HEARTS were hoping to close the gap on the Old Firm this season after finishing best of the rest by a country mile in the Premiership last term.
But as the Jambos prepare to host leaders Celtic this lunchtime, they sit in the bottom half of the table and already trail Ange Postecoglou’s men by 13 points.
Robbie Neilson bolstered his squad in the summer but has still struggled with the demands of juggling Premiership fixtures with group-stage football in Europe.
A horrendous run of injuries hasn’t helped, with almost an entire team missing, and it’s now just one win in eight league games.
So it’s no surprise to see Celtic as McBookie’s 1/3 hot favourites today with the Jambos as big as 15/2 and the draw paying 17/4.
Neilson’s side have been leaking goals and I cashed in last weekend by backing Aberdeen to score over 1.5 goals against them.
The same bet pays just 2/5 today at William Hill but backing over 2.5 Hoops goals increases the odds to 6/5 with Paddy Power.
It’s difficult to predict who will start for Celtic with Postecoglou making many changes from game to game so I’m steering clear of the goalscorer markets.
Backing the Hoops in the corner handicap paid off for me last week so I’m repeating it today, with Celtic -4 paying 6/5 at Bet365.
Rangers have a home game with Livingston and the stats suggest a stroll for the Ibrox side, even though they’re in poor form.
Livi have lost on their last 10 visits to Govan and have only managed to score twice during that horrendous run. That makes a Gers win to nil the best option today, although the odds aren’t great at a best 5/6 with Bet365.
If you’re looking to boost those odds, backing Gio van Bronckhorst’s men to win in a game with under 3/5 goals is evens (BoyleSports).
Aberdeen have been brilliant at home this season and their midweek victory over Partick in the League Cup made it seven wins from eight games at Pittodrie.
But their away form has been poor with a 1-0 triumph over St Johnstone their only league victory on the road so far.
They head to Fir Park today looking to improve on that miserable record and Well are looking a bit vulnerable, having lost five of their last six in a tough run of fixtures.
So I fancy the Dons to finally end their travel sickness with Jim Goodwin’s side a tempting 8/5 with BoyleSports for the win.
St Mirren let me down last weekend when I tipped them to beat Kilmarnock at home and they now host Dundee United.
The Buddies romped to a 3-0 win at
Tannadice earlier in the season but United’s league form has picked up since Liam Fox was named permanent manager.
That makes it a tough one to call so I’m playing it safe and going for the half-time draw which pays 21/20 at McBookie.
Ross County and Kilmarnock are level on points with United at the bottom and they face off at Rugby Park today. I can see it being tight and one-goal winning margin for either side pays 5/4 at McBookie.
Super singles
- Celtic -4 corner handicap (6/5, Bet365)
- Rangers win with under 3.5 goals (Evens, BoyleSports)
- Half-time draw in St Mirren v Dundee United (21/20, McBookie)
- Aberdeen to win at Motherwell (8/5, BoyleSports)
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.
