THE bookies blundered last weekend by making Aberdeen’s odds-against for a home win over St Mirren and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who cashed in as the Dons eased to a 4-1 victory.
Jim Goodwin’s big rebuild seems to be coming along nicely with most of his new boys hitting the ground running.
Aberdeen have won five of their six games in League and Cup so far, suggesting they will banish the memories of last season’s dismal campaign and push for a European place.
They cruised to victory against the Buddies and were well on top even before Declan Gallagher saw red.
Now they face a Motherwell side whose start to the season has been every bit as poor as St Mirren’s.
After crashing out of Europe to Sligo, Well ruined one of my bets on the opening Premiership weekend by winning in Paisley but they rode their luck and only came out on top thanks to keeper Liam Kelly.
The Steelmen followed that up by losing at home to St Johnstone last week, coughing up a stoppage-time goal.
They have an excellent record against the Dons in recent seasons, losing just one of the last eight, but it’s hard to see anything other than a victory for Goodwin’s side on recent form.
The bookies have learned from last week and Aberdeen are now odds-on but SBK still have them at 16/19 and that’s decent value, especially for accumulators.
Early goals have been a feature at Pittodrie this term so it could also pay to back the Dons to win the first half at 6/4 with McBookie.
New striker Bojan Miovski is averaging a goal a game so far and takes the penalties for Aberdeen so he looks a bit overpriced for anytime scorer at 2/1 with Bet365.
Rangers finally roared into life in midweek with an epic 3-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise to keep their Champions League hopes alive. That has lined up a mouth-watering tie with PSV in the play-offs but first Gers need to take care of St Johnstone at Ibrox today.
Saints have only scored once in their last five trips to Govan so a home win to nil looks likely but it only pays a best 4/6 at Betfred.
Backing Gers in the corner handicap paid off for me last weekend when they hosted Killie and I’d expect a similar kind of game with Saints set up to frustrate.
Rangers -5 pays 10/11 at Bet365 in that market while over 7.5 corners for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men is evens at Unibet.
Hibs showed character to grab a last-gasp leveller in the Edinburgh derby but now face another test of mettle in Livingston today.
The Lions showed why they are a team nobody enjoys playing against by grinding out a 1-0 win at Dundee United last Sunday.
But there are signs the Hibees could become a force under Lee Johnson, with the returning Martin Boyle offering pace in attack alongside new boy Elie Youan.
Former French youth international Youan looked a handful in the derby so I fancy him for a goal today at 15/4 with Bet365.
The other clash today sees Ross County visit St Mirren in what looks like a must-win game for Buddies boss Stephen Robinson.
After crashing out of the League Cup at the group stage, Saints have started with successive defeats in the Premiership to pile on the pressure.
County have looked decent in defeats to Hearts and Celtic so they are pretty good value at 21/10 (Betfred) for a win in Paisley.
The Hoops head to Kilmarnock tomorrow and it could be a test of patience on the plastic pitch. Backing them to rack up corners looks the best option with Celtic -5 paying 20/21 at Bet365 in the handicap.
Dundee United are reeling after their Alkmaar annihilation on Thursday night and the misery could continue when they make the trip to Tynecastle tomorrow.
I fancy Lawrence Shankland to haunt his old club with a goal and that pays 11/8 at SkyBet.
Super singles
- Aberdeen win first half (6/4, McBookie)
- Over 7.5 Gers corners (evens, Unibet)
- Youan anytime scorer (15/4, Bet365)
- Celtic -5 corner h’cap (20/21, Bet365)
In December 2020 we sadly 
