Week 13 of the Scottish Premier League gets underway on Saturday 4 November with another full set of fixtures set to take place.
It’s neck and neck at the top of the Scottish Premier League standings as Aberdeen’s 2-1 over Ross County cut Celtic’s lead to just one point after Brendan Rodgers’ men could only manage a draw against Kilmarnock.
Rangers are back on the up following Pedro Caixinha’s sacking, winning 3-1 away at Hearts. We’re in for another full set of fixtures this weekend with St. Johnstone’s trip to Celtic arguably the pick of the bunch.
*Preview was written before Tuesday’s league match between Kilmarnock and Hibernian.
Saturday 4 November
St. Johnstone 10/1 | Draw 47/10 | Celtic 2/9
St. Johnstone have been on an awful run of late, and have neither won nor scored in their last five league outings. The last thing they need then is the visit of Celtic who will no doubt be smarting after their 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock at the weekend.
The Saints will probably take a bit of heart from the fact that the defending Champions have a difficult home tie in the Champions League against Bayern Munich on Tuesday. While they’ve got a pretty sizey squad comparably speaking, three games in the space of seven days will take a bit out of Rodgers’ men. That said, Celtic should still prove too strong. They’ve always bounced back strong after disappointing league draws, and they’re tipped to do the same again this weekend.
Hibernian 4/10 | Draw 34/10 | Dundee 13/2
Hibs claimed their second league success on the trot after inflicting Motherwell’s second Premiership defeat of the season at the weekend. Neil Lennon will be pleased with how his side have acquitted themselves in recent weeks and will expect nothing less than three points against bottom feeders, Dundee.
Dundee really are battling. They’ve only picked up a single point on their travels thus far and will need to start turning a corner soon if they’re to survive the drop. Neil McCann will be hoping for at least a point come Saturday, just to stay in touch with Kilmarnock above them if nothing else. Hibernian all day for me. 4/10 actually offers a bit of value here.
Ross County 27/20 | Draw 47/20 | Motherwell 37/20
Ross County perhaps deserved a bit more from their last league match against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. Despite going ahead in the first half, however, they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against Celtic’s biggest challengers. Still, they would have taken heart form that performance, something they’ll look to translate into another classy showing against Motherwell.
The Steelmen’s three-game winning streak was snapped last week by a stylish Hibernian outfit. Despite the 1-0 defeat, Steve Robinson will feel that his team can come away with the points at the Global Energy Stadium. They’ll be further buoyed by the fact that Ross County have only won once at home this season. Back Motherwell on the win/draw at 11/20 here. I feel that they should win, but you never know with this Ross County side.
Rangers 7/20 | Draw 38/10 | Patrick Thistle 7/1
Kenny Miller grabbed a brace on his return to the Rangers starting XI as they came from a goal down to beat Hearts 3-1 at Murrayfield. The 37-year-old was dazzling following the sacking of Caixinha who had frozen him out of the team. More of the same then when Rangers welcome the lowly Patrick Thistle to the Ibrox?
They won’t have things their own way. Indeed, Rangers’ home record is pretty poor with a single win in five league matches. Thistle are undefeated in three including a brilliant 1-0 against St. Johnstone. Having said that, they’ve only picked up a single point on the road all season. Rangers should be too strong here and should be backed on the (-1) handicap at 19/20.
Hamilton 17/4 | Draw 28/10 | Aberdeen 6/10
Accies managed to break a miserable run of form two weeks ago which saw them lose six on the trot in all competitions as they managed a 0-0 draw against Patrick Thistle. They then followed that up with a morale-boosting 3-1 demolition job of Dundee. You simply don’t see them getting one over Aberdeen this weekend, though.
The Dons will be buzzing having closed the gap on Celtic at the top of the standings to just one point. They should be far too strong for a spirited, but comparatively under resourced Hamilton team. The away win is the only way to go here at 6/10.
Sunday 5 November
Hearts 15/20 | Draw 5/2 | Kilmarnock 33/10
We wrap things up this weekend in Edinburgh where Hearts and Kilmarnock lock horns at Tynecastle Park. Hearts – despite going a goal up against Rangers last week thanks to a Juninho-like free kick from Kyle Lafferty – capitulated to a 3-1 defeat against the Glaswegian giants. The scoreline perhaps doesn’t tell the full story of a game that was far tighter than the 3-1 result suggests.
Kilmarnock will find life difficult in Edinburgh this weekend despite having gone three unbeaten in the league. That said, two of the most recent results were 1-1 draws against Celtic and Rangers, both of which came at home. With that in mind, get on the away double chance here at 19/20.
Treble tipped at 3.65/1
Rangers (-1) 1/1
Aberdeen win 11/20
Motherwell Win/Draw 5/10
