Heart of Midlothian vs Hamilton Academical
SPFL Premiership. Kick-off: 3pm, Wednesday 26th December
IT says a lot about the topsy-turvy nature of the Premiership title race that Hearts remain just nine points off the summit after a horror run that seen them win only one of their last nine league games.
Six of those games have ended in defeats, the most recent coming at Pittodrie on Saturday, and pressure is starting to grow on manager Craig Levein.
The grumbles will turn into full-on vitriol should the Jambos fail to defeat Hamilton at Tynecastle before the weekend derby with Hibs.
The one consolation for Levein is that their last victory came on home soil against a struggling team from Lanarkshire in the shape of Motherwell.
Well's neighbours Hamilton now head to the capital in equally poor form, despite holding high-flying Kilmarnock to a credible draw at the weekend.
Accies have gone four games without a victory and a defeat here will leave them anxiously looking over their shoulder at the bottom of the table with St Mirren picking up form.
Despite Hearts' recent troubles they should have enough to see off Hamilton and 888 Sport make them favourites at 3/5, with Accies 24/5 and the draw 11/4.
Martin Canning's men claimed a 1-1 draw at Tynecastle last December but that match aside it has been a pretty one-sided fixture in recent games.
Hearts have claimed 4-0, 4-1 and 3-0 wins over Hamilton in the last two seasons so the stats suggest they might find their shooting boots for this one.
Over 2.5 Hearts goals pays 49/20 with 888 Sport and that could be a decent option while Hearts to win at half-time and full-time looks good at 29/20.
Scotland striker Steven Naismith made his long-awaited return against Aberdeen and could spark the Jambos back to life in this match.
He's 19/5 to break the deadlock with 888 Sport and 8/5 for anytime scorer which looks excellent value. Midfielder Olly Lee is also due a goal and is available at a tempting 6/1 for anytime scorer and a huge 14/1 for first scorer.
Mikel Miller grabbed Hamilton's equaliser against Kilmarnock and the striker looks their best bet for a Tynecastle strike. He's 21/2 to grab the first goal and 17/4 to net at any time.
Recommended bets
- Hearts to score over 2.5 goals 49/20 (888 Sport)
- Steven Naismith anytime scorer 8/5 (888 Sport)
- Olly Lee anytime scorer 6/1 (888 Sport)
I'm a sports journalist, football tipster and author from Dundee, who is now working in Glasgow. I've covered games at every level, from Junior football to internationals, and still love football even though it has clearly sold its soul. I've been in football tipping since 2018 with the MFT site.
