SPL Betting: Can Saints raise their game at new home?

Scottish Football / John Girvan / 30 January 2009 / Leave a Comment

It's the dawn of a new era in Paisley on Saturday when St Mirren host Kilmarnock in the first SPL match at their new Greenhill Road stadium, writes John Girvan as he looks ahead to the weekend's top flight football in Scotland.

As the first game at their new stadium, there is a lot more interest in St Mirren v Kilmarnock than there normally would be; it's an 8,000 sell-out and the early kick-off is live on Setanta Sports.

Saints were on a unbeaten run of three wins and a draw from four recently but they have lost at both Hibs and Dundee United in their last two outings. There is little shame in a 3-2 defeat at Tannadice this season however and they feel they should have won having twice taken the lead before conceding two in the last six minutes.

Kilmarnock have been poor of late with only one win in their last six league games. It's three straight defeats for Jim Jeffries men but the recent 4-2 win at Easter Road shows his men are capable of springing a surprise when they are expected to lose. New signing Kevin Kyle will add a fresh new dimension to the side and he will be thrown straight into the action on Saturday.

The form and occasion leads me to side with St Mirren at [2.42] but for the rest of the season I will be opposing Saints in home fixtures. "New Season Syndrome" is real and affects every team who moves into a new home. Essentially, this game is taking place at a neutral venue but the bounce games they have played here will help Gus MacPherson's side and this together with a bumper Buddies crowd should make the difference.

In the last 12 months Celtic and Rangers have both faced Dundee United a total of five times each in all competitions. Their records are identical with only one win and four draws each and this surely signifies how far the Tannadice outfit have come under the guidance of Craig Levein.

The Terrors visit Ibrox on Saturday and if it wasn't for the manner of their Co-op Insurance League Cup exit in mid-week they would be worth a go at [8.6] in the Match Odds. United matched Celtic for 120 minutes before cruelly going down 11-10 in as dramatic a penalty shoot-out as you will ever see. The fall-out could be detrimental in their attempts to go one better in Govan.

It was a disappointing 0-0 draw for Rangers at Pittodrie last week where they blew an opportunity to go top of the table. Walter Smith showed bravery by keeping Fleck in the starting 11 but the omission of Boyd and reversal to a 4-5-1 with Miller up on his own proved frustrating to the travelling support. Rangers over estimated The Dons last week and I envisage a return to the side for Boyd and also a more effective 4-4-2.

The mid-week action makes Rangers strong favourites here. In other circumstances it would have been a tricky game for the hosts but they played a day earlier than United in mid-week, played 30 minutes fewer and also made it through to the final. A home win comes in at a reasonable [1.42] but Rangers can put the pressure on Celtic here with a good win and Rangers -1.0 & -1.5 in the Asian Handicap appeals at [2.03].

Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas take up the reins at The Tulloch Stadium with Inverness two points adrift at the foot of the SPL table and eight behind 10th placed St Mirren. After eight consecutive league defeats they find themselves [2.0] in the Relegation 2008/09 Market and Sunday's visit of Celtic is the first of 15 cup finals for the Highlanders.

Inverness showed a positive reaction to the sacking of Craig Brewster with a battling performance at Tynecastle last week. They drew level twice, were reduced to ten men at 1-1 and were seconds away from stopping the rot until Laryea Kingston's 90th minute winner. Caretaker boss John Docherty was full of praise and described the effort and commitment of the players as "unbelievable".

We know all about the hosts miserable run of form but what about Celtic? Well, Gordon Strachan's men endured 120 minutes of football on a rotten playing surface on Wednesday night. They had three full days to recover however so it really shouldn't be an issue. In the league they have stuttered a little of late with two draws and a defeat in their last six fixtures but Rangers have been dropping points also and they remain favourites in the title race at [1.47].

This fixture always has an air of uncertainty about it with Caley showing a three season history of getting something out of it at least once every season. The hosts put in a great performance against Hearts last week and with the arrival of the new management team it would be a surprise if Celtic got it easy.

You have to go with the value here. The match is live on Setanta Sports and will therefore go live "in-play" so from this respect the [11.0] on Inverness is fantastic value. This price will plummet if the hosts take the lead and they have shown in recent years they are capable of scoring against Celtic with at least one goal in each of the last five league meetings at The Tulloch Stadium.

Celtic will rightly be favourites to come through over 90 minutes but the price isn't overly appealing at just [1.38]. As always a couple of goals are expected here and three goals or more is heavily odds on at [1.7]. This surely relies on a goal from the home side and on that note "No" in the Celtic Clean Sheet Market is the pick at [1.84].