SlipsTips Tips: Dunfermline vs Queen of the South

Having delivered another winning selection in his featured column on Thursday night, SlipsTips is back with a bet from Dunfermline's make-or-break clash with Queen of the South in the Scottish Championship on Friday night.

Dunfermline vs Queen of the South (Friday, 19:45)

It’s the last chance saloon for Dunfermline Athletic on Friday night as they host Queen of the South in a must-win game in the Scottish Championship.

The stakes are high for John Hughes’ side who must deliver a victory in their final league game of the regular season, or else the Pars will face the ultimate pressure cooker of the playoffs.

Queen of the South, on the other hand, had their fate sealed last weekend, with Ayr United’s late equaliser consigning the Doonhamers to the drop.

As such, the money has started to come for the Fifers in this fixture who have been chipped into a general 4/7 shots, however we can get some 4/5 (Betfair) on them to overcome a -0.75 start on the Asian Handicap and that looks like a worthy boost in price.

This selection would see us land a half win if the hosts win by a solitary strike, whereas a Dunfermline triumph by two or more goals would deliver a full pay out.

Whilst It’s been an extremely disappointing season for Dunfermline who would’ve expected at minimum that they’d be fighting for a spot in the promotion playoffs, they are ending the season relatively strongly, especially when operating at their East End Park base.

The Pars have avoided defeat in each of their last seven Scottish Championship home matches, a sequence that stretches all the way back to Boxing Day.

What’s more, during that sample of fixtures, Hughes’ charges have battled to a point against newly-crowned champions Kilmarnock, not to mention they have claimed maximum points from each of their last three home games, scoring at least twice on each occasion.

Meanwhile, Queen of the South, having officially been relegated last time out, could be feeling dejected and Willie Gibson’s side will not be able to draw any momentum from the fact they have fallen to defeat in a league-high 19 of their 35 second-tier assignments so far.

With all that in mind, as well as the Pars’ undoubtedly being in greater need of the points, I’m more than happy to back Dunfermline to overcome a -0.75 hurdle on the Asian Handicap as the relegation playoff battle reaches its dramatic climax.