EVERY Saturday William Hill's Owen Scott and McBookie's Paul Petrie do battle in the junior football challenge and their back after a festive break.
The dynamic duo will be putting up trebles every weekend and Owen leads the way with winnings of £278.48 to Paul's £95.54. Both made the mistake of taking my team Clydebank last week as they drew 1-1 with Largs – although to be fair we should have won.
Here are Paul's and Owen's tips for the weekend.
For those who don't know anything about junior football the level of the top clubs is equivalent or in some cases better than Scottish League 2 outfits and we can gauge that easier now with the champions of the three regions – North, East and West – qualifying to play in the
William Hill Scottish Cup along with the Junior Cup winners.
The term “junior” has nothing to do with players' ages and it often confuses people outside Scotland. Some of the top clubs such as Auchinleck, Hurlford, Pollok, Bo'ness and Linlithgow pay bigger wages than most League 1 and League 2 teams and therefore attract players who could be plying their trade at a higher level.
McBookie list all games online and take bets on every junior match while
William Hill only take bets in shops. Here is this weekend's tips from Paul and Owen.
Paul writes: “In the West Region I am backing Gartcairn to beat Benburb at 4-5. They looked out of the title race at Christmas but have gone on an unbelievable run to get within striking distance. The whole league is extremely tight so they need to keep on winning to have a chance of topping the table.
“Next I am backing Lochee Utd at 9-10 to beat Montrose. Although the title looks a step too far they will still be desperate to get promoted. They proved against Carnoustie in midweek they are capable of playing in the top league and this looks a good chance to pick up all three points.
“Finally, I am going for Kilwinning to beat Cumnock at 6-4. Both teams have the eyes on promotion so could probably do without the cup distraction. There was nothing between the teams when they met in the league in midweek so I think the value lies with the away team.”
Paul's Treble
Gartcairn
Lochee Utd
Kilwinning
Pays £85.50 for a £10 stake at McBookie
Owen says: “Disappointing last weekend but I reckon I've still got a couple of winners in me before the end of the season.
“I'm starting with Kilbirnie who are evens at home to Glenafton. They had a great win against Auchinleck in midweek which now means they are genuine West Super Premier title contenders and I reckon they can get all three points as they visit Glenafton today.
“Arthurlie at 11-10 have had a couple of good results as they battle to stay in the top flight and I'm backing them again to get a win away to Rob Roy which would go a long way in keeping their Premier Division place. They were impressive 3-1 winners at Junior Cup finalists Pollok on Wednesday and confidence will be high.
“Blantyre Vics at 4-5 are another side whose recent form is impressive – they have come in from off the radar to make the First Division promotion race now a five-horse battle with Largs, Kilwinning, Cumnock and Clydebank and they can keep the pressure on with a win at Kilsyth with the other four on cup duty this weekend.”
Owen's Treble
Kilbirnie
Arthurlie
Blantyre Vics
Pays £75.60 for a £10 stake at William Hill
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In December 2020 we sadly 
