TOP meets bottom in the Scottish Championship on Friday night, as Hamilton Academical welcome Ayr United to the Fountain of Youth Stadium.
John Rankin's side are propping up the table following 14 rounds of fixtures, with just two wins and 11 points to show for their efforts thus far.
Last time out, Accies were on the wrong end of a 3-1 reverse at Raith Rovers, on an afternoon where I successfully tipped the Starks Park side to strike twice.
That setback means a gap is beginning to open up between the bottom-two and the rest of the table so the hosts will be desperately seeking to reduce the arrears when table-topping Ayr come to town.
Lee Bullen's team are defying all the odds and are exceeding expectations as they proudly sit at the summit of the second tier, with the Somerset Park faithful daring to dream about the prospect a first stint in the top-flight since the late 1970s.
Having said that, the Honest men were held to a 1-1 draw at home to in-form Greenock Morton last weekend, so they will be keen to get back in the winning grove by securing three points in South Lanarkshire on Friday.
Outright Betting
Hamilton Academical, who have won just one of their seven Scottish Championship home games this season, head into this game as 12/5 outsiders with Bet 365.
August's reverse fixture between the pair ended all square and the same outcome here can be backed at 5/2 (Bet 365) while Ayr are 21/20 (William Hill) favourites for the victory.
Betting Angles
I'm hopeful that an enjoyable encounter could be in the offing at the Fountain of Youth Stadium with over one Ayr United goal making appeal at 11/10 with PaddyPower.
The Honest Men have been one of the great entertainers in the second tier this season, with their opening 14 Championship assignments of the the campaign generating no fewer than 47 strikes.
During that sample, Lee Bullen's boys have made the net bulge 29 times, racking up two or more strikes in a joint league-high 10 of those occasions.
Hosts Hamilton, on the other hand, have earned the unenviable tag as the joint-leakiest defence in the division, shipping 27 goals across their opening 14 league games of the season, posting a paltry two clean sheets in the process.
The defensive frailty that has hampered Hamilton's start to the season could rear its head on Friday night in a fixture that pits the Scottish Championship's joint-worst defensive record against the division's most potent attack.
With all that in mind, I'll happily snap up the 11/10 (PaddyPower) about Ayr United bagging at least two goals on a night where the league leaders should boosted by a large travelling support.
I'll also dip into the anytime golascorer market and take the 11/8 (Bet 365) for Ayr United and Scottish Championship top-scorer striker Dipo Akinyemi to get on the scoresheet.
The powerful striker is spearheading United's stunning promotion push and he looks nicely priced to notch here against a Hamilton side that have been haemorrhaging goals all season.
This Scottish Championship match between Hamilton Academical and Ayr United will be played on Nov 11, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Hamilton Academical vs Ayr United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.