After staring the season with a winner in his featured column last weekend, SlipsTips has cast his eye over the latest slate of SPFL fixtures, highlighting two angles of attack.
Airdrie vs Partick Thistle (Saturday, 15:00)
Both Airdrie and Partick Thistle will be looking to get their first three points of the season on the board when the pair meet at the Penny Cars Stadium on Saturday.
The newly-promoted Diamonds came up short in their season opener at Dunfermline last weekend, with the Pars pocketing the points courtesy of a 2-1 win.
As for Partick Thistle, they completely hit the self-destruct button in their curtain-raiser with Raith Rovers, surrendering a two-goal lead with seven minutes remaining as the shares were ultimately spoiled.
Despite that late collapse, the Jags will no doubt attract some attention here at 6/5 and better, however I’m happy to opt for an alternative angle by siding with Over 2.5 Match goals at 4/5 with Betfair.
Airdrie have a well-deserved reputation for being an attack-minded team and they are unlikely to sacrifice their principles in their new surroundings of the second tier.
Partick, on the other hand, have continued with the same attacking philosophy that took them to the cusp of securing promotion to the top-flight last term, and that is evidenced by the fact that both teams have scored in each of their five competitive matches this season so far.
In fact, Over 2.5 goals backers would have been rewarded in all five of Thistle's outings this season to date, so there is plenty of scope to suggest their weekend fixture with what is a forward-thinking Airdrie side could generate plenty of goals.
This bet would have also paid out in the hosts' opener and all of that coupled with the likelihood of both these sides attacking intensity being their best form of defence here only adds to the appeal of siding with 3+ strikes at 4/5 (Betfair).
Recommended Bet
- Over 2.5 Goals – 4/5 (Betfair)
Forfar vs Elgin (Saturday, 15:00)
Forfar Athletic will be looking to file their first three points of the season when they entertain Elgin City in Scottish League Two on Saturday.
Ray McKinnon’s men started their campaign by playing out a somewhat forgetful 0-0 draw with fellow promotion hopefuls Stenhousemuir last weekend.
As for Elgin, they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Borough Briggs when squaring off with Stranraer at in their maiden league match of the season last Saturday.
Forfar head into this contest as 19/20 favourites with Betfair and I’m more than happy to back the home team to prevail at that price.
As already alluded to, Forfar will be holding promotion aspirations this season and this could be a perfect opportunity for them kick-start their campaign
The Loons will consider themselves unlucky not to have taken a place in the second round of the League Cup after winning three of their four group of games, two of which came against higher-ranked opposition in the shape of Arbroath and Montrose.
This is a stark contrast to an Elgin city side whose on and off-field issues have been a topic of conversation during the early weeks of the season, not to mention they lost talisman Kane Hester over the summer.
The Black and Whites were well beaten each of their four league cup group games before going down 1-0 in their aforementioned loss at Stranraer last time out.
That doesn't augur well ahead of a trip to Angus where Ross Draper’s side will be coming up against a Forfar team that have avoided defeat in 11 of their last 13 home games in all competitions, triumphing on eight occasions across that sample.
With all that in mind, siding with the Station Park side to secure all three points on Saturday stands out a shade under evens with Betfair.
Recommended Bet
- Forfar to Win – 19/20 (Betfair)