LAST season Hibs v Celtic and Rangers v Aberdeen would have been much-anticipated battles but so much has changed over the summer.
Now punters will be looking at the games today and wondering how many the Old Firm will win by.
First up at lunchtime we check into Easter Road and the mood among the home fans will be better after Paul Heckingbottom's men followed a derby defeat by reaching the Betfred Cup semis.
Hibs were forced to go to extra time though while Celtic cruised to a 5-0 victory against Partick Thistle despite resting a host of stars.
The Hoops are 2-5 with Betfred to make it seven league wins out of seven and I reckon they'll win by at least two at evens with McBookie. In fact Celtic -2 tempts at 13-5 against a side that lost 6-1 at Ibrox a few weeks ago.
Odsonne Edouard was one of those left out against the Jags and I'm on the refreshed Frenchman at 7-2 with Betfred.
Aberdeen sit third but their displays have been disappointing and in midweek crashed out of the Betfred Cup at Hearts on penalties.
Derek McInnes' men have a poor record at Ibrox and in three games away from home have won just once and netted twice.
Rangers are a best 3-10 to win with a Gers/Celts double paying 9-10 at Marathonbet.
Steven Gerrard's men have netted nine goals in three home games – including a blank in the derby – so again I expect them to beat the Dons more easily than usual and Gers -1 pays 10-11 with Betfred. The Gers -1/Celts -1 double is 3-1 at Betfred.
Gerrard seems to have ditched his rotation between Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe due to the Colombian's sizzling form but he looked tired at the end of the Livingston cup tie so maybe Defoe will get a chance. Wait for line-ups before picking a scorer but if you're an Aberdeen fan you'll think Sam Cosgrove is big at 16-5 with Unibet to score at any time.
Elsewhere in the Premiership the games aren't easy to call although Ross County look a little big at 15-4 with betfair at Killie after winning at Motherwell the previous week.
In the Championship it was the Lawrence Shankland show last week and after his late double to sink Arbroath he is 2-1 at McBookie to score first at home to Morton.
United haven't hit the heights of their 6-2 demolition derby against Dundee but should win this at 4-7 with 888sport. Five of the last seven meetings at Tannadice have saw both score and United and btts is 9-4 with bet365.
On the face of it Ayr look big at 13-10 with McBookie at Alloa but I'd like to see how they cope with the loss of manager Ian McCall.
He has returned to Partick Thistle to try to save them from the drop but faces a tough start at an Inverness side just two points off the pace, a 100 per cent home record and nine goals in those three wins. ICT are 4-6 at McBookie.
In League One the top four meet each other with Raith at Forfar and Falkirk home to East Fife. Raith tempt at 6-5 at Station Park and while I reckon Falkirk will win best against the decent Fifers could be both to score at 4-6 at William Hill with the visitors' last five going that way.
Cove continue to set a hot pace at the top of League Two and as usual I'm on them and over 2.5 goals at home to Annan at 10-11 with Sky Bet. The only time it failed to land was last week when they won 2-0 at Elgin.
Second-placed Edinburgh and third-placed Cowdenbeath should also win at home to Queen's Park and Albion Rovers respectively and a treble on the top three pays an inviting 9-1 at Marathonbet.
Recommended Bets
- Celtic -1
- Rangers -1
- Celtic/Rangers double
- Dundee Utd & Btts
- Shankland to score first
- Inverness
- Raith
- Falkirk v East Fife btts
- Cove & over 2.5 goals
- Edinburgh City
- Cowdenbeath
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
