After securing back-to-back Bet Builder wins over the past week, I am back as SlipsTips' replacement for one more game, and I have prepared a couple of picks for Aberdeen's first-round clash with Hearts.
Aberdeen vs Hearts, Saturday (17:30)
My midweek bet builder for Dinamo and Thun definitely made me sweat after just four corners in the first half, but we nevertheless ended up with another big win. This time, our attention will be focused on Aberdeen's opening match with Hearts.
After finishing 9th in the Premiership in what was one of their worst seasons in a long while, Aberdeen look completely changed at the start of the new campaign.
The Scottish League Cup kicked off mid-July, and Aberdeen already achieved four wins without breaking a sweat.
Meanwhile, Hearts failed miserably in their first UCL qualifiers since 2006-07, losing both legs against Sturm Graz without scoring a goal. After their sensational season last term, I expected a bit more from them.
Over 3 Cards
While this is a first-round clash and the stakes aren't exactly high yet, the H2Hs between Aberdeen and Hearts are typically very heated. While it is not a local derby, these teams never go easy on each other, and we typically see 4-5+ cards.
For instance, their three clashes last season produced 8, 7, and 5 cards. If you check out the H2Hs from previous seasons, it's been the same for years.
So here are my two ideas. If you want to play it safe, pick Over 3 cards for the bet builder. But if you want the high odds, I will also be playing Both Teams To Get Booked 2+ times at 17/20.
Over 3 Aberdeen Corners
I’ve got a few ideas on this front as well; I’d go for both over 8.5 corners and corners for Aberdeen only.
Here are a few statistics from last season ahead of the start of the new one. After 38 rounds, both Aberdeen and Hearts finished the season with an average of 10 corners per match.
Looking specifically at the over 8.5 corners market, there were at least nine corners in 71% of Hearts’ matches and in 76% of Aberdeen’s matches. In this instance, however, I intend to back over 3 corners for Aberdeen alone, even though the bookmakers expect Hearts to win more of those.
In their last three cup matches in July, Aberdeen won 16, 14 and 9 corners. They were indeed playing against teams from the lower divisions, but this is still evidence of their playstyle.
Last season, Aberdeen averaged 4.68 corners per match, whilst Hearts conceded an average of 4.47 per match to their opponents.
I believe Aberdeen are the team in better form at the moment. Furthermore, Hearts have European qualifying matches to think about. In my view, Aberdeen will have spells of pressure, and four corners seem entirely achievable.
Recommended Bet:
- Over 3 Cards
- Over 3 Aberdeen Corners
- Bet Builder – 1/1 (Bet365)
Vladislav has been professionally engaged in freelance journalism for seven years and has worked with numerous leading sports publications. A football and martial arts fanatic, he spent years training in both disciplines before turning to writing.
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