despite only being one league of a difference, I think the gap in quality is too large for the home side to overcome. It’s another that I think should be a really good tie though and potentially one of the games of the round.
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