Saturday’s football tips: Aberdeen overpriced to pile on the pain for new Hearts boss Vrancken

Heart of Midlothian were the story of last season's SPFL Premiership as they came within a whisker of landing their first top-flight title since 1960,

But it has been a summer of upheaval at Tynecastle with manager Derek McInnes, captain Lawrence Shankland and key midfielder Cammy Devlin all jumping ship for Rangers.

New boss Wouter Vrancken kicked off his reign by losing 6-0 on aggregate to Sturm Graz in the Champions League qualifiers and now faces a tough Premiership opener on the road in Aberdeen.

Aberdeen vs Heart of Midlothian top betting tips

Aberdeen finished in the bottom six last term, with Scottish Cup-winning gaffer Jimmy Thelin paying the price for that poor league form when he was sacked in January.

Successor Stephen Robinson has now had time to stamp his mark on the squad and the Dons looked decent in the League Cup group stage, winning all four games.

Hearts are still getting used to Vrancken's adventurous style of play, which is a departure from the more pragmatic McInnes, so Aberdeen look overpriced at 11/5 today.

I'm going to play it a bit safer and back Robinson's side to win either half, which still offers good value at 9/10.

Striker Kevin Nisbet netted six times in the League Cup group games and he's 187/100 to start the Premiership campaign with another goal.

Falkirk vs St Mirren

The earlier SPFL Premiership game today should be a cracker as St Mirren head to the Falkirk Stadium.

The Bairns were the surprise package in the league last term, finishing in the top six after winning back-to-back promotions.

That they did it playing attractive, attacking football made that success even more laudable and boss John McGlynn will stick to the same bold style in this campaign.

New St Mirren manager Craig McLeish is trying to get his team to play in the same way and it led to some thrillers in the League Cup group stage, most notably when they came from 3-0 down to beat East Kilbride 4-3.

So this has the potential to be a really exciting match with both managers instructing their team to get the ball down and attack.

Combining BTTS and over 2.5 goals looks like a good option for this one and it pays a decent 11/10 at Bet365.

We should see plenty of corners as well with both sides likely to attack and over 10.5 flag kicks pays evens with the same firm.

Greenock Morton vs Partick Thistle

The SPFL Championship also gets underway today and Partick Thistle will be looking to start their push for the title with a win away to troubled Morton.

Alarm bells are ringing at Cappielow after Morton crashed to four successive defeats in the League Cup group stage.

They couldn't even muster a goal against the likes of Linlithgow Rose and East Fife, with boss Ian Murray forced to put kids as young as 15 on the bench due to a sparse squad.

That doesn't bode well for their Championship campaign and Thistle are 11/20 hot favourites to pile on the misery this afternoon.

The Jags have managed to keep most of last season's squad together and should be too strong for a team in disarray.

So backing Partick Thistle to be winning at half-time and full-time looks decent at 11/8 while Partick -1 in the handicap also appeals at 6/4.

Super singles

• Aberdeen to win either half 9/10 Bet365
• BTTS and over 2.5 goals in Falkirk vs St Mirren 11/10 Bet365
• Partick Thistle -1 handicap 6/4 Bet365

Upcoming match previews and betting tips

• Sat 14:00 Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid
• Sat 15:00 Falkirk vs St Mirren
• Sat 16:00 Hamburg vs Everton
• Sat 17:30 Aberdeen vs Heart of Midlothian
• Desmond’s Goals Tips: BTTS, To Score 2, Over 2.5 Goals and 37/1 Goals Acca Tips

Racing tips

Another huge weekend of racing gets underway today and our top man has picked out some horses to watch.

• All the latest racing tips

As always, leave your own tips and comments below.

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